The Case For Marcus Smith
Posted: April 17th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 103 Comments »A few months back I thought Marcus Smith would go as early as the late 2nd or somewhere in the 3rd round. The more I watch of him, the more he grows on me. And he makes a lot of sense as an Eagles target. But when will he go?
Because of the limited # of edge rushers in this draft, Attaochu & Marcus Smith will both go higher than expected.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) April 14, 2014
There is now speculation that Smith could even sneak into the end of the 1st round. I don’t see that as likely, but never say never when it comes to the draft and pass rushers.
If the Eagles do move back from 22, Smith could be one of the players they hope to get. He would be an excellent fit for the defense. Watch this game and check him out in action.
The first thing that should jump out at you is how much he plays on his feet. Smith is a natural LB. Trent Cole had to learn to play like that and he’s still adjusting. Brandon Graham had an even harder time. Smith played QB in high school, but moved to LB when he got to Louisville. He then moved between DE and LB over the last couple of years.
The Eagles love versatile players. That bit of background info should tell you that Smith is definitely versatile. That also shows up on tape. He plays on both sides. He lines up as a LB and DE. There are times when he lines up like an ILB. Smith can rush the passer or drop into coverage. He’s comfortable playing in space.
Smith has good size. He is almost 6-3 1/2. He weighed 251 at the Combine, but was up at 258 at the Senior Bowl. He’s fine anywhere in that range. He has 34-inch arms, which is excellent size. The Eagles would prefer someone 6-6, but Smith isn’t a short, squatty guy like Cole or Graham. He has some length.
Smith is a good pass rusher and could be the ROLB of the future. If the Eagles ever wanted to, they could move him to the LOLB spot and play him there. Smith is good enough in coverage for that role. He also can set the edge on run plays. Check out his Pro Day workout to see him on the move.
You can see that he’s not the typical DE being moved to LB. This guy is a natural athlete that can play on his feet and on the move. Chip Kelly and ILB coach Rick Minter were at his Pro Day. Smith also visited Philly. The Eagles are showing interest.
One way to look at Smith is to consider him the poor man’s Anthony Barr. Smith isn’t quite as big or athletic and that’s why he won’t be a Top 15 player (which Barr likely will). Both have offensive backgrounds. Both are complete LBs. Both were productive for good teams in 2013. Both guys were highly productive in college and used a variety of moves to get into the backfield and be disruptive.
The Eagles would love a complete OLB to put on the right side to compete with Cole. Smith could be that guy. He will play the run. He can cover. And he’s a good pass rusher, whether flying off the edge or attacking different angles as part of a blitz package. He’s not a guy that needs to line up in the same spot and fire off the edge every single play.
Smith is the kind of long, athletic, versatile weapon the Eagles would like at ROLB. I don’t see him in the mix at 22. I doubt he lasts to 54. If the Eagles move back in the late 1st or early 2nd, Smith would make a lot of sense.
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Can Jackson Jeffcoat be a target in the later rounds? I see him as a bruce Irvin type of situational rusher who can explode and win with his speed late in games where the o-lineman may be a little tired and may lose a an extra step.
Doubt it….I don’t see it with him…..think the later target would be will Clarke
This is the best reason I have read to trade down a few spots, although I’d still rather see them go up for Dix, Barr, or Evans. Hopefully one makes it within striking range.
There is no striking range this year, because we simply don’t have ammunition…think that 22nd pick may be used on Dion Jordan. Whether it’s a draft day trade, or us drafting who they want us to draft, and complete the trade on June 1st when they can split the cap hit…
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I’m assuming, only reason we haven’t sent them the 22nd pick yet, is because we already set the parameters of a deal, and will be waiting to see what we can get trading back from 22 near the draft, then decide if we get more value trading back, or using the 22nd pick for Dion….just a theory tho, haven’t heard anything…but Dolphins GM has done a few things I found predictable…
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Question…anyone remember if we did a predraft visit last year with Ertz?
Not 100%, but I believe we did not meet with him.
That’s what I thought too…so I wonder if PAC players who we didn’t interview like Murphy and Crichton are in play if they drop in the draft….do we know them well enough to be ok not interviewing them since it’s such an important part of our player evaluation?
Glad to see you have changed the conversation back to improving the defense.
Woul def like this kid in second if we can’t get barr or make the trade for Dion. Also been really starting to like his teammate at SS not sure if I would want spend first round on saftey but after watching more video really like the attitude and ferocity this kid brings. Really feel can still get a quality wr in the third and spend first two on our D
How are we feeling about trading our next year’s first for Dion after the date where Miami won’t take as big of a cap hit?
I dont know exactly how that works but I would def give next year’s for him. Would that get him in in time for TC?
Yup…timing would he least of our concerns,,,I’m wondering if they would tell us who to draft at 22 and demand him included in the June trade but that would require serious trust between GMs.,.,but I’d def be down to give up the 2015 pick instead…we won’t he drafting high enough for it to be more valuable than adding a pass rusher of his caliber…pass rushers are so highly valued these days that we would be dumb to let a first round pick stop us from drafting one who our HC,DL know so well eliminating a lot of risk, and who our GM believes in so much…..if Gamble weren’t on board it would be one thing, but people are HIGH if they think we would turn down a pass rusher we know and believe in because we don’t want to include a first round pick…that would be too dumb for me to believe possible
I’m not giving up a #1 for potential. If Miami wants to bungle Jordan into a bust, they’re entitled to nothing higher than a 2nd rounder for him.
After three months of absence, my next-door-neighbor, Earl Wolff, returned to the area today. Talked to him and his mom for a good fifteen minutes or so, still incredibly nice people. I asked about DeSean, and he said that they always got along and that he’s a good person, but that there was definitely an issue between him and Chip, which is obviously in line with what we’ve been hearing. I joked how it sucked seeing TO go to the Cowboys, and now DeSean was going to the Redskins, and he quickly mentioned that DeSean is going to be fired up to “kick our asses.” I added that he was going to be one of the people helping to cover him and he sort of rolled his eyes in a joking way. He did mention a few times that his knee is 100% and that he is ready to show that he is all the way back. We talked about the draft a little bit too, but obviously he has no more of an idea than we do about what the front office will do. I didn’t bring it up, but if the Eagles were to go safety in one of the first couple rounds, his roster spot suddenly becomes far less certain.
You should spend the night at Earl’s house so you can get more nuggets of info. Very cool stuff.
Earl should be fine no matter what. We kept 5 safeties last year, and once Keelan Johsnon got called up we had six on the 53. Jenkins, draft pick, Wolff, Allen, Maragos.
Ask Earl why Patrick Chung is so awful.
Chung confirmed to me that he played thru an injured shoulder last year which does explain something’s…it doesn’t explain why he sucked before he got to philly tho
LOL.
I don’t see Wolff coming even close to being on the roster bubble, but that’s pretty cool you know him like that
Jake Knott is my neighbor
is Knott
I don’t have a witty comeback…1-0 ICdogg
I’ll take that bet.
I don’t care how big your sweatshirt is only Alex Henery would fit in the hood.
My hood is drunken idiot kicker free…Henerey reminds me of that idiot twerp gonzo…
I would have called BS, if Wolff didn’t arrive back in Philly yesterday 🙂 jk… Nolan Arrived yesterday and Jenkins will be here tomorrow
Most of the guys claiming inside info or personal relationships I dismiss as BS. I completely believe iceberg, though.
Yea, agree, a couple of the DL guys I play poker with weekly vouched for Iceberg as well. Except Curry; said he can’t be trusted, but I think that’s some beef he and iceberg have had for awhile, something about taking a quote out of context for these comments awhile back…
Do I want us to draft Marcus Smith? Am I higher than most and would be ok with taking him at 22? Drumroll please…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJbmB9k2Y88
Is that Will Clarke he is talking to?
Clarke asked if Smith was better than him.
Do you think Clarke has more upside because of his physical attributes?
No. I mean there is nothing to support him becoming a monster 34 OLB on tape. Best case scenario is he does make the transition and becomes a guy who holds down the run game, causes some batted balls, and maybe gets like 8 sacks a year. I would say I see his chances of succesfully becoming a quality OLB at like 30-35%. However he is a fairly safe pick because say half way through year 2 he isn’t making the transition well you can Joe Kruger him. Stick him on IR the rest of the year and let him get from 265 up to 290ish by camp the following year and try him at DE, using him as a rotational interior rusher while he develops technique to play 2 gap.
Smith on the other hand I would say has about a 70% chance of becoming a 10-12 sack guy, who can still drop and cover and allow you to be creative. Think Trent in his prime production wise, where he makes a few pro
bowls, is gameplanned around but isn’t a top 5 pass rusher type of dominant. Worst case he’s only a like an 8 sack a year guy you try to go find that dominant pass rusher again and move him to LOLB because Barwins contract will have ballooned.
Would like this pick if we trade back or he somehow falls, which seems less and less likely. Couldn’t help but notice Pryor making plays on the tape too. So many good upgrades available this year, really wish we were starting with a couple more picks to really give us some flexibility.
Let’s be real… if all of our targets at OLB are magically turning into fringe 1st round players then that means that talent is falling as well. At some point trying to grab an OLB like Smith or Attoachu at 54 becomes a futile effort. Why not take a guy like Van Noy that can do it all? He’s the closest thing to Dion Jordan in this draft whether Tommy is willing to really take the time and look at it or not. Van Noy has proven to be elite at both the pass rushing and coverage aspects of the game (more of a pass rusher than Jordan ever was in college). Clowney is about to go number 1 overall after a bad stat line in his final season but Van Noy is the only one who’s stock is taking a hit? Ansah left before last season and that made Van Noy the only scary defender at BYU. Teams planned away from him almost the same way they planned away from Clowney. Of course his stats fell off. Before Ansah was a starter (2011) Van Noy proved himself. He’s not a product of Ziggy. He made Ziggy by all accounts. If we miss out on Attaochu and pass up on Kyle I’ll be bitter. Especially with all of this “versatile” talk.
What do you think about Van Noy as an option?
Love him, and I believe he is high on our list….but he doesn’t solve ROLB Long term…he is Meco’s eventual replacement, but versatile and polished enough to move all over the LB corp as a rookie to get snaps…KVN and Cole can be a ROLB stop gap for a year, but Coles contract would be problematic, because we need to have a ROLB that is ready to set the edge and play the run by the beginning of the 2015 season, so we can cut Coles monster contract after this year….so while, KVN can be a stop gap with Cole, we would be better off getting our ROLB now, so we can groom him for a year before we count on him to take over for Cole full time…
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Don’t mean to be greedy, but I believe we should be trying to get KVN AND Marcus or Attachou
I know I’m in the minority on this but I think that KVN could add 10 pounds (has a full year to do it) and become a very good 34 OLB. Look at his tape in college. He has excellent technique and set the edge quite well. He needs to add some strength for the NFL but I don’t see him as strictly a LOLB or ILB. If he had come out last season the narrative on him would’ve been completely different. Truth is he didn’t have a down year at all. His stat line suffered because offenses accounted for him.
Actually, even if I think he is best suited to replace Meco in a few years I have seen plenty of scouts wear he is best suited to play ROLB…not so sure….I think he would be best suited to play the role we pretended that Casey Mathews could play, which is backup LOLB and I!B….unlike some people I don’t think it’s a case of never wanting to line him up at ROLB, I’d def give him a few pass rush opportunities across from Barwin because QBs would have no idea which is dropping and which is rushing,,,..maybe he can be a Longterm 3down OLB, maybe he can’t,…but I have no questions whatsover about him eventually being able to be a fantastic replacement for Meco…that’s a smart dude you want QBing your defense, I think we would get more value out of him eventually using him like:
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Barwin(LOLB)…kendricks(WILB)…KVN(MILB)…Marcus/Dion/Barr (ROLB)
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If we use him as our MikeILB and put a big, long athlete at ROLB, I think would be better than something like:
Barwin..Kendricks..Mosely…KVN(ROLB)
Oh…trust me, not only do I adore KVN, I believe he will be high on eagles list because I expect him to blow us away in interviews…I watched him play so much these past two years that I have no use for his stats…kid can play, and I really like drafting kids like him who were used in drastically different roles from one year to the next and still succeed…people who haven’t watched him play might be down by his stats this year, but I appreciate having film of him playing in a different role than the previous year when he was statistically playing out of his mind…I remember try to watch Ziggy but it always turning into the KVN show because he just jumped out the screen with his play…
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Just like I appreciate that I was able to see Attauchuo play OLB, dropping with TEs last year, and I got to see him play a lot of DE this year
Excellent post. I really like both KVN and Attaochu. Would be thrilled with either and would lose my mind if we somehow got both, lol.
Van Noy is an slightly above-average athlete and Jordan is a borderline freak athlete. He might have the better stats but he doesn’t have either skills that are above and beyond Jordans. His coverage skills are so overblown and inflated because he gets picks off of inferior talent. He only has an effective bull rush and inconsistent hand usage but when he does he only has a swim move. He’ll get decimated by NFL linemen since he’s a finesse LB that isn’t really finesse or strong himself. He’s not consistent as a tackler and selects when to pursue the ball. To call him “elite” is like saying KFC is good fried chicken because that’s all you’ve tasted.
lol, what? Jordan is one tenth of a second faster. Athletically they are VERY similar. The major difference is that Jordan is 6’6″ and Van Noy is 6’3″… KVN also weighed in 5 pounds lighter than Dion at the combine. For those keeping score at home that means that KVN has more muscle mass than Dion.
Let me get this straight… a marginally better athlete with less than spectacular production in college was a much better prospect and the ideal ROLB, but a guy that has proven to be elite as a pass rusher and coverage backer isn’t because he is a few inches shorter and five (5!) pounds lighter? This is one of those things that just makes me rub my temples. Stop reading other people’s opinions and form your own. If Jordan, who had far from a mean streak in college or in the pros, is our ideal backer then give me a better reason for KVN not being the same thing. Imaginary freak athleticism isn’t an argument.
I’m not even going to dignify your comment about KVN picking on weaker competition.
You’re kidding me right? Just because a ton of pundits have broken down tape and arrived at the same conclusion as I did; I don’t have my own opinion? Maybe you’re just in your own little world where you think you’re right and everyone is wrong because you’re living under a rock.
Your joke of comparing athleticism by 40 times is so dumb that I spit out my drink. A 6’6 fluid OLB that covers and bends a hell of a lot better than a slower stiffer 6’3 OLB is in the same realm of athleticism? Why is muscle mass a concern? Van Noy is weak for his size too and gets swallowed up by quality linemen. Zack Martin handled him easily. Pass me what you’ve had since you obviously haven’t watched the same tape everyone else had.
I never said 40 time was everything. Clearly you didn’t bother looking at any of the other numbers either. If you think that KVN isn’t a smooth athlete then you’ve clearly never watched him play. Also, those same pundits are consistently wrong. Following the herd doesn’t make your opinion more significant. The things you’re saying about KVN are completely wrong. “All he has is a bull rush” and “doesn’t use his hands well”, hah. Dion is a good athlete but not even close to a freak and KVN is close to the same level of athleticism. Jordan never one dominated in college like KVN has. Dion was purely a potential pick in a very weak draft last year.
Why is muscle mass a concern? You’re suggesting that KVN isn’t strong enough to hold up against T’s and asking why muscle is a concern? Seriously guy?
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4219425/KVN2.gif
KVN is way more polished than Jordan was coming out. You can’t use size as an argument and then not concede how ridiculous it is when I point out that there was a 5 pound difference.
Also, what on earth are you talking about with his hand play? He has easily the most advanced hand usage of any LB in this draft. Put the crack pipe down.
Van Noy simply doesn’t have enough sand in his pants to play ROLB in this system in situations where he has to battle at the point of attack. Tommy likes him as a versatile ILB and I agree.
Easy problem to fix (insert one for each butt cheek)
http://www.crazysand.co.uk/uploads/images/sand.jpg
While I agree with Tommy that he should not be a long term ROLB, some scouts still swear he is best suited to play ROLB in a 3-4….I don’t buy that…I view him as Meco’s eventual replacement who wold move all over the place as a rookie to get snaps. While he shouldn’t be the ROLB of the future, I would draft KVN first, and hope I can still get Marcus or the Nigerian, and if I can’t land one of those two, that KVN could see some snaps pass rushing from ROLB as a stop gap rookie on some 3rd downs..KVN/Cole isn’t ideal, but it can get us thru the year if needed as a stop gap
I really like the fanspeak draft simulator. Traded down (twice) and traded a future 4th to get the following:
35
OLB JEREMIAH ATTAOCHU
GEORGIA TECH
61
TE TROY NIKLAS
NOTRE DAME
63
WR MARTAVIS BRYANT
CLEMSON
86
DE MARCUS SMITH
LOUISVILLE
120
DT DAQUAN JONES
PENN STATE
127
CB RASHAAD REYNOLDS
OREGON STATE
129
ILB YAWIN SMALLWOOD
CONNECTICUT
162
OT MICHAEL SCHOFIELD
MICHIGAN
198
CB TIM SCOTT
NORTH CAROLINA
206
ILB ANDREW JACKSON
WESTERN KENTUCKY
I was completely unaware that Andrew Jackson was available in this draft. If we can move up for Clinton, I think taking Jackson becomes a priority. We already have Johnson, our presidential themed team would be well under way.
Or we could move up for Clinton-Dix for a phallic themed core group of Dix-Cox-Peters-Johnson. Either way I feel its really important to have a theme.
Definitely need a theme. As indisputable proof, the Jags, Bucs, and Jets all lacked a theme and look where they ended up. QED.
At what point to the Eagles say “F it” and take a guy at 22 who won’t last until 54, but isn’t the best value at 22 if they can’t find a trade down partner. I’d love to get ROLB, DB, WR all taken care of in the first 3 picks, but it seems like there is going to be an early run on pass rushers who should go in the third round.
I’m going to personally root for EVERY team who needs a QB or RB who takes a pass rusher ahead of our picks to have their QBs and RBs body bagged in the pre-season an punishment for taking away players from my Eagles!
I’d be almost willing to bet money the eagles don’t draft anyone at 22
I’ll take that bet. I’m willing to bet Eagles draft someone 22 or sooner.
Beer bet? Friendly bet? We have no,ammunition to trade up…I don’t know why people think we would trade up in a deep draft like this when we have so few picks
Sure :). I just wonder if they’ll find someone who wants to move up so they can drop back. Just a hunch is all.
Wait…I’m saying they will move back….aren’t you saying they will move up?
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Don’t think we will use any picks moving up in this draft. The most I can see is maybe trading a 2015 2nd for an extra 3rd this year, or a 2015 3rd for an extra 4th this year…don’t like mortgaging our future, but this is a special draft, and as long as we don’t trade away our first next year, we can use it trading back to try and recoup the pick we traded away
I’m thinking they move up pick around the 15 range. Trade one of the players on the roster and a late pick in 2015. I think they get creative.
Gotcha…
Oh…you are saying they can’t find someone who wants to move up to 22? I’m confused by your wording..Apologies if I’m having a blonde moment
I often wonder about this. Even with fantasy football. Near the middle of round 2, Saints TE is there. Do you pass on him? There is no way he’s making it back to you. If the Eagles love someone, but he’s graded to go pick 40-45 do you take him at 22? Eagles couldn’t find a trading partner to drop back. What do you do?
When you are picking 22 in every round, I don’t mind drafting guys you really believe in a round sooner,…you only overdraft someone if you could have had him the round later, but if he isn’t going to fall to You, then secure your guy and take him a round earlier..
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We laughed at the cowboys for drafting the center in round 1 but it looks like the kid can play…at the end of the day, as long as your draft picks can play, it’s a good pick…take free agency, fans may complain if a team pays 2millipn more for a guy than they think they should..
Say you pay a free agent 8mil a year instead of 6mil which is his real worth, if the guy can play, how much you drafted and what you paid will be forgiven…and if he can’t play you will be crucified.
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If you draft Marcus at 54, and he can’t play, he will be a horrible pick. If you draft him in round 1 and he can play, you will look brilliant…even if by some miracle he falls to you in the 3rd, if he can’t play you are still screwed…..
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Just like fans who think a team overpays for a free agent…if the free agent you gave 8mil to sucks, then it’s a horrible move…if you would have paid him 2mil less and he can’t play. He would still be a horrible move…..
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If the eagles believe a kid will be a stud, do what you have to do to secure him, even if us mock dorks disagree and think up drafted him too soon….all that matters is did you spend your pick on a kid that pans out, if Anthony Barr falls to round 3,’we draft him and he can’t play, are you gong to forgive the eagles? No…you will say that they should have known what the other teams knew who passed on him to fall to the 3rd…
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1st round pick should be a borderline probowler..second and 3rd round picks should be quality starters….that’s what matters, not where people think you should have drafted someone
I agree with you in principal but sort of disagree about Frederick specifically (thats the Dallas centers name, yeah?) That is a position that you can find good players at later in the draft fairly easily. I mean that Jason Kelce guy can play too and he was what a 5th/6th rounder?
Yes I was using an extreme,and a center probably should never be drafted in round 1…but take Vaccarro for example…if someone believed in that dude and drafted him say #4 overall, we would have been crucified for OVERDRAFTING him, but if we believed in him, knowing he won’t make it to us in round 2, what were we supposed to do? Not draft him, because most people think he is being picked 15 picks too soon? He fits a major need for us, and if we drafted him we would be talked about as fools…but after his rookie season, would you still disagree with drafting him in the top 5?
If your are playing fantasy football and Jimmy Graham is available at your pick in the middle of round two you: 1) clean up the mess you made in your pants because of how lucky you are and 2) you draft him.
In typical PPR formats of course.
The other side to that, though, is that if teams needing QBs take other positions in the first, then when we get to 22 there will be QB needy teams out there and QBs available. It might make trading back easier.
Yes, I’m really hoping those top 10 teams pass on QB, Cleveland passing on a QB is the X FACTOR. If they don’t draft one at #4, everyone will assume they draft one with the 24th pick from the colts, and that perceived threat is what would make a team trade up to 22 to steal a falling QB away from the browns….best case scenario a team like Tampa would want to get a stud in the top 10, and then trade all the way up from top 10 of round 2, but that would be very expensive and probably not likely…..but if you plan on getting a QB in round 2, there is a chance that the browns will be looking for a QB at 24 and that the texans will be looking for a QB at the beginning of round 2, so a team would have some trading up to do….Texans wanting to leap Clevelnd at 24 would also be pretty awesome for us…if you have to get ahead of Cleveland, you may as well get ahead of KC just to be safe…this year or next year he will draft a young QB to start grooming behind Alex……
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Problem with all this QB trade talk, is the Cardinals could be the monkey wrench that drafts a falling QB at #20
You know if they find a OLB that they *really* like but isn’t the perceived BPA, I say go for it. I hate to say it but 6-6 265 studs just don’t fall off of trees. They don’t last as late as the Eagles hope to be picking for the foreseeable future, and they are usually OVER valued (Dion Jordan anyone??).
Forget Dion Jordan, take a look at free agency. dude like Everson Griffin who is unproven as a starter got 20 mil in gaur money,,,,every single draft pass rushers are overvalued…what’s going to happen this year when the draft is so scarce with quality at the position? I think if you can trade down with San Fran and pick up Marcus or Jerrremiah and pick up an extra draft pick, you take it and run!!!!
Maaaaaarcus Daaaarling and Van Noy both need to become Eagles. Simple as that…you offensive dorks can still get a quality WR in round 3 🙂
Btw, Marcus and Attachou will be drafted before media daaaarling, Dee Ford…Dee is like a better version of Micheal Sam…
I freely admit I don’t get into predraft player analysis/lusting/nerdiness. Not because I am not a nerd, but because I don’t follow college ball and its too hard educate myself enough to discuss the topic in such a short period (though with the draft in may now….).
BUT if Dee is a better version of the SEC DPOTY, that doesn’t sound too shabby to me.
I talked about Dee Ford all year, I loved him, and still do, but since the senior bowl, things have gotten waaaaay out of hand!!! I loved him when he was a 4th round pick, why? Because he had Nickle pass rush ability while being YEARS away from being able To set the edge and play the run, which is highly problematic for a OLB eagles are considering in the first 3 rounds….Coles contract complicates things, we will want to get him off the books at the end of the year, so while Ford can bring what attaboy or Marcus bring to our pass rush, I have serious doubts about him being able to be a 3down ROLB in 2015 which is what the draft pick has to be, if we are going to get out of Trent’s contact..,
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I’m down with a pass rusher in the 4th or 5th,..but the ROLB we draft in the top two rounds needs to be ready to be a 3 down OLB by the start of the 2015 season, and I have serious concerns about Ford in that aspect…
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Rookie year, no big deal because Cole is an elite run defender, so we can just put Fords pass rush to use on 3rd down…but after his rookie year I fear drafting him would screw us
Just my humble opinion…I just liked him a lot more as a 4th round pick before he blew everyone away at the senior bowl…I think he would be a horrendous first round pick for us
Gotchya
But hey, for all I know, we dont cut Cole like everyone assumes, and restructure him for an extra year or two, in that case, drafting Dee would make more sense because we wouldn’t have to rush him on the field to play the run….but if the assumption is Cole is gone after the year, I think Dee would be a mistake before the 4th round
MS looks impressive. Most look good vs. RU. I’ll trust your trained eye on him.
That Rutgers line was a flaming piece of garbage. He doesn’t always produce against better lines, but shows the same skills.
Anyone know if we did a pre draft visit with Ertz, or did we pounce on him when he fell to round 2 without putting him through the interview process because Chip was familiar enough with him to be comfortable drafting him?
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I ask because we haven’t brought Trent Murphy in for a visit? I don’t want Murph, but I’m wondering if our familiarity with him, keeps him in play even if we don’t interview or work him out, because Chip know enough of him from the college days…if murph were to fall, or Marcus and attaboy go earlier than expected?
They have interviewed them at the combine. They have also done extensive background research on every prospect.
Guys they have in for a visit are mostly players with injuries or some other concerns.
Thanks….yeah bringing in a guy like Taylor hart proves some of our visits are really just to check on injuries
yea, I mean they already know all they need except how his injury was coming along.
Yup…Chip is one thing, but also having his DL coach here, there is nothing to see but his foot
Saw a mock that has cowboys taking Marcus at 16 in round 1 with Barr going 18 to the jets…..creative,..
Tweets like the one from Daniel Jeremiah are what makes the Eagles’ BPA draft strategy so valuable and what makes me so skeptical of some of the most speculated draft targets being discussed in the media.
WR (Cooks, Beckham, etc), Edge Rusher (Smith, Attachou), and even FS (Pryor, Ha Ha, Deone Buchanon, Jimmie Ward) are all fast rising positions that will creep higher on draft boards. This makes me SUPER skeptical the Eagles will end up taking any of those spots in the first 2 Rounds.
I would be on the lookout for interior linemen – Timmy Jernigan, Hageman, Nix, etc – and even an O-Line candidate in R2 – Yankey, Cyrus, Sua-Filo, etc.
Those guys will drop and we will get Top 20 talent as the rest of the teams flock to scarce resources that inflates value.
The more I study him, the more I like Zack Martin in the first.
If an OT or OG is there and is BPA, I think the Eagles hand in the pick without hesitating. I know I’d be happy adding another good O-line into the mix.
Martin is great and I would have no problems with him as our first pick. The guy is just so polished.
Is it wrong to hope that 21 QBs get picked in the 1st round before the Eagles are on the clock?!
Jadeveon Clowney is not going to be happy when Keith Wenning and Kenny Guiton get picked before him.
It’ll just give him incentive to take off some more plays.
Tough!
My kingdom for Mosley in Round 1 and Marcus Smith in Round 2.
Don’t hate it,,,,but would probably be happier if we could trade down, get an extra pick and take KVN and Marcus….but that’s probably greedy of me…
…
But at the very least I would hope we get out of this draft with one:
KVN
Marcus
Attauchuo
Barr
Dion Jordan
Mosely
,..
Need to add ATleast one impact LB in one way or another, I like Mosley, but fear Chip wants Meco here for two more years, less snaps, restructured deal…I don’t think Chip wants to be playing musical chairs with the QB of the defense and FACE of the defense who does all the press conferences…If the plan is to cut Meco after this year than go draft Mosley. If we think we can get an extra year or two under Meco with less snaps, than I prefer KVN because I think his versatility can get him more snaps while Meco is still here
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Drafting a guy you saw as a 3rd rounder in the mid 2nd because the draft is weak on pass rushers sounds like a textbook reach for need to me. No thanks. And the “upon further review” stuff sounds exactly like confirmation bias.
Kinda hope they get trent murphy
Well done Tommy
called it. Excellent!
Damn tommy
awesome tommy!
This guy nailed it!! Well done.