Moving Up For Mike Evans?
Posted: April 11th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 113 Comments »The Eagles like WR Mike Evans. Chip Kelly went to his Pro Day. Then the team brought Evans to Philly for a visit. But just how much do the Eagles like him?
– Consensus is Mike Evans/WR/Texas A&M is a lock to be a top ten pick. Several teams feel the spread between he and Sammy Watkins of Clemson is not a great as many are making it out to be, something I completely agree with.Based on conversations its my educated “guess” the team who selects Evans will make a trade to acquire his services . Right now it looks like three teams are the frontrunners to make some sort of move for Evans. If the St Louis Rams trade out of the second spot, and they will make every effort to do as much, Evans would be a target assuming they stay in the top ten. Two teams selecting in the middle of the first frame who are very high on Evans and would consider trading up to grab him are the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.
Why such love for Evans?
Size is the first thing that gets your attention. Riley Cooper is a big receiver at 6-3, 222. Evans is huge at 6-5, 231. And he’s athletic. This is a huge WR that has good speed, agility and explosive ability. That makes him rare. Evans isn’t some freak that is more athlete than football player. He posted huge numbers for Texas A&M, including big games against some elite competition.
Every now and then you see a guy with great size/speed numbers who is a clear developmental prospect. Not Evans. He is a very talented player that should contribute immediately and could become the kind of receiver you build a passing game around. Evans is one of the rare guys who can be open even when he is double-teamed. He’s 6-5 with 35 inch arms. Who’s going to out-jump him for a pass?
Evans is a great fit for the Eagles. He could become a dominant blocker, which would help the run game. He has good RAC ability, which helps the quick screens. Evans can also be a good downfield receiver, which helps to stretch the defense.
I still question just how likely it is the Eagles will move up. They’ve only got 6 picks. I don’t think they will pay a high price to move up for a player. The flip side to that thinking is that they may feel Evans will be available later than he normally would due to the draft being so good. If the Eagles have him rated as Top 5, ten trading up to pick 10 or 12 may be good value.
In essence, this isn’t a question of whether they like him, but if they think Mike Evans is a special player that is worth the cost.
Stay tuned.
* * * * *
Speaking of liking a player…the Eagles sent Duce Staley down to Auburn for RB Tre Mason’s Pro Day.
I can see the Eagles liking Mason a lot. He’s my favorite RB in the draft. I don’t think he is the best, but I love watching him play. Mason runs so hard that you can’t help but love watching him.
The Eagles don’t need a RB, but they could like Mason so much that they feel he’s worth taking anyway. If they have a high grade on him and he slides a bit (as so many RBs do), the Eagles might feel he’s too good to pass up.
I do think Mason would be a great fit for Kelly’s spread running attack. Mason is a N-S runner who has terrific power and doesn’t go down on first or second contact. He likes to make one quick cut and keep his shoulders facing upfield. Enjoy these highlights.
I tend to think the Eagles won’t take a RB, but never say never.
_
Someone (Tommy or Jimmy Kempski or someone else) recently wrote up a review of Atlanta’s move up to snag Julio Jones. The short version is they traded the equivalent of one full draft class.
I don’t see Evan, or Sammy Watkins, or even Jadevon Clowney (clearly the best player in this draft) being worth that.
I asked Tommy and Jimmy on Twitter if they would trade the Eagles 2015 1st round pick to move up for Mike Evans. Not that I expect that one pick, with their 2014 1st, would likely be enough for Evans, but it’s an interesting thought experiment.
I wouldn’t do it. Trading future firsts is a huge gamble. You don’t know if you’re trading the 1st pick or the 32nd. The Eagles aren’t a team that’s one piece away from being a Super Bowl contender. The Falcons thought they were in 2011. We know how that turned out. Gutting a couple draft classes left them with an older team, a lack of young talent, and poor depth.
I’d rather get 5 starters in 2 years than 1 elite talent and maybe 1-2 starters.
That’s a great debate for discussion. What/where 5 starters you talking about? How dominate are those 5 starters? Eagles have 11 starters on D where no one is special and we see how that’s working out. If he’s Julio Jones, I’m all over him. What guarantee is there that the 22 pick would be a starter? I’m not saying trade the farm and move up to 2 but 10? 12? I take that gamble. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong to move or stay where they are. I’m on the fence. One thing I do think is apparent – the Eagles are after a WR. If you’re that dead red on getting one — why not go after the best one?
Well 2012 – Cox, Kendricks, Foles and Boykin
2013 – Johnson, Ertz, and Logan
Looks like Eagles will have 7 starters from last 2 drafts. Even if you count Ertz and Boykin more as role players, it’s still 5.
Here’s a thought. If you trade the farm, as Atlanta did in 2011, for a single elite talent, aren’t you basically saying you can’t count on developing solid, competitive talent from the regular draft process? And if you can’t, how can you trust your evaluation of that elite talent?
Trading a lot of your eggs for a single one makes one unhappy Easter Bunny.
It’ll make one hell of a satisfying breakfast though.
And that “elite” talent (Jones) really isn’t that good and has half of a foot.
Your kidding I assume…Julio half foot..as the native Indians call him…is better than any eagle receiver…
Just because they are starters on the eagles doesn’t mean they are very good players. They are fine players. For the ultimate goal..these players have to up their game a lot. Logan and Ertz probably has a higher ceiling. Kendricks disappointing last year. Also..moves after getting Julio weren’t the greatest. Again not saying they sell the farm like Atlanta did..but moving up to 12th is no longer a reach…
Trading next years 1 would be a much lower price than the Falcons paid overall for Jones, but I don’t think we would trade next years 1 to move up anyhow, that’s a steep price to pay to get a guy and we do like to hoard picks anyhow.
But do we really “like to hoard picks?”
This is only CK’s second draft. Maybe he has a different philosophy.
Great point.
It’s possible that the Eagles do not like the potential of next years draft. It is hard to predict that far in advance but the Birds probably have some idea of who may be coming out
Totally agree. ATL ‘s LB corps last year wound up being mostly UDFAs. And their OL failed to protect Ryan well. They might have been better served to have stayed put and added boring OL and LB talent, considering how awful their record was.
Wow — what a great piece on the rb. You’re right, now can you not like him. Whatever round he’s predicted, or rated, if he’s the BPA — don’t the Eagles have to take him?
Tre Mason seems perfect for Mike Shanahan.
Tre Mason would do wonders for getting the Auburn-loving in-laws to buy-in on the Eagles. At the very least, he would help counteract the evils of having Evan Mathis, DeMeco Ryans and Damion Square on the roster.
I’ll call Chip Kelly and let him know. Done deal.
Many, many thanks. It would go a long way toward eliminating the awkward moments of silence between me and my father-in-law when he mutes the TV during commercial breaks of “Southland.”
Crazy thing about that Julio Jones deal is that the Browns didn’t do much with all those picks. Phil Taylor was a great pick, but after that it was Greg Little, Brandon Weeden, a FB, and part of the trade to get Trent Richardson. This doesn’t mean the Browns lost the trade – without doing the research, I’m POSITIVE they could have drafted better – but it does show you just how fickle drafting is.
Mike Evans is an elite talent – is an elite talent worth #22 and #56 – say Brandin Cooks and Marcus Smith? All we know right now is from a physical standpoint, Mike Evans is 1 in a billion, whereas guys with Cooks’ and Smith’s measurables are far more common.
Maybe there is something to be said for drafting with a “barbell” approach. Gut your mid-round picks for elite talent at the top of the draft, then fill the roster with late round picks – the Joe Kruger, Earl Wolff, Jason Kelce type guys. Bryce Brown was a 7th round pick, Jason Peters went undrafted, Cary Williams was a 7th rounder. This strategy obviously only works if you draft well obviously….its basically the opposite of Howie’s FA “batting average” approach.
My only problem with this approach is the Eagles have drafted exceptionally well in the mid-rounds over the last two years – Boykin, Kendricks, Foles, Logan, Ertz.
End of the day, I’m in the “trade back” camp – I would trade our 1st to the 49ers for a 2nd, 3rd and 4th (not even their 1st), but I’m not sure how much of that is “sound” strategy and how much of it is being a fan that enjoys the draft and wants more picks.
I disagree. Physically Evans could be found anywhere. Just look at the TE groups recently. Randy Moss, Megatron, and Vernon Davis are probably one in a billion. I don’t need to mention Bo Jackson since he’s practically a demi-god in terms of athleticism.
Bo Jackson is like one in a trillion.
I think 6’5″ 230 lb guys that move with the fluidity of Mike Evans and have his body control (along with 4.5 speed) are pretty special I guess. He’s a natural athlete, compared to the stiff Benjamin/Moncrief type guys.
But its a fair point – one in a billion might be overstating his case a bit.
Well yea when you put him up against Kelvin Benjamin,he looks pretty good. I’ll put it this way, Zach Ertz is almost as agile as Evans and Tyler Eifert is more agile than Evans. The two TEs have 20+ pounds on Evans and ran .1s slower. It’s about perspective sometimes.
What? You want to trade down from 22 to 56 KC pick SF has for a mid 3rd round pick (77 from Titans?) and almost a 5th round pick? You can probably trade down from 54 and get a pick around 77 that almost 5th rounder and more and keep the 22nd pick.
It’s possible my values off – I didn’t look at the chart. Point was I’d be willing to trade out of the first entirely for additional 2nd and 3rds.
Ok. Would need to be for both their 2nds and their own 3rd as opposed to 1 2nd, 1 3rd, and 1 4th. The way you said not even their 1ST, I didn’t know if you meant you would trade 22 for 56 and a 3rd and 4th or for both their second round picks and a 3rd and 4th.
You should be able to get a 3rd round pick if you move down 8 to 15 spots. Dallas traded 18 to SF for 31 last year for the 74th pick.
Teams don’t always go by the same chart but you can’t give the pick away.
Eagles (22nd) = 780
SF owns these picks:
KC (56th) = 340
SF (61st) = 292
SF (77th) = 205
SF (94th) = 124
SF (129th) = 49
Tommy, is it possible that upon evaluation that the Eagles may not like next years draft that much and may want to use a couple chips from next years draft to gain more ammo for this loaded draft? I am not a big proponent for trading future draft picks for players now, but it is possible that the Eagles see next years potential draft class as significantly weaker than this year and may mortgage some of next years draft for players now
And I just realized that others have already raised this point
The main reason this draft is seen as so deep is because of the record number of underclassmen who came out early. However more and more underclassmen have come out early since the new CBA. With the way the contract market works, players don’t make a ton of money on their rookie deals. Demariyus Thomas went 22nd in the 2010 draft, which was the last year before the new CBA he got 5 years 14.1 million. Xavier Rhodes went 22nd in last years draft, and got 4 years 7.8 million. Thomas’s deal adjusted for inflation would have been just over 15 million in 2013.
So for players the better option is to get into the league, get a little bit of money immediately and hit free agency younger. Now they are a little bit younger and can possibly get another year on their big money contract. So rather than stay and school and risk injury/poor performance, and put wear and tear on their bodies for no money, they choose to come out. The difference between say going in the 3rd or fourth and getting say Matt Barkley money at 4 years and 2.6 million vs. staying and hoping to improve enough to go in the first round and get 4 years 7.8 million, is a worthy risk. Players are betting on themselves that they can perform well enough in the league to more than make up that difference on their second contract.
Then you also have the guys who are never going to be first round picks but if they stay they may go in the 50-100 range. Let’s look at Joe Kruger for example. Last year he got drafted in the seventh round and will make something like 1.8 million over four years. Why would he stay? He gets in the league at a younger age for a million or two less than he would have gotten if he stayed, improved, and didn’t get hurt? Once again he now hits contract 2 at a younger age and say he would be done playing at age 32 either way. Now he has one more year of NFL pay to make up for the loss of money by not being drafted potentially as high.
The way the CBA is designed we are going to continue to see large numbers of underclassmen declare every year. Next year’s draft will be plenty talented at the top no matter what. The only real difference will come in the year the underclassmen stop declaring in droves. Even in that year it won’t completely devestate the draft. The difference will be that you won’t be able to get top 50 type talent in the back end of the third, and you won’t be able to draft fringe top 100 talent in the fifth. Trying to figure the year the underclassmen decide to all stay in school is like a game of musical chairs, but I would bet a large sum of money that next year isn’t when the music stops.
This is the sort of contemplative, cogent football analysis that has no place on an in-home LASIK surgery forum.
Also – D3FB – as we discussed a while earlier, it’ll be interesting to see if the influx of underclassmen (and resultant increase in non-draftees / non-roster-makers) will precipitate a rise in CFL talent or off-season UDFA signings a year from now… the secret “year 2” draft where you pick up guys who slipped through the cracks but didn’t completely vanish.
Lastly, there’s probably no way to ever account for it, but I’d be curious to know if more or less underclassmen are ultimately served by declaring early? How many guys that could’ve profited by one more year of collegiate seasoning never make a roster vs. guys that get injured their senior year, etc.
Double lastly, I wonder what ramifications the underclass boom has on veteran special teamers and solid back-ups currently on teams? If I’m a GM, am I stashing UDFAs on IR and practice squads and even on the back-end of my roster for developmental purposes, and doing so at the expense of Brad Smith, Chris Maragos, Bryan Braman et al.?
You are far too kind. There was a proposed change that got no traction at the owners meeting to expand rosters and practice squad sizes, so somebody somewhere wants to be able to stash and store these players. I also think veteran fringe types will feel the pain of the excess of underclassmen. If the younger player shows any type of production in camp and is solid on special teams, the player who makes the cut will likely be the one playing for 30% of the price tag for 70% of the production in the near term and has the upside of becoming a more serious contributor to the offense or defense.
Makes sense. Also means there might be solid veteran fringe types available… provided your team isn’t loading up on the younger lotto tickets.
I wonder if the proposed roster-expansion change at the owners’ meetings has its roots with the NFLPA, and what the opposition would be other than a slight increase in payroll.
Wasn’t part of the proposal to change the cut-down dates so teams would have more time to evaluate their newly acquired talent? If the underclass surge continues I could see at least that part getting traction… though not if it’s coupled with a longer pre-season or more exhibition games.
The later cut down date was proposed by the Redskins and apparently got beat down and sent home, just like the Redskins.
Ha! If you want real, legislative change, why on earth would you try to go through D.C.?
Not football related, but a good one. Although I believe the term “hot potato” can be used in both places.
The Eagles could think that Evans skill set fits really well with Nick Foles at QB. Nick has already shown the faith to throw to his guys in coverage knowing they will come down with it. Evans is that type of guy.
The back I would love to see us draft this year?
Ka’Deem Carey- Ran for 3814 yards and 42 TDs over the last two years. Great zone back, reads line well, sets up his block and hits the hole. He is a willing and fairly good blocker. He will drag defensive linemen, he will truck linebackers and will put a move on a safety. Legs constantly churning. Has good hands. Has very few runs for negative yards, and does a great job of getting positive yards even when met in the backfield. He’s not CJ2K in the home run department. Will never have a bunch of 60+ yard TDs. He will however have a fair share of the 20+ variety. I am reminded of the quote: “You never go broke taking a profit”. Would be perfect complement to Shady and his tendency to want to turn everything into a TD.
Ka’Deem Carey’s nice and all, but I’m hoping for a glorious comeback season from Nate Ilaoa.
I think you mean Tony Hunt.
I think I mean Tony Hunt riding on Nate Ilaoa’s shoulders, with Reno Mahe following behind on a tow rope.
Somehow Jeremy Bloom fits into this.
He get’s to go all “The Last Boy Scout” with a .38 snubnose.
I think Mahe is actually faster in this scenario.
He’ll find a way to go slower – THAT’S his superpower.
Yeah, I worded that poorly. I should have said that this arrangement would increase Mahe’s top speed.
I’m still driving the bill sampy train all the way to awesometown. Different position, but some players transcend the rules.
Bill Sampy! lol I’d all but forgotten him. I’m still on the Robert Redd bandwagon.
Don’t even get me started on Michael gasperson
Evans is one of 3 guys I would trade up for. The other two are Barr and Ebron.
I didnt mention Clowney, Watkins and Mack as they wont drop near enough for a trade up.
Of the 3 on top, I prefer Barr the most because I believe a defense needs elite talent more than offense does. See the Eagles 2011 talent, no cohorision, but lots of talent, so we had a top 10 scoring defense and counter that with the Saints offense (or our own, only 1 elite talent, rest was 2nd round or later). Only Brees is a high pick (32nd overall) but it still produces elite level each year.
IMO Clowny and Greg Robinson are the only ELITE talents worth trading up for…but it would cost too much, and in this draft,giving away picks is just foolish
I wonder which one of the following sets of players would improve the Eagles this season and beyond more:
1. Dee Ford – Attaochu – Aaron Colvin – DeSean Jackson
Or
2. Mike Evans – LDT
Time’s yours…
I don’t even think Pryor will be on our draft board…..not what we look for in a safety….6th-7th round jOnathon Dowling seems more likely to me….
…
I would prefer just drafting Antone Exum and if he doesn’t get his CB speed back, mov him back to Safety where he played for 3 seasons…at CB Exum is 6’0 213lbs, but he can easily move up to 220lbs of shredded muscle if we move him back to safety..
….
CB and Safety IMO won’t be addressed til late in the draft… Think this draft is about:
1) Getting Chip Kelly his own offensive weapons
2) improving our ability to get off the field on 3rd down
Why is Jackson part of the first? Didnt knew we could draft him
It’s a different DeSean Jackson. You are thinking of the tattooed, cocky, punk WR. GE is suggesting we draft this guy in the seventh.
I believe you’ve made a mistake. This fellow never played football in his life – he teaches physics at Harvard.
No. tHIS guy teaches sports science at Oregon…
You’re a smart arse, my friend.
Always intend in good humor.
You didn’t get my logic then I guess…
Logic is supposed to be logical. Isn’t it?
If he’s there in mid-teens i’m ok jumping — he’s by far the best big man in the draft – I can just see the way that Kelly looks at him; salivating. Honestly, if he’s not there I’d try to move back into the second (though i understand they like Lee and I like Ealy too).
If Tre Mason is going to be an NFL running back, keep Duce Staley FAR AWAY from him.
Duce’s advice:
If you need one yard, get three
If you need 5 yards, get three
If you’re team has Ricky Watters leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage, get rid of him and keep the worse player.
Because Duce was so terrible with Lesean McCoy last year?
He wasn’t great with Byce or Polk. He wasn’t great with McCoy either. How long did it take him to learn to run in a straight line?
We literally have the most talented backfield in the game and i don’t think they played to their potential (including McCoy).
A few questions in response:
1. How can you isolate and evaluate Staley’s effect on the backs, especially without going to practice or standing on the sideline during games?
2. Haven’t brown and Polk already exceed their expected outputs given that they were a 7th round pick and an UDFA respectively?
3. What more would you like Shady to do?
1) He’s the RB coach who else should we attribute it to? CK creates the scheme but gotta assume that double d is the one working with these guys day to day on how to run within the scheme, how to hit holes, etc.
2) Yes, but I don’t care in what round they were taken – I care more about maximization of talent, since that’s the point of a coach. Can’t just give a free ride to guys at the back of the roster.
3) Took shady a while to run well within he scheme — running straight instead of always dancing behind the line – same with Bryce always cutting to the outside (though understand some plays were designed that way and that’s his natural inclination as a runner). W/r/t shady obvious nitpicking since he had a great year, but there’s things he could have done better. But i’d like to see improvement there.
A lot of that stuff that you’re complaining about from Shady and Bryce aren’t really Duce’s fault. They’re habits engrained from youth football, high school and college. Blame those coaches for the way those guys ran. Duce getting those two out of those habits is much tougher than it sounds since they’ve been playing that way for so long.
Exactly. Player development is partially the responsibility of the position coach, but it’s mostly on the player to get better. And I can’t imagine how you’d accurately parcel out credit for someone’s improvement.
You’re right. Difference between coaching and being coach-able.
McCoy have had him as his personal coach for 1 season now.
The Eagles let Ricky Watters leave in FA because he was becoming a bit of a problem. Ricky was fine when he got here and the team was winning, but he stopped listening to Ray Rhodes and became the same kind of distraction that he had been in SF when they let him go.
Yeah but the entire team has largely tuned out Rhodes too by the end of the ’97 season and the Eagles didn’t want to give Watters a raise & a long-term deal.
Smartly so. Watters was a RB nearing 30 at that point, with a lot of mileage on him. He had only one moderately productive season after leaving the Eagles, and Duce was clearly a superior player to him by 1999.
Duce 1999:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/StalDu00.htm
325 attempts – 1273 yards – 4 TD – 3.9 per carry
41 catches – 294 yards – 2 TD – 7.2 per catch
1567 yards from scrimmage and 6 total TDs
Watters 1999
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WattRi00.htm
325 – 1210 – 5 – 3.7
40-387-9.7-2
1597-7
Watters 2000
1885 total yards from scrimmage 9 TDs
Duce 2000 and 2001 combined
18 games
1775 total yards from scrimmage and 5 TDs
How is Duce clearly superior? We should have kept Watters and used him to bridge the team to Westbrook.
3.7 YPC sucks. That Watters got a lot of touches doesn’t mean he was an effective player. And Duce missed almost an entire season with a foot injury in those years. Considering that he was being paid on a third round rookie deal while Watters got big money in free agency to go to Seattle I think it’s reasonable to say he was the more effective player, with costs factored in.
And what do you mean “bridge to Westbrook”? In 1998 when Watters left Westbrook was in high school. Nobody even knew that he was going to be an effective college player much less an NFL star. In the NFL you can’t make plans on what might happen 3 or 4 years down the road.
There were other players they could have drafted in the time between when Watters should have continued to be the feature back here and prior to when Westbrook was drafted. Duce Staley did nothing but leave thousands of yards and dozens of TDs on the field due to his obnosious slowness and propensity for being tackled from behind by fat people. I honestly cannot think of many players more overrated by the Philadelphia fan base than Duce Staley. The RBs under Reid looked better with Darnell Autry and Brian Mitchell in spot starts than they every did with Staley back there.
2003 was just an illusion then?
This comment is straight-up asinine.
Staley wasn’t a star, but he was a solid, workmanlike runner who was very good in the receiving game and excelled at blitz pickup. Darnell Autry wasn’t an NFL caliber player – he averaged less than 3.0 YPC for his career, more or less the equivalent of the Mendoza line for NFL running backs. And Brian Mitchell was nothing more than a decent kick returner by the time he got to the Eagles.
It may be true that Eagles fans overrate Staley, but bashing him in a completely idiotic, fact-free fashion doesn’t help your argument.
Except Watters continued to have excellent seasons in Seattle after he left here. If we kept Watters as an Eagle with his level of production from 98 though 2002(ish) he would have played enough football to qualify stats wise for the HOF whereas he’s a tad short stat wise now.
I can’t help but wonder why there are people on here posting numerous complaints about events that happened FIFTEEN or more years ago? Honestly, Mr. Lawlor, I hope you have better things to do with your time than go through this silliness.
“Ricky was fine when he got here”
I guess you mean before he played his first game for us.
“For who? For what?” – screw you, Ricky.
Better keep Greg Popovich far away from NBA basketball players. He wasn’t even good enough to play in the league.
Just to follow up with everybody, I have a permanent grudge against Staley because he should have never been kept on the roster over Ricky Watters.
So let me get this straight… we’re supposed to take what you say seriously because you hold a grudge over a fifteen year old decision to let an aging, overpriced running back who wasn’t even that good leave in free agency against a guy who had nothing to do with making that decision. Got it.
And they say Philadelphia fans aren’t rational!
And I (along with a lot of other long-time Eagles fans, I suspect) have a permanent grudge against “For who? For what?”-body.
And as far as Duce goes, the guy would run through multiple walls for you. He was the anti-Watters in that respect.
So we want Duce to coach Tre? I think I would rather see us trade up for A. Quattro and truly upgrade.
I am becoming alarmed by the number of parallels between the mistakes of the Reid era and the rumors about this draft. Here we have a “trade-up in the first round” possibility. Well, that consistently failed in the Reid era. And if this is a deep draft, it’s a terrible idea to reduce your picks!
But also we have seen the “Canadian OL” rumor. Danny Watkins memories have faded. We have had the “CB with the knee injury in the 3d round but he would have gone first round otherwise” rumor about Aaron Colvin. And the several guys who didn’t play 3-4 OLB in college but that’s OK because the staff can coach them into one, which brings back all kinds of memories of the Chris Gocong mishandling.
I worry that 1 year of success fosters the arrogance if the later Reid era.
What they should do is stay put in a deep draft, draft only healthy players who have produced consistently in college, take BPA at Ny position other than QB & RB where there is enough depth, and slot them at a position they slready know how to play. If it’s a deep draft, there are players out there who fit that bill.
Chris Gocong? How long ago was that, exactly? Who was scouting, evaluating or coaching then?
The guy ” Reid” who I mentioned twice in my comment.
I really don’t like Evans at all. I’m convinced that IF there is a trade up they are using Evans as a smoke screen.
So they release their Pro Bowl caliber WR and pay a hefty price to move up and likely overpay all to have a big WR? I really hope this doesn’t transpire.
That’s why I don’t see them moving up for a WR. Kelly clearly indicated he believes they can with without a #1 WR due to the system, why immediately go back on that?
Howie Roseman “I can see a WR being the BPA everytime it’s our turn to make a pick”…..so why the hell would you trade picks we don’t even have to trade to move up for a WR? Sounds silly to me…of course Mike Evans trade up rumors will get clicks this time of year, and you can make up any rumor you want and no one would know
I wouldn’t worry too much about this…Evans is a great talent, who is being drafted so high because he is polished and NFL ready…but there are penty of raw, similar WR athletes to be had later in the draft, and I’m confident our coach can turn one of these big raw WRs into a comperable talent to Evans 3 years from now…
…
Bet 6’5 260lb TE Sefarian Jenkins is around the same speed as Evans
Martevis Bryant! Brandon Coleman….Chip should Identify a raw big boy who can be had a little later who he can mold into a beast…we won’t get an instant impact beast like Evans…but I like chips chances of getting a raw kid who by year two can take an Alshon Jeffries type leap
Bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush
Bird in hand makes you a jerkoff 🙂
I am really loath to sacrifice later round picks to move up — in any draft, but in particular this one.
The team’s spotty track record in moving up to get someone — Jerome McDougle, Brandon Graham underscores the unpredictability of identifying truly great early round players. Even when the team is hailed for landing an assumed great player like Jeremy Maclin who slipped to their reach in 2009, his career has been solid so far, but not close to the dominant one that many predicted.
I keep looking at those fourth and fifth and sixth round picks you’re surrendering for that “sure thing” such as what turned out to be Jason Kelce, Brandon Boykin, Brent Celek, Trent Cole, etc. and come to the conclusion that spreading your risk is the more prudent approach. Give yourself more chances to succeed and less on the first round crap shoot.
Chip Kelly has been to numerous Pro Days. And several players have been or will be in Philly for visits.
Really?
Holy crap, you gotta be kidding me?!
In other news: the sun sets in the West.
For those who believe rumors in the media this time of year, like the Eagles trading up to get a WR in a STACKED WR draft…I have the fountain of youth in my basement, $5 per glass….I can also introduce you to Santa or let you pet a magic pink unicorn…even acknowledging these rumors is ridiculous, what are we? Les Bowan? WorthLES? L-bow(props to Andy for this gem) as the LA crips call him?
Please don’t ever say “magic pink unicorn” ever again. I’m not going to be able to eat for a week.
It’s imperative that we trade a 2015 2nd round pick to the Niners for the 77th pick in the draft…Niners have to blow draft picks on injured players and trading up because they have too many picks and not enough roster spots…you can BET that they would LOVE to convert on of their 37 draft picks to a 2015 pick a round higher….we need that 77th pick…
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I’m not a fan of mortgaging the future, but if we keep our 2015 first round pick, we can try and trade back next year to recoup the pick we traded away…..
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This draft is too special, we only have 6 picks and we need to take advantage of Chip still knowing all the college players…in 2 years we will no longer enjoy that advantage….trade out of round 1 down to beginning of round 2, get an extra 3rd, and then trade for the Niners 3rd…we wouldn’t have a first round I pick but we would have two 2’s and three 3s
Why do we need that 77th pick, what is so special about it?
Uhhhh…we only have 6 picks in a very deep draft to where you will get like a 2nd round talent in a normal draft with the 77th pick…we only have a few more years of our coach knowing these prospects so well, better strike while we can…i don’t think I need to explain how sick it would be to pick 5 times in the top 100 of this draft…plus I suspect that ii will like the 2nd and 3rd round prospects more than the kids that go in the 22-28 range,,,two second round picks can land us a crazy combo like Sefarian Jenkins and KVN…Marcus smith/Moncrief/Cody Lattimore type of haul…….what I really hope is to get a couple 6th and an extra 7th because I really like this years late round prospects like Jeff Janis! Dowling,,,
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Also wouldn’t mind an extra pick to spend on a 1st/2nd round draft and stash(IR) talent who falls to like the 4th or 5th due to injury like Clemson OT/G who tore his ACL this week…we don’t need to play a rookie OL so I wouldn’t mind taking advantage of this kids misfortune the way Ozzie Newsome got OT Brennan Williams in like the 5th round last year….
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Don’t care how the eagles go about it, but we simply can’t have the least amount of picks we have had in years, in such a stacked draft, while our coach still knows so many of these prospects since high school.
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Hoping to use this draft to get Chip his own weapons, improve our ability to get off the field on 3rd down by getting our front 7 in place…so next years draft we can focus on getting younger at OL and Secondary..
Need ATleast 8 picks…
3 new weapons/toys for Chip
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5 new defenders(2 LBs)
Brennan Williams? That the TEXANS drafted in the THIRD round? Exactly where he was expected to be taken based off film?
my point was more why the 77th pick, why not the 75th pick?
Dying to pair Sefarian Jenkins (closest thing I have seen to Gronk) with Ertz. Think they can be a lethal TE tandem
if they can come ouut of this draft with only 2 players, and those 2 players were mike evans and dion jordan…. id give howie major props.
If that’s the case then I’d rather have kept on DeSean and address the needs in our D with multiple draft picks.
If your true target for a first round drop were Anthony Barr, then throwing up a false flag and playing up to everyone’s assumptions you were actually pursuing a (big) WR would make sense. Let the other Barr suitors not pay attention to your moves.
Count me against trading up for Evans.
He may be a fine prospect, but he’s not Calvin Johnson, or even Julio Jones, and in “the best draft in 30 years”, I want more picks, not fewer. Particularly given that this team still has holes, as well as areas of the roster that may be solid right now but are aging (such as OL).
Everytime I am reading ‘WR’ in connection with the ‘Eagles biggest needs heading into the draft’ I am SMFH in disgust…
If we can get him no brainer trade up…