What Kind of WR Will the Eagles Go For?
Posted: April 2nd, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 201 Comments »The Eagles WR corps is going to look different in 2014. DeSean Jackson is gone. So is Jason Avant. There are no guarantees that Damaris Johnson will return. It is going to be very interesting to see how the team goes about rebuilding the receiving corps and what kinds of players they bring in.
Right now the WRs are:
STARTERS
Riley Cooper
Jeremy Maclin
BACKUPS
Arrelious Benn
Brad Smith
POSSIBLE BACKUPS
Damaris Johnson
Jeff Maehl
LONG SHOTS
B.J. Cunningham
Ifeanyi Momah
Will Murphy
You can argue that Darren Sproles should be included in this list. He will be lining up in the slot on a regular basis.
There is room for the Eagles to draft 1 or 2 WRs. Some will argue the team must go for one in the 1st round. I’m not on that bandwagon. I do think the Eagles need a WR early, but I think they can find good help in the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd round. This is a deep, talented class. There will be lots of choices.
If a WR is the best player at 22, they can go for him. If not, they don’t need to force the issue. The Eagles do have Cooper and Maclin coming back. The cupboard isn’t bare.
The thing I’m curious about is if Chip Kelly has a preference in his type of receiver. Will he go more for speed or size? DeSean was a smaller guy that thrived in Kelly’s offense, but you can’t ignore the fact that Cooper, Benn, Smith and the others are either average sized or flat out big guys.
While there is always an argument to be made for speed, size has plenty of benefits as well. Bigger guys tend to be better blockers. They don’t need separation to be open. Bigger receivers can out-muscle DBs for the ball. Big receivers can be more effective in the Red Zone as well.
Denver didn’t have an elite speedster this year. Nor Green Bay. The Saints haven’t had a consistent vertical threat in a couple of years. You don’t need speed to throw the ball. It helps, but isn’t necessary. You can move the ball if you have big guys with okay speed or if you have WRs with excellent quickness.
We’re still learning about Kelly and I’m interested to see what he does. The one thing Kelly mentioned recently is that he wants someone that can beat man coverage. To many, this means speed. But that isn’t the case. You can beat man coverage with route-running, quickness and/or size. The key is to find someone that can consistently win using one of these methods.
I think one of the key traits Kelly will focus on is RAC ability. You need players who can catch short passes and then make something happen. This is where quickness and elusiveness can be just as important as speed. A fast receiver can run by players. Someone who is quick and elusive can catch the ball in traffic and then make guys miss. That’s critical with the amount of quick screens the Eagles throw to WRs. You need players who can turn nothing into something.
In the coming days, I’ll be talking about different prospects the Eagles could have interest in. Some will be big. Some fast. Others will be somewhere in-between. We’ll find out Kelly’s thinking about a month from now when the Eagles make some draft picks.
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I’m biased towards him, since I watch all Penn State games, but I can see in Allen Robinson things the Eagles will love except straight line speed. Size at 6-2 and 220 pounds, decent route running, above average hands, and incredible body control when he goes up for a jump ball. He lined up wide, and also in the slot. He also blocked in the running game a lot in the last two years.
Is he a 20 year old Anquan Boldin? Probably not as hard to bring down, but there’s a lot to like if he’s available at pick 54.
Honestly I have to disagree. It pains me because I’m a PSU fan, but I do not like Robinson. I’ll agree with you on the hands, the size, and the body control. His route running is pretty bleh, I’ve watched almost all of his film and have yet to see him run a route where he made a cut that made me sit up and pay attention. There were a few corners that bit on things, but alot of that was more play calling having set the corners up to guess wrong rather than Robinson running a great route. I also see a poor blocker, he’s not fundamentally sound. He also isn’t terribly interested. I watched the Indiana film earlier today and almost threw up at the lack of effort/craps given on some of his blocks. The last play on the tape in particular, yes I know you are getting blown out but at least go stalk block somebody.
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/allen-robinson-vs-indiana-2013/
Speaking of Indiana film..how bout that Cody Latimer?
Man crush city.
Hes OK…. mid round guy
Didn’t I see somewhere that the Eagles paid quite a bit of attention to Latimer?
He’s coming in for a visit.
Yes, please.
Love Latimer. Legit 2nd round possibility for Eagles if we pass on Cooks/ODB in 1st.
He certinly doesnt run great routes, but then again how many college WRs do?
And i have noticed him seem disinterested in blocking a few times…
Watkins, ODB, Cooks, Matthews, Abbrederis, Huff, Lattimer, TJ Jones, Campanaro
How would you rank RAC ability? Cooks has to be near the top of that list too, no?
Cooks has great RAC skills. ODB has very underrated RAC skills as well. I won’t be mad if we take either one.
Either would go a long toward assuaging our feeling of loss over “Jaccpot”.
Robinson reminds me of a poor man’s Kenny Britt. I’d take Latimer and a few other mid-round WRs over drafting Robinson on day 1.
Britt? no way. Well.. in terms of speed YES!! But brit has very small hands for his soze and coming out of college he would always catch the ball into his body, he cant extend and pluck the way allen can.
And id take allen ALL DAY over cody, like not even close.
Britt only had concentration problems when he declared for the draft. He was better than Robinson in almost every aspect of the game in college.
Britt is a certified body catcher.
Britt was/is just faster and a nastier blocker.
Britt certinly wasnt better production wise. and again britt is a body catcher. Allen is way more advanced in catching the ball. like not even close.
Uhh no. Robinson has average hands and also body catches. He doesn’t even play to his size sometimes. Going up against 5’10 receivers and not contesting some catches? Don’t need that.
Uhh yes.
And Robinson is a WR bro.. lol..
Well my bad it’s late for me. 5’10 CBs. there ya go.
I’m a big AR and PSU fan the things you’ve seen are true but are things that I believe can be coached out of him I believe. There’s just something about his game that I think would work well in this offense. His YAC ability is something that would appeal to birds imo. Cody Latimer would be great value in the 4th if he’s there
I agree with you, I really hope the Eagles stay away from Robinson, Matthews and Benjamin.
Give me a Beckham Jr and Landry and Im gonna be super happy
I agree on Benjamin and Robinson. I would actually substitute Adams for Matthews. I really like Matthews.
Agree 100% about Allen. Not my fav WR in the draft, but he is up there… and that body control with that 39 in vert is SICK!!! I dont think we have had a guy that can jump like that.. EVER!!!
I’ve pointed this out before, just look at Oregon, WR is one of the easiest positions to recruit, yet the smallest starting WR was Huff at 5’11, 205 lbs, 4.48 speed, Maehl was 6’1 185, 4.6 speed, Tunuei was huge, and he had two fast H-backs in Dickson and Lyerla and a “possession” H-back in Paulson. His fast/quick guys were scatbacks, setting up mismatches splitting out of the back field, Barner, James and Thomas.
And look at the guys they brought in, Benn, Cunningham, Momah, Smith, Maehl, see a pattern there?
So I expect outside WRs to be at least 6’0 (maybe 5’11 if they’re stocky with longer arms), scat back/slot WRs can be smaller, but will be drafted later. I don’t think Chip sees the need for speed on the outside, 4.45 is more than fast enough and 4.55 is probably just fine, the ability to beat the press, get YAC, run block, soft hands to consistently hand catch and good route running are more important than speed (it’s not that Chip would say no to speed, he just won’t sacrifice more important skills, if you get rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds, what good is a 4.3 WR anyway if he’s hard to see and has shaky hands?).
I can see smaller, quicker guys for subpackage roles and return teams drafted in the later rounds. They can be slot guys, or RBs with good receiving skills (hands and route running, Chip doesn’t want a RB who has to stop and face his QB, the wheel route is a key route in his offense). He’ll take short, but I don’t think he wants guys too small to break arm tackles and get YAC.
They’re are probably going to aggressively pursue UDFAs this year, they’ve sent coaches to practically every pro day around the country, including lots of players who probably won’t be drafted. Good WRs with average speed will fall in this draft, and that’s when I think they’ll become BPA once the first run of WRs is over and teams don’t take a second one.
idk if u can go off of what he had oregan too much at all… because A they werent attracting any big time WRs…. and B it was college and in college you dont face the talent at CB as in the NFL. WR is MUCH more important to chip in the NFL then it was in college. If u dont have a good WR or 2, well be prepared for 8 in the box all day.
They faced 8 in the box all year. Teams were selling out to stop the run above all else.
Yes in oregan they did, not in the NFL. if and when they did there goes desean…
and there goes desean…
Well, teams clearly felt they were better served stacking the box than doing all they could to slow DeSean.
Then why didnt they stack the box all year? lol.. thats what they did to oregon NOT the eagles. Why? Because we had the WRs to to take advantage.
What exactly are you loling about? Anyway, they did stack the box all year. Single high safety, man coverage across the board. That was the predominant gameplan against the Eagles last season.
That’s why Chip said he wants WRs who can beat man.
Because as Kelce pointed out, THEY DID STACK THE BOX, Eagles saw more cover 1 than any other team.
of course they did, but not all year. and they cant do it all the time with desean there..
They did.
Desean was not the best at getting off the line and was often stiffed before he could get started due to his size and lack of strength. Reid figured to get him in motion over his year and Chip did the same thing last year.
This allowed defenses to go cover 1 with a cheat to Desean and this helped Cooper get some long catches. The offense really missed Macklin’s presence and I hope we can get him at least 90% by season start.
I think Kelly learned last year how hard it is to beat man coverage. Guys with size and route running ability and hands and a good comportment are harder to find and come at a premium. You see how ineffective every guy he brought in was and it’s going to be WAY harder this year especially against the gmen.
I think Kelly does take the guys you mention but given the secondaries of the good teams I dont see udfas adding much value I think Cooper is going to have a much tougher year, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of Maclin shows up. Easy to look good against pur secondary in tc last year but can he be the possession guy, will it be ertz?
There’s also the fact that the best WR ever did not run real fast at the combine. He had game speed and great routes and of course, hands.
Wow, good memory. I had no idea about Freddie Mitchell’s 40 time.
Well as long as we doint get a guy who has neither size nor speed.. lol.. please no more reggie browns!!! reggie brown is like the most “meh” wr ever in philly.. lol… and he was our #1 for a good bit.. smh..
When he took that pass to the house against Washington I thought we were watching a true #1 blossom in front of our eyes… Oof.
and I quote(I won’t say who to protect the innocent)…”I still think Reggie Brown will make an impact in the NFL” … that was after the Eagles released him.
lol… smfh
OLB and WR. If dee ford is gone go WR.
I’m not optimistic Ford is there at 22. If he is, along with Calvin Pryor and Brandon Cooks, I’d happy be with any of the three.
I like Cooks, but i like so many more WRs then him. Id take Odell Beckham over cooks all day.
As for Pryor, idk i just dont know. The eagles want the S interchangable, and its still an unknown if pryor can play deep.
I will be incredibly mad if the Eagles took Calvin Pryor anywhere near the first round. The guy is just not smaller than everyone expected, but he’s generally not very fast or specificaly athletic either, which his combine proved thoroughly. No straight line speed(although I do see that he can be explosive at times) and I see some ridiculously stiff hips leading to absolutely zero cutting ability(limiting the use for his explosiveness) and its not like he just looks like a natural in coverage to cover up his lacking athleticism, the polar opposite in my opinion. His limited athleticism bailed his subpar coverage ability out in college, but I seriously doubt that will fly in the pros.
People get all worked up about his big hits(which in themselves will be penalties in the NFL), but the truth is that he can’t tackle. Pryor takes HORRIBLE angles and in my opinion mostly use arm tackles and avoids contact unless he can lay a guy out, i.e.. the Asante Samuel Syndrome. I know those tackling things can be coached, but is that acceptable in the 1st round, a project with little athletic ability? Can we just make general rule that we don’t draft anymore players who desperately needs to learn how to tackle?
And of course you make good point. Chip clearly values versatility and the Jenkins signing screams interchangeable, athletic safeties with coverage ability. I can’t think of a prospect fitting that description worse than Pryor.
I don’t hate Clinton-Dix(honestly who can hate a name like that), but I’m actually not enamored with him either. I would much rather take a guy like Deone Bucannon who will go a full round later, maybe even 2, with limited drop in talent. A much better value pick in my opinion.
Pryor can hold his own in coverage… and is a potential beast against the run…. IF he is there at 22 i hope the Eagles sprint to the podium…. WR’s aplenty in this draft. I hope they wait til the 3. or lower.
well really its an unknown if he can hold his own in coverage because he didnt do much of it.. esp vs NFL teams, ya smell me
I’ve been watching a lot of videos of the WR prospects after D-Jax’s release. The two guys I absolutely love that I think the Eagles could get the 2nd are Lee and Landry.
How you watched Old dirty bastard aka Odell Beckham Jr yet?
I have, but I personally like Landry more since he has better of COD and more explosiveness
Landry is a straight beast and best hands of the group of non-first round wrs.
Landry has the best hands of any WR
Totally agree. There were some plays where he was totally covered and he still managed to pluck the ball.
Marqise Lee / thread
Junipero Serra hs stays pushing out studs. Mlb, nfl you name it
I’m good with a variety of WRs, but I really dislike Benjamin from FSU. Poor route runner, bad hands, and Gil Brant flagged him as a guy who won’t be able to contribute in year one while having too much money and a bad group of friends.
Dude’s only asset is that he’s tall. Slow and like you said poor route runner and bad hands.
The Eagles look for
Hands
Route running
YAC
Blocking
in that order and Kelly also had a comment at the owners meeting about ability to beat man coverage and how size helps.
For me the best combination of the above is Odell Beckham Jr.
Love OBJ, he’s awesome. Cody Latimer who they’re bringing in for a visit is a later round guy I really like too. Watch him vs Penn State on Draft Breakdown, he seems like a Chip Kelly guy.
I know, but I have a serious unhealthy man crush on Beckham.
I also love Jason Verrett, Dennard and Barr, so there is a chance we draft one of them
It’s only unhealthy if he doesn’t get drafted by the Eagles 🙂
Don’t follow college, but I looked at the nfl profiles and thats the guy I thought would fit as well just based on his profile.
Hes got 10″ hands!
Watch some of his games on draftbreakdown.com. The UGA game is a really good one.
So you think Eagles are looking for the most NFL ready prospect? I don’t believe that at all…I think we looking for the best combo of crazy special high Upside AND the Charecter to be committed to working relentlessly to realize that potential and grow into that upside 3 years from now…
…
Hands, route running, they can be improved upon,,,half the great pass catches had questions about their hands entering the league..Heck, just look a a guy like Celek..he couldn’t catch a cold running around the North Pole naked the last two years under Andy, Chip came along and Celeks hand were as reliable as we could have ever asked for…heck! Ertz had questions sorrounding his hands 365 days ago…
..
You can always improve your hands, not needing to Depend on body catching. You can always improve your route running….we won’t have a shot at Evans and I don’t think ODB will be on the board when we pick…we need to swing for the fences and take a raw mega athlete whom we can develop into a Josh Gordon, Alshon Jeffries type a year or two down the road….
“So you think Eagles are looking for the most NFL ready prospect?”
No, but hands, route running can be improved, but not like blocking can. YAC cant be taught and how often do that crazy athlete not pan out?
Rather have the more ready guy like Beckham than a raw Martavis Bryant. Also there is no Gordan or Jeffhry this year (physical speciemen with character concerns who might drop).
There are more Stephen Hill types (H/W/A types who lack hands or something else).
I would of course take a flier on a Martavis Bryant in the 3rd, but if Beckham is BGA (best grade available) in the 1st, we should take him no matter what
That list is depressing.
As good as the early-round WRs are, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Eagles pass on all of them. I tend to think Chip is of the opinion that it doesn’t matter who he has at WR, if he does what he’s told and is at least average size and speed (by NFL standards) then he’ll get open often enough in this scheme for the offense to run well. Obviously you’d prefer bigger, faster, stronger guys, but they also cost more money.
I think, for Chip, WR is a position that he doesn’t need to spend big and, therefore, he’ll go with the less talented players because they’re good enough in his scheme and free up resources to strengthen elsewhere.
We did spend a 2nd on a TE last year tho
Not sure I take your point, unless it’s that Chip is trimming the cap-hit of his WRs by going for top-level TEs (who are always gonna be cheaper than equivalent tier WRs) to further diminish his need to some big on WRs.
my point was that we did use a high pick on a pass catcher last year, so its not like we stay away from it
I figured that’s what you meant, but I was talking specifically about WRs – TEs are typically cheaper and more versatile, so it makes sense that he’d be prepared to use a high pick there but not on a WR.
A WR like Cooks is super versatile or a guy like DAT (I call him WR just like Sproles).
I do think Kelly want more versatile offensive guys like a Cooper (or a Cooks in the draft) who actually lined up as TE sometimes or a Lyerla who is the perfect Kelly player
I think I’m either not explaining myself clearly or I’m not understanding how your replies relate to my point.
What I’m saying is that (in my opinion) Chip’s approach is the WR position (note that I’m saying WR, not ‘pass catcher’ or ‘guys that sometimes line up in the slot’) has a diminished value in his scheme compared to other offenses. By that, I mean that guys who don’t really stand out as a hugely talented player can be much more effective here than they could in a different scheme.
If you compare it to the previous regime, Andy needed good WRs to make his offense go. That’s why he was prepared to give DeSean $9.5m/season.
I just don’t see Chip ever spending that kind of money on a WR because he doesn’t need to. Look at the season Cooper just had; he’s a fairly average talent, but he was very successful in Chip’s offense.
Top-level WRs just aren’t worth the money in this kind of a scheme when you can have a pass-catching TE or a guy like Sproles for much cheaper.
I’m sure Cooks would be really successful in Philly, but would he really be that much more useful than Jared Abbrederis or Josh Huff in this particular scheme? I’d argue probably not and, therefore, drafting a different position early would be a better use of resources.
Wouldn’t at all be surprised if Chip drafted Sefarian Jenkins if he fell to 54
I think we might fo Amaro in the first. Wouldnt surprise me at all. He was pretty much a slot WR in college but he is just about 60 pound heavier 😛
If a WR is the best player at 22, they can go for him. If not, they don’t need to force the issue. – Id hope this is their strategy.
I think the Eagles will get two kinds of WRs in this draft.
1) A guy with sure hands that will catch over 70% of balls thrown his way or catches per target is high. Some attributes would be Good route running ability, hand size over 9 and 5/8, Preferably over 6’1 (but not necessarily needed), elusiveness, etc.
2) A guy that can be our golden tate/D. Thomas. A RAC/YAC guy. Someone who is quick, has above average speed, good route running, preferably possessing size to shake off tackles.
Last year our biggest YAC guy was mccoy. I have been very frustrated with the YAC ability of our WRs. Desean, if he didnt have space, was a self-tackler. He def made up for it in other areas of his game, but we need a guy that can take a 5 yard htich and turn it up field with a DB on his back. Riley has been disappointing in this area, but I think maclin is above average, and A. Benn could possibly fill that role. B. Smith showed signs and flashes last year but he was a late addition.
So the first option should be the sure handed guy. Avant was that for us over the years. But it was always like, why have your 3rd WR be the surest handed? It always felt very weird. We kept doing that with guys like Greg Lewis, and Avant. And our number ones were always guys like stallworth, curtis, and thrash..supposedly deep threats. They were serviceable.
But Id hope we can also get another sure handed tight end. Chad Lewis was simply the man. Ertz could maybe get better at catching, but idk. Casey? Celek drops too many, but of course he makes up for that in other areas and he makes tough catches sometimes, but his hands are somewhat inconsistent.
So, thats my three cents.
Agree with most of your points but another TE isn’t necessary, at least not yet. With only 6 picks I’d be surprised if they went with a luxury pick (TE is the most stacked position on the roster besides RB).
Your right. I guess I am just not sold on our current tight ends.
I believe in casey but his usage was so dismal last year. Celek is solid but I think hes a solid number two and blocks very well (taken from Chip). Ertz. he didnt impress me.
And the drops in key situations have disheartened me to the bunch.
But I am wishing for somehow getting defense, WR, maybe another young O-linemen, and then adding a sure fire tight end that can be that safety net for Foles.
Chip obviously really likes Ertz, and he should see a big increase in his role next year. If he doesn’t they have Casey who barely played last year. They’ll give it another year before going after another TE.
He likes him, he’ll see an increase, but how good do you think he can be?
His hands are average, and for a guy with his level of athleticism, his hands need to be better. Most of his catches last year looked as though he had trouble hauling them in.
Your right, but I am worried about the catching ability of our tight ends. Noone have showed the sure handedness of say Chad Lewis.
But then again, sproles may be the answer to our need of additional safety net reciever for when coverages are good on a particular play.
I think we see more of this
http://www.thechipwagon.com/eagles/2014/03/23-love-ertz.html
Also I think Ertz break 800 yards and 8 TDs next year
I hope so. I hope so.
We need him to win jump balls, and make the every down play though.
But i shouldn’t complain because our tight ends are pretty good. just miss Chad…
I don’t remember Chad making to many spectacular plays, but he was consistent. He was there. almost every play we needed him.
I value consistency over spectacular plays i guess.
I do think Ertz was consistent. I think he had 1 drop last year
I can personally remember more than one drop. His first few games were worse, but he got better as time went on.
Really!…I concede.
Although I can’t technically describe it. there is just something about his game that is just not reliable.
Not saying he can’t improve. But I think if I had to narrow it down to one word, its Balance. He is usually off balance seemingly when making catches, his catches were always sloppy. Idk. I could be just hating on the guy.
I had high expectations for him and he kinda to me didnt impress.
Didnt he have trouble getting open last year to?
idk im tryna find what is.
I think you just had too high expectations for a rookie TE who was forced to miss a lot of time practice time because of stupid NCAA rules.
Also http://www.pro-football-reference.com/pi/share/VR0G6 (ignore the two first, they are incorrectly been shown as TEs). Ertz was 2nd in yards for TEs last year and 2nd in TDs.
I think you have opened my eyes. My only question about that table is where is Jimmy Graham?
is he considered a WR by PFR?
That table was rookies last year only. Graham had 356 yards in his rookie year
Oh ok. Thanks!
Hell, That is good stuff.
COME ON 2014!
” we need a guy that can take a 5 yard htich and turn it up field with a DB on his back.”
Take a look at the first highlight on Jimmy Kempski’s piece on Brandin Cooks at Philly.com today. Mind blowing play.
If Chip gave his definition or Elite WR being a guy that brings both the size and the speed element, why do you think we would settle on a guy with limitations like Cooks? Because Desean was small and fast and we lost him?
…
With all the juicy size/speed combos, coaches who developed the hell out of young plays last year, and the premium we put on work ethic and Charecter, why wouldn’t we swing for the fences and develop special talents like KB or Moncref types?
I was responding to lewis don’s specific comment about taking a 5 yd hitch to the house and you come up with all that?? Dude, reach for the chill pills. You’d be better served by posting a Montcreif clip of a similar play so you can be part of the conversation as opposed to frothing at the mouth attacking everybody’s assumed positions.
What kind of cunt feels attacked, from a Normal conversation? Lol what a bitch hahaha. Out of curiosity which words exactly did you feel disrespected by or under attack because of? Hahahaha what a bitch
if we put premium on work ethic, why would we pick a guy in KB who had serious questions about his motivation at FSU?
What we need is guy that is a SAC* receiver
*(score after catch)
“This is a deep, talented class. There will be lots of choices.” That’s the biggest line of turd spewed every year. No, there isn’t “lots” of choices. Lots of choices for what? To roll the dice on a player? IF CK has a mold as to who he wants at WR, the choices are, by default, limited. CK should be doing his homework here and I trust that he is. Let’s not act like the Eagles can wait til round 3 and 4 to find their WR. No need to post WR X was drafted in round 8 and look how great he is! That’s like saying you’re going to find Brady every year as a QB in late rounds. It doesn’t work like that. I expect Chip to handle the draft like he did free agency. If he doesn’t draft a WR it’s because there isn’t one he thinks would be productive enough in his offense. Chip doesn’t need roster bodies at WR.
Except it’s easier to find a contributing WR after round 2. A partial list of stars or above avg starters drafted in the third round or later in the past 10 drafts: Marshall (4), Antonio Brown (6), Colston (7), B Lloyd (4), Stevie Johnson (7), Garçon (6), Edelman (7), Mike Wallace (3), Hartline (4), Decker (3), Hilton (3), Keenan Allen (3). If you expand the list to include legitimate starters (e.g., Riley Cooper) and legitimate contributors (Cotchery, Avant), it grows exponentially.
Understood. But a couple of things. The Eagles aren’t(and shouldn’t be) looking for a contributing WR. I could argue the “legitimate” starters are dime a dozen. For every Marshall/Brown/Colton, there are tons of WR taken after round 2(even round 1) that pan out to nothing. S Johnson/Garcon/Edelman/Hartline/Hilton need to be dropped down a few pegs to be with Cooper’s category. Eagles knew they were letting DJ go and they still let Decker go to another team. IF Decker was a player Chip wanted, I’m sure he would have kicked the tires on that guy. IMHO, and I understand that Chip can win with level 2 WR’s, Eagles need a Marshall type. Doesn’t have to be elite — but has to be the “man”. There’s a lot to picking this next WR. CK better have plan after what he just did. And that plan better not be — “oh, we’ll wait until the later rounds to find a WR because the class is talented”
See my take is forget about what just happened. Lets just say the guy you are drafting at 22 is going to be “the guy”, and I feel as though a bunch of teams don’t think of their first round pick as “the guy”. Granted this year is different so lets assume he is.
Would you rather have “the guy” at WR over almost any other position? Marshall over say Urlacher, Revis Dawkins, Ware, Peters, even Westbrook? (names/position are in no specific order). If I were starting a team tomorrow WR wouldn’t be what I took knowing he was a lock. The only thing I would take WR over on this team is RB.
Sure “the guy” would be AWESOME to have (btw was Desean that guy?), but all things being equal I would take it else where.
I concur.
Agree with a lot of this. Certainly there are a ton more misses than hits at WR after round 2, but that’s true of every position. I would love to see a study of “hit rates” among positions is the mid-to-late rds. Don’t know that I agree about needing to find the man, given the overall strength of their skill group (esp if ertz develops the way I think he will) and their line. I’m good with the BPA approach.
They might not guy they’re looking for this year. That’s hard to do. I’m stoked about Ertz!
“Denver didn’t have an elite speedster this year. Nor Green Bay. The Saints haven’t had a consistent vertical threat in a couple of years.”
This is something I brought up before too. Elite speed on the outside is a luxury. If you have a good QB, you’re going to get offensive production. Devery Henderson ran a 4.35 but he was a role player, not a focal point. If Nick Foles continues to develop, look at this list of weapons:
Maclin, Cooper, Sproles, McCoy, Ertz, Celek, *rookie*
I’m interested to see what kind of WR they go for. If they draft a speedster you’ll here all of the “why didn’t they just keep DeSean” comments. I’m intrigued by Benjamin but the thought of Marquis Lee is really growing on me. I think he’s a polished player who can contribute in a big way, right away. The measurables don’t blow you away but he’s a player. I’m going back over a decade so maybe I’m off on this comparison, but he reminds me of Reggie Wayne coming out.
Its honeslty clear as day what Chip wants in his outside WRs by this point. We have seen enough of them brought in (Benn, Momah, Brad Smith), and enough of who they are paying attention in this years draft (Benjamin, Evans, Latimer) to figure that out.
The only short guys Chip had were Jackson who he actually tried to trade before last season. And was just a holdover from a previous regime.
And Johnson who is a slot guy. And he also brought in Shepard who wasnt big but he was a slot WR/RB in college.
He doesnt mind smaller guys in the slot roles(DeAnthony Thomas at Oregon, Sproles now), but he wants big guys on the outside.
As evidenced by every single personnel move he has made at the position since he has been here, as well as his history at Oregon.
@tommylawlor: Can you do a post on visits the eagles will be taking before the draft
It is kind of crazy to me that people automatically assume that the Eagles must draft WR at 22, for a few reasons.
– While it is safe to say that they are weaker at the position this week than they were a week ago, It is still one of the more talented positions on the team.
– OD could speak better to this but I can’t think of any pro players that are in the NFL from Chip Kelly’s time in Oregon. Meaning that he might not rely on elite talent. Riley’s success speaks to that even more (I still think he is kinda bad).
– You are less likely to get an immediate return from a 1st round WR than just about any other position these days (CB perhaps?)
– If grades were even among positions at 22, I would prefer to see CB, OLB, S, and even OL taken at that pick.
Whatever they do I hope they just get the best overall player at that pick with need not being a factor. If and when they do go WR it will be interesting to see the type of guy they get.
When Chip spoke at the owners meeting, he mad the comments of how he likes Desean, then threw some mild praise Deseans way,,.in the next sentence, chips said: “Those WRs that have the Size AND Speed Element are the Elite NFL WRs”…
…
Basically there are 3 types:
1)’Great Size, average speed…..Riley Coopers
2)’Average to below average size, GREAT speed, ranging from Desean to Mac
3)’The Elite WR with above average size and top speed.
…
In THIS draft class, I don’t see why anyone would think that Chip will just settle for a WR with Deseans ceiling! or slightly a little higher. By our HC definition, guys like Brandin Cooks,can be really good players, but have limitations, size that keep them from truly being Elite….Too many juicy prospects with size and speed for our coach to settle on a Desean replacement….we won’t be spending 40million dollars on free agents, so we need to draft supreme athletes with ELITE upside, because it’s clear we won’t be signing those type of super expensive free agents. Game changers need to be drafted and developed…so we can’t be settling on the Brandin Cooks(Desean type) or the Marquis Lee(Maclin types)… we have coaches who seem to do well developing young players, and we put such a premium on interviews/Charecter/commitment level/intelligence, that it should lower our bust percentages….
…
I will be really surprised if the WRs we draft are shorter than 6’2. Weigh less than 210. And run slower than 4.5…….If it were up to me, I would trade out of round 1, so we would have two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round pics, but I would also try and get the 77th pick(3rd round) from the Niners for a 2015 2nd round pick, giving us three 3rds and two 2nd rounders, but no first round pick….
…
I would draft two WRs…
..
1) High upside player, while also being one of the most polished route runners and one of the most NFL ready WR who can contribute from day 1..Jordan Mathews, very professional, sure handed(cousin of jerry rice), polished route runner 6’3, 213lbs, 4.46 speed
…
2) After we sure an NFL ready WR, I really hope to see us swing for the fences and get someone with a crazy Josh Gordon, Alshon Jeffries type of upside like Moncreif or KB….These WR are raw, and will need to put in a lot of work on their route running, and become better at catching Balls…..Too many people will be quick to point out, body catcher, or small hands…but if the Charecter checks out(crazy work ethic to eventually become great), we have the quality coaching that can improve and overcome such issues..I’d be concerned with limitations that a player can Never overcome…..DONTE MONCREIF…6’2, 220lbs, 4.4 flat!!!! Sky is the limit. If we secure an NFL ready WR like Mathews, then I think we have to get one or the Raw, tremendous upside Big Body blazers like Monsta Moncreif or KB…they can’t be counted on for much as rookies, but with the right coaching, they could go the Alshon route and show up as monsters for their second season…
….
Adding two weapons, 6’3/6’2, 213lbs/220lbs, 4.46/4.40 is a good way to start getting over Desean…
.
Moncreif is raw, will need some time. But route running can be improved and plenty of kids came into the league with “bad hands” or “body catcher” labels and quickly over came them….Draft Moncrief and stick a Jug machine in his living room
2 questions — 1) is there shorter version I can read? JK. and 2) Cousin of Jerry Rice means he has good hands? So that means if we get Clay Mathews brother he’ll be as good?
Problem is Jordan Matthews have bad hands.
Honestly. You are the first person I have ever seen give him the bad Hands label
He dropped over 10% of his passes last year which for a top college Wr is very bad as everything over 7% is over average
Check this breakdown from Roto if you haven’t already. http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/46136/349/peshek-wr-metrics-20
This is roto’s analysis of top 5 projected WRs. Evans actually looks the best here.
http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/46006/349/peshek-top-4-wr-metrics
Doubt we draft a WR shorter than 6’2, under 210lbs, slower than 4.54
….
Going into this draft, we have to keep in mind, that we won’t be adding 40million dollar gamebreaking free agents any time soon…we simply don’t believe in it…I’m always hearing fans cry about how we need elite play makers, well we ain’t getting any of those types until we draft and develop them for ourselves…
…
We are also fortunate that it seems like our coaching staff knows a thing or two about developing,young players…
..
It’s also comforting that placing a premium on Charecter, intelligence, heart, the interviews isn’t just white noise to this regime. They will draft the players who LIVE this game, with insane work ethic and commitment to growing into a great player…
..
So we don’t need to settle for safe, NFL ready prospects…we need SUPREME ATHLETES with the type of superstar ceiling that costs like 40million in free agency to aquire, and give our coaches some time to work their magic developing them
Anyone else starting to think Deandre Coleman out of Cal will be the Late round DL we will highly covet to back up Logan?
Shamar Stephen from UCONN. Similar size and type of player but Shamar plays harder and is quicker.
How does his arm length compare? Weight? Frame?
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/shamar-stephen?id=2543706
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/deandre-coleman?id=2543701
I’m betting the birds go for size and route running.
Desean has strengths, no doubt. Sometimes I’ve wondered, however, if those strengths were the best fit for the Eagles. Maybe I’m oversimplifying, but “big people beat up little people.”
Small speedy guys are best served by a QB who can buy time in the pocket and throw deep. That’s not Foles. This is also turning into a team that can run more and more. So we need big, physical, blocking WRs who can also get open quickly for the short pass from Foles.
In general, small speedy guys hit the home run once in a while, getting big plays sometimes and offering little on other plays. Even if their speed helps stretch the field, you need time in order for them to make that happen. Big guys can just get the ball and run over you. Maybe they’re not as sexy, but if your team is filled with them, you wear the opponent down over the course of a game.
I’m thinking Chip wants as many TE/ WR tweeners as possible. Or maybe I’m still just rationalizing why they cut Desean 😉
I know the venting was supposed to be finished with in the last post, but if you have not read Sheil Kapadia’s article, it is a great read:
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2014/04/03/ten-points-closing-book-desean/
Perfect write-up. One of the reasons why I highly respect Sheil.
Bullet point #10 should be something for Anders. 😉
I still cant see what the Eagles can say there would please people unless you expect em too detail every little problem Jackson caused
Sometimes you don’t see the nest for the birds.
Starting to feel like…
Maybe, but regardless of how you feel about the story, it is clearly the biggest story of the Eagles’ offseason and one way or another will have an impact on the Eagles next year.
maybe? ugh. Might as well bring up if Foles or Vick should start…
I think both.
Love the startroopers, but are they actually carrying baseball bats? Nightsticks? Stolen light sabers? If I remember, the only thing that could be done with a stolen light saber is beat something to death.
Lightsabers would have been more fun, unfortunately they are using baseball bats…haha
Didn’t agree with several points in the article, but I’m glad Mac shared his toys with us.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/multimedia/videos/Journey_To_The_Draft_Podcast_Charles_Davis_WRs/261a73e1-0d31-4942-95fb-c64df49e956a
Love this podcast. Great stuff
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/colt-lyerla-vs-cal-arizona/
The Arizona tape of that part is just great. How does a guy like Lyerla run so well?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3L4spg8vyo
Haha.
I do actually remember now, Lyerla was a RB in high school as he rushed for 1800 yards and caught for 900 yards while also playing DE on defense.
Question for everybody.
Would you guess take a flyer on Chris Johnson if he gets cut? (disclaimer: If he is willing to come here cheap, which he wont as some team with no RB will still pay him)
If Desean doesn’t fit the culture, let’s bring in someone with gold teeth.
Maybe our FO knows the difference between gangsta and the dirty south.
No. Next question?!
Yes.
They are the same running back. We’d still have no 3rd down pile pusher unless Polk can finally make that move.
Egads, the Redskins have signed Jackson and now McCoy?!
One of the inevitable differences is that college defenses mostly play zone. Offenses that are horizonatal-focused at the line are focused on pitch-and-catch possibilities. Either a big guy that can outjump for the ball in man coverage or the scheme finds ways for WR to hit big, fat, zone voids. If Chip Kelly absolutely has a choice, yes, he will pick Evans over anyone else. His second choice would be Martavis Bryant (because he can be picked later than first), and third will be ODell Beckham.
Specifically, when it comes to YAC issues: That is directly related to Foles and his passing style. So most YAC comes from screens, hitches, wheel routes, etc. If you want more, you’re either going to have to hope for a more advanced passing Foles, or someone else. A new WR with great YAC isn’t going to help much.
Also of note: Sheil Kapedia is consistently more sane/better writer than Tim McManus. That ten points article is a tour-de-force. Clean, crisp, lots of word, no work to read, clarifying, etc.
Only you can make a post about WRs into a Foles bashing
YAC traditionally comes from passers beating defenses. That means throws into coverage where the WR can keep going because the defender is out of position. That generally means zip throws for slants, some stick throws, less arc to the sidelines, more catch while running and continuing to run.
It’s not so much I want to bash Foles. It’s that I wanted to point out that getting a WR who’s great after the catch is dependent on a QB that makes the sort of throws that allow it, not just in ball placement, but the type of passes more focused on shattering a defense rather than get that catch made at the spot–prioritizing that more than any potential YAC.
This was something that was *really* evident on the Vikings last year. Arif Hanson wrote this awesomely sarcastic post on Daily Norseman last fall about Greg Jennings never being open (Ponder made an off-hand suggestion that Jennings wasn’t open), and showed all the times Jennings actually was open. Matt Cassel, no great shakes at all as QB, does see Jennings, and he generally will attempt to make the throw, to the right spot, such that Jennings can run with the ball, as we all have seen.
So all those great throws to a not open Cooper or Ertz was just luck?
I don’t think there are very many of those. If there were, I’d remember them, like the Ertz TD catch against Ari.
Celek TD against NYG & Cooper TD against Bucs (thrown when he was “covered”) are two obvious ones.
The rub routes we ran across the middle were pretty classic YAC routes that were successful. At least when RC didn’t drop them on 3rd down with nothing but green in front of him.
If I remember right, both of those catches were in the end zone, and the throw to Cooper wasn’t that good. Cooper really had to reach out for it. Neither of those TDs were catch and runs. The Celek ball placement was okay, but like the Desean Jackson catch, based on the receiver making a play on the ball in the end zone.
Eh, I mean if Cooper didn’t “really [have] to reach out for it” you’d say the ball was under thrown.
YAC comes from QBs hitting guys on the move running away from defenders where support defenders are moving into other zones, and Foles did that a TON last year.
No, he did not.
Well, what’s all this then?
http://youtu.be/5lH-AIYu_ck?t=28s
To be fair, there would have been a lot more RAC opportunities if they didn’t keep running out of field. That end zone kept coming up too quickly.
Also, those highlights CONVENIENTLY leave out his two interceptions, so yeah: time for a new quarterback.
I noticed that. That’s why I dug up the passing YAC numbers to back it up too.
Nick Foles is no Peyton Manning, but his accuracy and touch looked pretty damn good to me compared to our other recent QBs.
Good stuff, and it is odd that the stat isn’t available on a per completion or per attempt basis. Seems like that would be the most useful.
You could calculate it, but I didn’t have that much time.
He was also 20th in the league in total passing YAC last year, on only 13 games. Only one guy ranked above him played fewer than 15 games. His passing YAC per game was 114 yards, which would have been good for 15th place.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/player-quarterback-passing-yards-after-catch-statistics/2013/
That’s by game, not completion (if a YAC/completion stat exists, I haven’t found it). So considering the how many yards and plays went to the Eagles running game, that’s pretty good.
Nick is not a “Bad YAC” QB, looks at least better than average. He’s Way better than McNabb or Vick ever were at letting a guy catch it where it should be placed and keep running.
Ah yes, the Bad YAC days, I remember them. Mine were mostly in college and involved someone handing me a cup and saying, “Here, try this.” During my recovery I would often watch as McNabb threw to stopped receivers catching the ball while on their knees.
Or watching the ball drill into the ground at 80 MPH. Four feet in front of the receiver. Jk, McNabb and the Eagles just never quite got all the pieces together at the same time.
Much of the yardage came from short throws, like Brent Celek’s reception in the second WAS game. If you’ll look up to the originating thread post, you’ll find that I mentioned screens, hitches, wheel routes. While these plays have their place, if you want more YAC than what we got last year, then you’ll have to involve better throws deeper into the defense. Remember, we’re talking about *improving* YAC. My point was that a receiver could only do what the QB hands to him, and my analysis was that Foles did not do as many of the throws traditionally accounting for lots of YAC. Getting better passing is liable to work better than a shiny new receiver (ideally, both, but you know what I mean).
Screens, hitches, wheels routes and crossing patterns are the YAC game. I know you didn’t mention crossing patterns, but Foles threw those just fine last year.
If your thinking YAC comes from fades, curls, posts and corners, that’s not really the case. That top half of the route tree It’s great when a receive does catch those and run, because it’s often a TD, but safeties should be there to tackle them at the catch. If they’re not great, broken play TD, but those aren’t the YAC throws. The YAC throws are these short to mid throws Foles excels at hitting.
And don’t forget, he lost plenty of YAC yards on “throws” that were called laterals.
a little overstated
https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/451722264267214848
So yes, they are looking to potential trade up for him
I look at it as Evans is on their radar, but they’d have to trade up to get him. Nothing in that tweet tells me that Caplan has any inside info on any trades in the works.
Not saying they’re not exploring it; they might be. But Caplan is merely indicating that Evans would require a trade up, IMHO.
Caplan is really in touch with the Eagles, so I guess he knows something.
he has never been right with regards to who they are targeting. he is associated in some way but by no means is he clued in. he offers nothing more than speculation.
Potentially, as in if the right situation presents itself.
Yeah, I think this sounds like the kind of thing Howie does to add value to the process – he’s exploring what they’d be willing to give up in order to trade up, so that they have all this at hand when it comes to draft day. Doesn’t mean that they’re actually pursuing it, just that they are prepared for whatever happens.
Yep, there are almost always potential trade-up scenarios and trade-down scenarios discussed based on the way the draft falls.
I personally wouldn’t trade up for Evans. Actually I would be mad if we traded up for him.
Agree, I rather trade back. Only guy I want to trade up for is Anthony Barr
I can see the Eagles having interest, so the rumor isn’t surprising, but a month before the draft, any rumors you hear have to be taken with a grain of salt. No way any team is going to leak their desired target, especially if it involves a guy they not only would need to trade up significantly to get, but also hope he falls a bit. At best, this is Caplan making a logical guess at what the Eagles might want to do, but still not something that is worth getting excited/worked up about.
I wouldnt trade up for Evans unless he falls out of top 15 or it is super cheap to move (like only a 4th round)
Personally, I agree. We have only 6 picks right now and we are not likely to get a ton in return for Graham/Brown or anyone else on the roster that is a likely trade commodity. With what we have, and the quality of this draft, I want to conserve picks and/or gain some additional picks. I’m not necessarily in the trade down camp, but trading up for a WR in a draft that is considered to be the best WR draft in a long time (ever?) just doesn’t seem like a good use of resources to me.
Rumor a month before a move, might be the new norm.
By the way, Mike Evans was also the name of the guy who played Lionel on “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons”
That’s the Mike Evans we’re after.
It’s no wonder the Eagles are rumored to be “Movin’ On Up” for him.
You should have seen the look on Kelly’s face at A&M’s pro day. But think that’d be tough — maybe next year’s first.
Look, we could always bring back Na Brown–he can’t be more than 40. Then there’s Terrance Small…Billy McMullin… Reggie Brown…
Pass rusher at 22.I like Benjamin if we move up a tad.Just gotta fix those stone hands,but he would fit 2nd in points at the combine.He wont go to 54,but maybe early 2nd
http://www.hogshaven.com/2014/4/3/5577124/2014-2015-redskins-division-winners-by-default
Skins fans are trolling us
How old is this writer? This is hilarious. I can’t believe I just spent 45 seconds reading this.
“DeSean Jackson’s speeds forces defenses to play honest, and double cover him before he scores a touchdown.”
I mean, jesus christ. WUT?
“The mere presence of DeSean helped Riley Cooper, who dropped 50% of the passes thrown to him last season, get wide open. DeSean created favorable one-on-one match-ups for LeSean McCoy to dodge his way around. McCoy thrives on space, and DeSean created some space for sure.”
The author in the comment section: “No one in the division has drafted well at all recently”.
We also have 2 WR’s already,basically untested from oregon,so they know CHips deal-a bit of a headtsart there.They would be gone if Chip didn’t see something,so I don’t suspect a major reach for a WR
This is the best national article I’ve read on the DeSean situation. But your opinion will probably depend on how you feel about DeSean in the first place.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10721431/eagles-had-other-issues-desean-jackson
NE signed Chung. Good luck with that.
My first thought? Revis pointing fingers at Chung for blown coverage.
Lol Coleman visited the Jets, now he is visiting Colts….they better off putting Humpty Dumpty Bob Sanders back together again
D. Thomas has elite speed…he ran a 4.38. Combine that with his size, an it’s even more impressive.
deutschland trikot
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