Focus Up Front
Posted: March 11th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 194 Comments »We knew the Eagles would add a couple of veteran WRs. That had to happen.
We didn’t know the team would add to the OL in free agency.
#Eagles and G/C Stefen Wisniewski agree to terms on a three-year deal. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/CClugpp4Av
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 10, 2017
The Eagles will not release Jason Kelce, according to a source.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) March 10, 2017
If you believe Howie Roseman, the Eagles are not getting rid of any OL. They are building. Despite the additions of Wisniewski and Chance Warmack, the Eagles want to keep everyone so they can be very deep up front. Look at a potential depth chart.
LT Jason Peters ….. Matt Tobin
LG Allen Barbre ….. Isaac Seumalo
OC Jason Kelce ….. Stefen Wisniewski
RG Brandon Brooks ….. Chance Warmack
RT Lane Johnson ….. Halapoulivaati Vaitai
That’s pretty impressive. And the Eagles still have talent beyond that. They are high on Dillon Gordon, the former LSU TE. He flashed serious potential last summer. Josh Andrews has been on the roster since 1960, give or take. The team signed Josh LeRibeus and Dallas Thomas as interior depth pieces. Both have starting experience and the Eagles really like LeRibeus (for what he is). You also have developmental guys Taylor Hart, Darrell Greene and Aaron Neary. That’s about as deep an OL as I can remember.
The Eagles can say they want to keep everyone, but you have to seriously wonder if they still want to deal Kelce. That would open a starting spot for Seumalo, who the coaches are really high on. It would also add some cap space and net the Eagles a pick, although nothing more than a late rounder. The Eagles have to preach the message that they intend to keep Kelce, if they want another team to deal for him. If not, another team will simply wait for the Eagles to cut Kelce.
It is possible the Eagles have decided they do want to keep Kelce so the OL can be really deep. There were a lot of injuries last year and that hurt the team.
No matter how you slice it, this is a good situation. The Eagles have built a good OL and a deep one. There is a good mixture of youth and experience. Carson Wentz went 5-1 with Lane Johnson as his RT. If you give him good protection, he can win games. And this year he’ll have an upgraded WR corps.
I was hoping the Eagles would add an interior OL in the draft because there are a few guys I really like, but by working on the OL like this, the team can now spend a lot of resources on the defense. They’ll still add a RB and possibly a WR, but expect to see a lot of defensive players added in late April.
*****
There is one bit of bad news. Nolan Carroll won’t be coming back.
#Cowboys are signing cornerback Nolan Carroll to a 3-year, $10 million deal with $4M in the first year, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2017
Obviously I’m joking when I call that bad news. Nothing against Carroll personally, but he won’t be missed on the field. When he was healthy and playing with confidence, he could be an effective starter. Unfortunately he struggled quite a bit down the stretch last year. The Eagles had to let him go so they could try to upgrade the spot. Dallas has liked Carroll for a couple of years now. I’m not sure what the attraction is at this point, but I look forward to seeing Carroll try to cover Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith.
Carroll does seem like a good guy. I would wish him well, but by going to Dallas, I can’t legally do that.
*****
Bennie Logan is finally getting some attention.
Report: Eagles DT Bennie Logan visiting Washington https://t.co/ufWP6A7FSd
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 11, 2017
I didn’t want to see that.
The Eagles say they are interested in keeping Logan. Howie Roseman said he has stayed in touch with Logan’s agent. Unfortunately, right now it doesn’t sound like the Eagles are close to keeping Logan.
I can live with Logan signing elsewhere, but please don’t go to the Skins. If he does leave, the Eagles will have some options.
Report: Eagles showing "lots of love" to Giants DT Johnathan Hankins https://t.co/dOu0RPzNPi
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) March 10, 2017
Hankins is a better pass rusher and is more disruptive than Logan. Adding him to the DL would be an interesting move. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with both young DTs.
*****
PHI explored trades for back-up QB Chase Daniel, who'd like to compete for a No 1 job. Nothing made sense. Maybe that changes down the line
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 11, 2017
I’m not sure who is letting Daniel compete for a starting job. Then again, I didn’t see Mike Glennon gettins $14M a year. NFL teams do some crazy things when it comes to the QB position.
*****
Don’t expect the Eagles to make a bunch more moves. They will be smart shoppers from here on out. If the player fits at the right price, they’ll be interested. That’s it. They won’t go after big names. They could create cap room by restructuring deals, but that’s just not smart. The Eagles identified a few players they wanted and the organization went hard after those guys.
Now the Eagles have to be disciplined. Only make a move if it makes sense.
_
[…] Tommy Lawlor We knew the Eagles would add a couple of veteran WRs. That had to happen. We didn’t know the […]
Eagles 11-5
Cowboys 10-6
Giants 7-9
Skins 6-10
Thank me later. #RootCanal
Who gets a root canal at 1:30 AM?
When you have a little kids, you take what you can get.
It is crazy how good a job the Eagles front office have done in squeezing all these contracts under the cap without making any of them too back loaded (Wiz deal is but otherwise the 3 deals are all effectively 1 year deals).
Looking at OTC: https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/philadelphia-eagles Eagles have just over $3mil in cap space left which is just enough to cover signing our draft picks (~$2.5m is the cap cost of signing our rookies – their contracts – the contracts their signing pushes off the 51 man roster).
There is 1 more cut/waive that we know is coming which is Ryan Mathews, but until he passes a medical he cannot be cut and it is entirely possible his representation do not want to agree to an injury waive because they want full access to Eagles medical and recovery team. This is holding $4mil on the Eagles cap for now so will give them a little flexibility whenever that shoe drops.
Eagles still need at least 1 startable CB to be signed. Even if you draft CB’s 1 and 2 that may well not be enough if one struggles early in their career. Add in a hole at 1 tech, Eagles could do with making 1 more move to clear salary so they can address DT and CB to some extent before the draft so it does not overly force need picks in the 1st round. (Already the Eagles need to force a CB pick in rounds 1 or 2 even if they sign a free agent CB).
Cupboard isn’t entirely bare at CB; there are a couple of left-overs from last years depth chart and at least one off-season minor signing. Two of these were starters from the CFL which, while not ideal, means there is some coverage until a draft choice(s) is/are ready to take over. Remember last year at one point, DP was willing to accept growing-pains w/ Val at RT as he grew into the position. I would expect something similar this year with the CB’s. Seasoned vets at safety should help the process.
What about CJ Smith? I don’t hear much about him. I thought they liked him well enough last year. Did he go on IR?
Agreed. I’m optimistic that they can pick up a couple of cb without stretching bpa much.
I’d really like that Denver kid as one of the CBs in the mix. Especially because he can also play STs.
I read this thinking so they are going to trade Kelce.
My feeling is that Kelce will be kept as trade bait ( ala Bradford last year) for when someone’s center goes down. Unfortunately, the more likely cut (except for leadership) would be Celek ($5M) though it would only save $1M this year but even then, considering Celek is almost never targeted, I would almost rather play Gordon as a blocking TE, throwing the ball to him one every two games, for TDs.
Listening to the ATL podcast brushing off the Jeffery signing because “Wentz is one of the worst QBs of the league last year”, I can’t wait to shut all those MFs up. Nobody in the national media has been paying any attention to the way Wentz played last season under very difficult circumstances. He is going to surprise a lot of folks with two actual tackles and a receiving core whose best member is not a no. 3 or 4 on 25 of the rest of the teams in the league.
ATL podcast?
Oh, NFLs Around The League. I like to listen to their show, its fun and relaxed and they cover most of the news without the ridiculous overstatements and yelling that often infect sports radio. But they each have favorite teams and divisions that they follow more closely than others, and none of them really have any interest in talking about the eagles – or any insight at all. Half their shows end up being about the Browns, Jets and Patiots, with whoever is good or in the spotlight at the moment sprinkled in. And they have not spent many seconds talking about Wentz showing promise or Roseman essentially reconstructing a roster, changing a defense, bringing in a new coach and trading up for a franchise QB. I forgive them because they routinely comment on the Redskins as the worst run franchise in the league and how Eli is overrated.
It is probably somewhere in between. Wentz probably did get a bit too much praise here given what his overall numbers were but people who watched this team closely every week were happy with what he showed.
Wentz has to notably improve his accuracy especially on short touch passes and on longer routes. On the list of Eagles’ concerns, he is well done the list though.
The biggest issue to me is whether Pederson is indeed capable of growing and maturing as a head coach. Strikes me as a guy who was oddly head strong at times (e.g., insisting on using Wentz as a lead blocker was a good call was one of the dumbest things I have heard an Eagles’ coach ever say & he doubled down on it), isn’t particularly adept at thinking on his feet, and is still really struggling to find the right cadence as a head coach.
I agree with all of that. With Wentz my point is that I think you have to look at the games in order to really see the potential there, not just the results. Some of his best plays were unsuccesful because of poor surrounding talent and weirdness.
..And yea. I cant figure out what to think about Pederson. I simply cant tell weather he is a smart or a dumb coach. And that is oddly unsettling at this point.
Well, he didn’t really play that well after the first handful of games, by any measure.
Well, sure. He missed some throws and his footwork deteriorated when the line unraveled. He made mistakes and has to grow and get better. BUT. We tend to forget that this was a rookie who missed training camp! We just have to remind ourselves of that, I think. He was commanding the offense, calling D-lines off sides, checking in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage while throwing more passes than any rookie qb in history outside of Andrew Luck. I think we overlook what he managed to do last year because he made it look a lot easier than it was. And then there were flashes when we saw him make plays with his athleticism that only a small handfull of NFL qb’s can make. Remember that play where he evades three of rour rushers and throws an on-the-money dart across the middle while being tackled halfway to the ground? I can think of three other QBs in the league who could have made that play. Yet, if you didnt watch that game and only looked at the stats, you arrive at the conclusion of most of these pundits, that Wentz was nothing special last year. I think they are all in for a surprise once we upgrade O-line and WR.
All true. It’s just that in my opinion, consistent excellence is what makes a top-shelf QB, not the jaw-dropping plays. QBs with mediocre results and careers like Michael Vick, Matthew Stafford, Jay Cutler and more are capable of incredible brilliance. QB is about information processing and accuracy, not athleticism and playground flash. Don’t get me wrong, the extra edge of playmaking can make all the difference and it’s great that he has that. When Wentz makes progress on the basics and isn’t missing wide-open throws by two yards high, then I’ll be willing to discount the stats.
All fair enough. But again, he was a rookie who missed training camp and was playing with the worst receivers in the league behind a center that cant anchor and a rookies 5th round right tackle who was pushed into action before he was ready. Thats not a guarantee that he will improve of course, but I think it warrants serious attention, and nobody in the national media has really tuned into that. I remember Daniel Jeremiah, who is well connected here (used to be a scout here) was saying in his pocast that he had been asking GMs around the league who they would rather have if they could pick between the QB from the last two drafts. Most of them answered Wentz, which is fairly remarkable. Those guys are paying attention, the pundits are not.
He had a real bad situation and besides the first few games, didn’t do well in that situation. There was a high level of difficulty. He’s shown he has real NFL ability, but not that he’s going to even be a viable starter. All in good time.
Between Wentz, Mariota, and Dak today, who do you pick? I guess I’d probably go Mariota, and after that, give the slight edge to Wentz on potential.
I’d go Wentz. Not really close. I think his upside is higher than any of them by a good margin, and he maxes out on the personality/mentality scale.
I do like his attitude. Although they all seem pretty level-headed.
Right after Dillon Gordon becoming the second reincarnation of Jason Peters, my evening prayers are mostly about Dak Prescott showing everybody in the offseason why there were concerns about his character during the draft process. Remember, apart from the fact that he had poor accuracy on deep balls, droppe dhis eyes under pressure and tended to never progress through reads he also had a DUI and there were concerns with his leadership qualities. And judging from interviews he doesnt exactly seem like the type of person that would ace the Wonderlic. I would not put him in the same category as the other two, who are supposedly absolutely brilliant and perfect interviews.
Wonder which young QBs you like .. ill guess Dak showed all that .. but not sure that mariotta and jameis winston have yet
I think that Taylor Hart should probably go back to DL, even with probable release/trade of some OL guys. He was a decent backup, had a surprisingly good transition from 3-4 to 4-3, and we need depth there.
More like Taylor no-Hart after he sat around and stole money last year after we added him back to the roster.
I would really like to have Bennie back. But seeing as he isn’t, I guess we’ll have to assume some drop off in the DT group.
This was a tad different (in a few spots) because of Thomas being there at 14. I don’t expect that on draft day, but if teams force themselves to take 3 QBs in the top 13, we’re going to get a nice surprise sitting for us at 14.
And I’m aware that my trade downs in the 2nd and 3rd returned picks that were more generous by one round than necessary, so assume I used some type of capital from the trades of Kendicks and Kelce if you’d like.
Round 1 Pick 14: Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford (A+)
Round 2 Pick 14 (IND): Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee (B+)
Round 3 Pick 13 (ARI): Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State (B-)
Round 3 Pick 16 (IND): Chris Godwin, WR, Penn State (A)
Round 4 Pick 12: Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Alabama (A+)
Round 4 Pick 13 (ARI): Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma (A)
Round 4 Pick 32 (COMP): Julie’n Davenport, OT, Bucknell (A)
Round 5 Pick 11: Daeshon Hall, DE, Texas A&M (C)
Round 6 Pick 10: Matt Milano, OLB, Boston College (A-)
Round 7 Pick 12: Tedric Thompson, SS, Colorado (C-)
My general thoughts on the guys are as follows:
Thomas goes into rotation at DE and DT. Look at his combine numbers vs. that of Curry before you trash him at DE though.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2017/profiles/solomon-thomas?id=2558018
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/vinny-curry?id=2532825
Sutton and Conley would go into the mix at CB.
Godwin and Perine allow you to move Matthews / Mathews if you want given the rest of the WR and RB group.
Tomlinson and Hall would be rotations guys at best who could also be weekly inactives. Same for Milano and Thompson.
Given the unknown ceilings of Dillion Gordon and Vaitai, I wanted to add Davenport into the mix, but he might wind up being perpetually inactive as well. I kind of stopped looking at early guards given the mix of Wis, Sem, Barbre, and Warmack.
Godwin may be one of those guys that figures it all out in the pro’s- I’m not super high on him but if we pick him it won’t kill me (depending on who’s left on the board at that point). I love the Thomas pick, think he’s going to be a good pro-probably not Top 5 playmaker but he should carve out a nice career.
I’d love to see another CB in there (maybe 7th round) but overall I like your thinking and how things fell. We need OT depth/development and Davenport could be just that- wouldn’t mind him as OT #4/5 this year, last year proved you can never have enough depth.
Thank you. Godwin is certainly and interesting case. He’s a hands catcher who high points the football, which we’ve lacked for sure.
We don’t lack it anymore. Alshon in the house.
3 QBs before us would be awesome, but I don’t think anyone is projecting that, right? In fact, I believe most mocks don’t have any QBs in the first 13 (please correct me if I’m wrong).
Other than that, I think your draft above seems very optimistic 🙂 Not that I’d be complaining…
Since 2001 only 1 year has there not been a QB drafted top 10. I’d be surprised if one of these guys didn’t get drafted there.
The 2 guys I’d still like to see the eagles bring in are Hankins and DeAndre Levy.
I am also really leaning toward DE in the first due to the depth at CB. These moves would really solidify the front 7 and make it easier on those rookie CBs.
Levy might be done from a physical standpoint, but I agree with that type of dude.
Dollar for dollar, I’d prefer Bennie over Hankins, but we’ll see what shakes out.
Who are your favorite DEs?
I love Tak McKinley’s upside. I feel he could be a monster in this scheme. He has a great get off (1.61 split) and a relentless motor.
Charles Harris is another guy i have liked for some time.
We’ll see how things begin to shake out closer to the draft, but you may be able to drop down 5-6 spots, pick up a 3rd in a deep class, and still land one of these guys. Kevin King, Fabian Moreau, or Tre’Davious White should be waiting for us in the 2nd round.
Tak being injured doesn’t worry you at all? I’m 100% done with vital draft picks in this town not being available.
But thank you for sharing the DE names.
He is going to miss most of not all of training camp, but I am all about the long term right now. The fact that he was so productive with the injury is also enticing. Who knows you may be able to steal in the 2nd. Either way he has a high ceiling and we need a long term answer at DE. I think it is an undervalued need right now.
“Who knows you may be able to steal in the 2nd.”
Now you’re talking.
And I agree DE is a need.
Soloman Thomas, Derek Rivers, Ejuan Price, Daeshon Hall
Pats going to go 15-1 this year it’s not fair.
As long as that loss isn’t to Buffalo………..
Father Time catches up with everybody. At this point in his career, Brady is a dink and dunk guy.
you’re drunk
Dumb question if Hankins is more disruptive than Logan won’t he cost more too? How could we afford?
And younger. Yeah, that sounded like PR spin to me too.
Probably means he is worse in just about every other way, if true.
YOU PEOPLE ARE RETARDS. A DUMB NI GGER CAN DO A BETTER JOB HERE. HAHAHAHAHA.
We had a healthy line in Chip’s first year. Like when else ever in history have we had a healthy line? Back in the days that this team is trying to emulate we churned out new good o line every year. Don’t have one problem with their philosophy. Their evaluation of Dallas Thomas and Josh Leribus on the other hand..
Gotta try and develop guys, and when you don’t draft any it’s tough to make a 5 star meal with ingredients bought at Ollie’s bargain bin.
My middle school French teacher was on the old ollie’s commercial. True story.
On the bright side, neither of those names are listed on Tommy’s (and probably the Eagle’s) depth chart. I’m fine with grabbing from the bargain bin if they aren’t relying on them as anything other than bench warmer/roster filler.
Media Mike-
Went defensive focus with development guys on offense sprinkled in- didn’t draft OL though as most of my value came in the form of guards rather than tackles (off the board quickly). Wanted to get 2 potential starters on the outside (cb’s) with a replacement slot guy for Brooks (doubt he comes back).
No trade backs. Would have loved value in rounds 2-4 but I’m not sure how/where we would stash them on game day (as D3FB pointed out, roster construction seems a bit screwed w/logjam of interior OL value currently). Focused on secondary depth, potential interior DL rotation and same with EDGE.
Thoughts?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f7fb4025ea8824394f74c8eb325d297511f255e0fc3cbfdc1d8e4048240c89a3.png
Do you really think that the Villanova guy will around in round 4?
Dunno- he was in this simulation, so that’s where I took him. Tried to stay as close to board value as possible from CBS Draft rankings. He probably ends up going in Round 3 because of the lack of quality edge rushers
Everyone talking about this draft says it’s actually loaded with quality edge rushers.
They tend to go quickly- some good developmental types later as well. Hard to say where/when teams will value them.
He could sneak into round 2 but round 4 is just as likely.
Still #17:
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/3/11/14890198/alshon-jeffery-jersey-number-eagles-philadelphia-17-nelson-agholor-chicago-bears-uniform
I wouldn’t worry too much about available jersey #s for AJ… I have a feeling that there will be plenty of choices once the roster starts to take shape, lol..
Classy gesture on AJ’s part.
Agree… Both of the new WRs are saying the right things at this point
And so is the qb. Happy lockeroom is a good thing.
From today:
From three days ago:
Well, which is it?
Both!?
Both
The latest one does apply more. Don’t think the Eagles will find anyone though, maybe for a 6th rounder for Kelce.
In a normal world Kendricks should net at least a 4th rounder, but I’m afraid we’re not the Patriots..
Both. For the Eagles, it’s about getting the maximum return. If there are multiple suitors, that helps of course. If there is only one real suitor, the “control” concept doesn’t help at all, unless the team wants the current contract structure. But by leaving open the option of retaining him, the Eagles themselves are somewhat of a suitor, and it’s a message that they value him enough to keep him instead of simply releasing him, so it will require a trade to get him (as opposed to waiting for release). It’s often just posturing that other teams can see through, but it’s also a necessary public position in the case that the Eagles can’t make a trade at all — you still want good relations with the player in the end. Making a public statement that basically says the team no longer wants him doesn’t help the Eagles in any way.
Another reason to keep Kelce and help Wentz continue to develop. Cutting the guy for the sake of cutting him is silly imo.
It feels somewhat analogous to the Sam deal. HR had credibility on his side when he said he’ll listen but he’s not looking. Kelce is smart and agile, and he’s not finished playing, I’m guessing. He’s probably worth more to DP right now than a late-round pick, or at least that is a believable story. All HR has to do is wait to see if somebody really, really wants him.
Unless, of course, Seumalo or Wisniewski would be better than Kelce on the field. Keeping Kelce as a backup may not make sense given the cap hit. Particularly if it’s the difference between signing a good CB or not. But as a public statement, there isn’t much else he could say.
Eskin was on this morning while I was at the gym and I actually tended to agree with him on multiple points.
Argued pretty strongly that taking a RB in the 1st was just unjustified even if Cooks or Fournette was available. He argued their was no reason they shouldn’t be able to find a RB with one of their middle round picks/even a stop-gap veteran in a trade or who gets released with their OL. Argued that they were ok running the ball last year with a mix of mediocre RBs.
He argued it needed to either be a CB or a DE in the 1st round. Actually used some decent stats to show how much the pass rush struggled in the 2nd half as well as them needing to really need to draft at least 2 CBs in the first half of the draft this year.
Yeah, that is surprisingly coherent. I largely agree with this reasoning too. DE isn’t even an “under the radar” need anymore with Barwin gone. Though, I do think there’s a chance Curry gets it together.
I would like to see a real upgrade in the running game, particularly to help Wentz’s development. I love the plan with WR and OL, but developing the ground game could be a big help too. There’s a chance Smallwood can carry a decent load–I think he might have it in him to share the load evenly in a 2 man platoon, and he’d be great in a 3 man platoon. But we could potentially get a good 3rd back in the 3rd or 4th round…
This is what other teams offered in return for Daniel:
https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder944/250×250/46846944.jpg
One of the all-time great movie lines.
We should have taken it.
I like the focus on the OL, think Warmack could be a good signing if he gets a chance, pun intended, to start, stays healthy and can improve his consistency.
Wiz is decent depth, can help if we have more injuries.
Jeffrey on a one year deal is interesting; not sure they’ll be able to sign him long term if he has a good year, but it also gives the Eagles a chance, no pun intended, to evaluate him as a player and teammate.
The Smith signing is mostly meh for me; he was not one I wanted them to go after due to his inconsistency. I guess they got him for 3 years at a pretty cheap cost so at least the risk to find out is low.
Hope they’ll be able to address CB and DE and not put all their chips into the draft at those positions. Drafted CB usually need at least 1 season to develop. I’m not sure if I can take a 5th straight season where we rank near or at the bottom for defensive coverage. At some point, the Eagles need to get it freaking fixed.
If he has a good year (Alshon) then he’s not walking out the door. They will work something out, even if it means franchise tagging him until a longer deal goes through.
That’s my thoughts exactly. Despite the 1 year contract the Eagles are still in the driver seat..
This contract was like an engagement ring- serious potential for a long term commitment, but ability for both sides to move on if it doesn’t work out.
Eagles have made some great moves on offense, but I find not releasing
If traded the new team pays the guaranteed salary. If you’re trading for him its because you see him as a starter. If you see him as a starter 5 million isn’t a big deal.
So do you think Eagles will find a trade partner eventually?!
I do. Weak FA market and underwhelming draft.
Conditional 5th rounder?!
I’d be looking for a fifth rounder outright.
Conditional isn’t ideal because it means it won’t be until 2018.
A pick outright is preferable to a pick swap (we need some bodies so some late round volume is ideal over slightly higher position) .
Yes you are right. I totally forgot that this year’s draft is around the corner.
Still shocking that we won’t get much more than a 5th rounder for a player who looked so promising some time..
Life comes at you fast
Especially when under the influence of laughing gas
Wish i had some at home…
Does anyone have any clue what the iggs are doing for cb? Trading, picking up a FA, playing a rookie? I just feel like there is NO buzz for one of the weakest positions.
Howie told Dave it is on the agenda but didn’t reveal much else (might of been in pc he said it..).
Wouldn’t worry about buzz. I never saw real smoke about Alshon until it happened.
They must be planning on waiting till the free up cap room and most likely devoting draft picks there. How well has using FA to fill the position worked for us in the past few years – awfully. Wasted money with very poor results.
Hugely deep draft for that – historically. So having the position unresolved in early March is perfectly fine.
I would like them to potentially sign Webster from Denver, but that’s really it. I want 3 or more of our draft picks to be CBs.
Feels like sign a low tier guy, then see if you can’t trade for someone like Kyle Fuller if not then see what vet on his last legs you can get to come in. Draft two with the top four picks.
Pie in the sky would be sign Kayvon Webster, trade for Kyle Fuller, Take Humphrey at 14 and Awuzie in the third.
Woah, hold on mate.
Kyle Fuller?! Do you think he would be available and if so what would it cost us?
There have been rumors. He’s been up and down for them, they just paid Prince and like their nickle CB.
Without really digging in on it, A pair of fours maybe?
One this year and one next?
Yea, maybe throw in Kendricks.
It’s like you are mad that we have so many 4ths next year. You keep trying to give them away.
Assets my friend, assets. I’m hoping we only have 2-4ths next year, and 2-3rds 🙂
Is Fuller the preference for the type of corner they want ?They seem to be looking at more man to man corners according to that Turrin Davenport and Fuller is an off coverage corner but I thought Schwartz was more of a zone coverage guy. So I’m totally confused what type of corner they’re even looking for. Some people say they want press man to man corners.
Fuller was the most complete corner I’ve ever seen coming out from press to man to zone. The Eagles run a little bit of everything. Things I can say for certain that they are looking for 1. football players are more important than HWS 2. Height is not a priority 3. The competitveness is an important factor.
Fuller and Humphrey may be a good pair. What are you trading for Fuller? A 4th?
A lot of people seem skeptical about Humphrey and Alabama corners technique. Humphrey also is like our CBs who don’t turn around. Some say he’s a press man to man corner but he’ll be better in cover 2 and cover 3. Why is he the right pick at 14 for us? Not saying he’s not. I want to hear why you’re so high on him. I love his physical traits.
Dre Kirkpatrick turned out ok.
20, smart and will crush it in zone early in his career. Loves coming up in the run and quick pass game. His technique down the field is the issue he doesn’t always trust it. But he’s got speed for days and in the short term that will help cover up issues until he really gets his technique down pat. Is he gonna lock down Dez day 1? No but he can play day 1 and make enough positive plays to justify his flaws. And then two years from now you have a fully formed CB who is 22 hits like Sheldon and can run vertical with anyone.
Dre Kirkpatrick didn’t start until like his fourth year. And don’t even get me started on Dee Milliner…
I’m just really skeptical about corners who have trouble with the deep ball out of the gate. It’s just been so long since this team has actually developed someone (anyone!) that any major deficiency from the beginning has me scared.
[and this, from NFL’s profile page on him–yikes: “There are some things on tape that really worry you. If he has trouble playing the long ball it is going to be bombs away against him and his team might have to change how they cover because of that. Those issues usually don’t go away.” — Scouting director for AFC team]
I mean, speed is great, except Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll were fast too. Carroll still can’t turn around and track a ball to save his life. (McKelvin is old, so maybe that was his problem this past year, but man, one double move and he was toast…)
I guess if we had more success developing guys I’d be more gung ho, but I’d hate to waste another 1st rounder on a guy who needs a lot of work before he can be trusted to do his job correctly…
There isn’t a corner in this draft that doesn’t have major flaws. Humphrey has more than enough upside that I’ll gamble. You’re going to have to develop one (probably two of them)
Lattimore- Never a full time starter, hammys made of laffy taffy
Jones- Built like a middle schooler, injured
Conley- Mike Williams found seperation against him, not even as good as Lattimore or Apple
White- Jakeem Grant ate his lunch, relatively safe but lacks a ton of upside
Teez- 4.62
Wilson- Grabby Grabby Mcgrabberson
Tankersly- OLD
Adoore- Better athlete than CB, small
Lattimore can cover 1 route right now…. the 9.
Yikes, that’s dire. On the other hand, it does make me feel better if Humphrey IS the pick…
Then Sidney Jones was your guy, unfortunately he’s out, at least in the first. I think Jones was the most polished out of all those picks.
Adoree Jackson is better
I believe they are employing the strategy most teams have taken with fullbacks. Since the fullback was not helping offenses, they eliminated it. By eliminating CBs from our defense, Schwartz has instantly removed the weakest link.
The term you are searching for is paradigm shift.
Sydney Jones suffered significant lower leg injury on the last db drill at his pro day. Carted off. Sucks for him
Wow, that is awful to get so close and work so hard…
.
.
.
…think we can get him in the third now?
Was thinking second… Depends on injury I guess
Broken Leg i think
Unfortunately is looks like a Torn Achilles
Damn. He might get undrafted in this case.
pretty sure someone will take him late, even if it a 50% chance he regains his full fitness and the recovery takes 2 years, he is still more likely to become a useful player than most 6th and 7th round picks.
That’s horrible
Damn that really sucks. I think he drops to day 2 now especially after his bad combine.
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BPA at 14 is looking more shaky by the day now. I’m thinking that Howie is going to trade down since the best available CBs aren’t really top 14 worthy.
Me too. How many qb’s are projecting to go before we pick?
Maybe 2 at best. 3 if we’re really lucky.
I think there are going to be at least 1 or 2 teams that end up trading into the top 10 and snag their guy who I wanted for us.
Would you trade back if Fournette was there at #14?
Because hes a poor investment. But there will likely be a CB, OT, DE, WR, or other RB there that’s a good decision.
It’ll come down to the compensation for me. I’d trade down to like 18-20 if a 3rd round pick was offered. Anything lower than that then I would rather take Fournette.
I’m praying that foster, or an elite dlineman falls to us at that spot..
I’d say no to Foster. He showed up light as hell and pulled a dumbass move at the combine.
Can’t say I agree. There are 3-4 I’d be fine with at 14.
Which 3 or 4 would you be fine with?
Didn’t know Jones might be out. I like Humphries. I’d be ok with the team going with Lattimore, White, Wilson, or Conley. I think we get a little to caught up with precise value, taking someone a half round early is fine if you like him. Travis Frederick is a great example.
https://youtu.be/ZoJb_DrXg_0
https://youtu.be/FCYqX6akwoQ
I feel like buyer be ware with alabama players. saban knows how to depoly his defensive players and cover their flaws. Then they come to the NFL and are exposed. t
The only corner i wanted at 14 was Jones and now he’s hurt.
I ‘m not sold on lattimore either. he seems to bite on a lot play fakes and can be too handsy But th etalent is there . would now go BPA at 14 or hopefully trade back and take white or wilson. no thank you to tabor btw.
Then tankersly, jackson or conley in the second.
We need to come out of the draft with at least 2 good prospects at DB. maybe even 3.
Lattimore is the boom or bust pick, he is really young and really raw. Having said all that he is the legit freak athlete of the class, and if he can get to being just solid technically he should be able to be a shut down corner. Not sure he is going to be there at 14, but not sure how the draft will work out at this point so maybe he does fall there for us.
exactly why he scares me at 14. Reminds me of Justin Gilbert a few years ago. everyone was so enamored with his potential and he was a legit bust.
Joe Douglas is going to be essential in this years draft.
i loved Jones because he reminded me of marcus peters and that dude turned out to be a legit cover guy.
The only thing Gilbert and Lattimore have in common is potential.
Seems that Gilbert doesn’t really like football, and we all know where that leads. With Lattimore is just the hammies. Jones isn’t gone either, he just won’t contribute in 2017. Be interesting to see how far he falls. And by interesting I don’t mean to say I don’t feel for the guy.
People shouldn’t overlook the age factor for Humphries and Lattimore. They have more room for development, experience at cb is a big deal.
Doesn’t like Lattimore but likes Adoree Jackson? What.
I like jackson in the later rounds. If we can trade back pick up an extra pick and get lattimore then I’m all for it. No question that lattimore is a better prospect but his bust potential at 14 is too high for comfort.
The only thing holding Lattimore back is his bum hamstrings and that’ll be the only reason he falls.
PFT saying we offered 3rd, 4th, AND Malcolm Jenkins for Brandin Cooks…
Whoa. I’m guessing Howie really liked the odds of getting Malik Hooker if true?
Sounds like BS to me or maybe I’m an idiot because I think that’s a better deal than just the 32nd pick
According to a later post, Jenkins and our second is actually better than just the 32nd pick.
Nah…He was going to trade back and take Obi Melifonwu
complete lie
Completely agree.
lol it’s Mike Florio. Dude just makes shit up all the time.
With Sidney Jones gone with an Achilles tear, CB boards are probably going to look like
1. Marshon Lattimore
2a. Gareon Conley
2b. Marlon Humphrey
3. Fabian Moreu
4. Tre’Davious White
5a. Jourdan Lewis
5b. Kevin King
6. Chidobe Awuzie
Where was Jones in that list prior to injury
IMO, he was 2nd.
I had him at 1b or 2. I’d still draft him in the 2nd or 3rd round while staying up to date on his medical.
Should we call this “Insomniac’s Op Eigh CBs Lis” since is doesn’t have Teez in it anywhere anymore?
I hope this won’t be taken the wrong way but is anyone named John Smith any more?
Lots of people are named John Smith. Also lots of John Lees and Bob Smiths and John Browns. Not to mention Zhang Wei or Wang Wei, etc.
And for the draft dummies…how are they graded roughly?
Lattimore – top 10 pick
Conley and Humphrey – mid-late first round picks
Moreau – 2nd round pick that could climb up into the first round
White – 2nd round pick
Lewis – 2nd round pick
Kevin King – mid-late 2nd round pick
Awuzie – mid-late 2nd round pick
Apparently eagles offered Jenkins, a third and a fourth for cooks. Glad that didn’t go through.
Saints wanted a second and Jenkins
It’s 100% false consider the player Jenkins is abs his dead money
If true, they probably won’t be getting any trade offers from us again anytime soon.
#fakenews
I am agreeing with the BS opinions. No way you further weaken the secondary and ship out both Barwin’s and Jenkins’ leadership in the same week.
I feel like lots of possibilities are discussed when teams are working on trades. Discussion and actually having a snowball’s chance in haities is a pretty big leap.
yeah, I’m with those calling BS.
Sure. Makes total sense. As long as Cooks was going to play S and CB for the Eagles. What a load of Bull…
This is bull. The cap hit for moving Jenkins after he JUST signed an extension is like $6M.
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Nothing Imminent Between #Redskins & DT Bennie Logan, Has Other Visits Lined Up http://bit.ly/2mL992y
从百度进来的，拜读一下贵站博文先
丁酉年(鸡)二月十五 2017-3-12
Duke Acc champs
Running back may be another bargain opportunity this off-season. Free agents not getting the love they expected. May be another one year contract opportunity… 4 mil for AP for the year?
I don’t think AD’s skill set matches what the Eagles are trying to do.
But I do agree there should be some bargain basement $ RBs available once the dust settles on free agency.
So the Sidney Jones injury is messing with my head somewhat. I’m not sure if that means we MUST get a premium CB earlier than planned…………so I just bit the bullet and went with Humphrey at 14. And I still think that flipping Kendricks, Kecle, and Jordan Matthews for whatever possible is the way to go on or near draft day. I don’t even care if it’s for conditional 2018 picks.
Round 1 Pick 14: Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama (B)
Round 2 Pick 17 (WASH): Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina (B+)
Round 3 Pick 10: Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State (B-)
Round 3 Pick 17 (WASH): Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Alabama (B)
Round 4 Pick 12: Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma (A)
Round 4 Pick 32 (COMP): Jordan Morgan, OG, Kutztown (A)
Round 5 Pick 11: Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo (A-)
Round 6 Pick 10: Travis Rudolph, WR, Florida State (B+)
Round 7 Pick 12: Scott Orndoff, TE, Pittsburgh (D+)
Don’t think of it as getting a premium cb earlier, think of it as getting one later (Jones). The injury pushes him down and then the Eagles can nab him for much less investment.
Draft and stashing injured players is not a good strategy.
See: Baalke, Trent
I’m sure there’s a point where the investment is worth the risk. It’s not like the Eagles do it on a regular basis anyway. If there were 1 or 2 every draft it woild.be different. I get the point though.
Too many needs, too many spots that need filled today, not waiting a year and hoping. Same thing as Jake Butt. Let somebody else do it. By the point the reward outways the opportunity cost (in regards to the Eagles) he’ll be long gone.
I agree wholeheartedly. In a “historically deep CB draft in terms of quality and quantity” – why focus on one guy so much? Seems unwise to me when all of the sudden he has significant injury that amounts to tons of risk/potential downside. To me the alternative CBs immediately outweigh his upside.
Fair enough. We do need the bodies NOW. I guess if he was there in the 6th/7th it makes sense but he wont drop that far.
Yeah, but we don’t need CBs that may or may not turn out well in a few years. We need CBs to start playing and developing now. Jones was my personal CB #1 choice for the birds, but I think we need to move on and not consider him, unless we draft 2 or 3 guys early and somehow get him past the 6th round.
Cornelius Ingram
OT: My Spurs just lost Marcus Aldridge to heart arrythmia. Not that they were probably going anywhere anyway, but… Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
I give you Andy Benoit:
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Added: WR Alshon Jeffery (CHI), WR Torrey Smith (SF), G Chance Warmack (TEN)
Lost: CB Nolan Carroll (DAL), OLB Connor Barwin (released)
Smith is fast but too stiff to run anything other than straight go routes and the occasional slow-developing comebacker or dig. He’s little more than a No. 4. (Expect him to edge out Nelson Agholor for this role.) Jeffery is a different story. He’s a big body with speed and bendability. In other words, he’s a polished Dorial Green-Beckham. The question is how well can he fit a quick-strike game? The Eagles prefer to get the ball out on three-step dropbacks.
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/03/12/nfl-free-agency-team-team-analysis
I think Smith is better than 4.
So if Smith is a 4 what is Nelson then?! Lol…
If Jeffery is a polished Dorial Green-Beckham, who would be a polished Nelson Agholor?
Smith! JK!!