Supplements Anyone?

Posted: July 11th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Supplements Anyone?

The NFL’s Supplemental Draft is today. This is a strange year because there are actually talented options. Most years, the prospects aren’t that good on the field and their off-field issues make them undesirable. Most supplemental players don’t pan out.

This group is different.

CB Adonis Alexander – Virginia Tech
CB Sam Beal – Central Michigan
S Brandon Bryant – Mississippi State
RB Martayveus Carter – Grand Valley State
LB Bright Ugwoebu – Oregon State

Beal is the stud of the group, with Alexander coming next. I just don’t know that it makes sense for the Eagles to add a CB. That’s a spot where they already have good depth and youth. If the Eagles love one of them and he’s on the board when they think he’s great value, maybe they make a pick. Doesn’t seem likely to me.

The Eagles could use safety help. Bryant could make some sense. You can bet Joe Douglas, Andy Weidl and the scouting staff have been working hard to find out if he’s worth taking a chance on. The Eagles got a chance to watch several rookie safeties in the OTAs. They know if they like any of those guys or if this is still a position of major concern.

Here are some details on Bryant.

With representatives from 14 NFL clubs on hand, Bryant ran official 40-yard dash times of 4.45 and 4.52, per NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, vertical jumped 34 inches and turned in a broad jump of 10-3. In agility drills, he ran 3-cone drill times of 7.26 and 7.52, with a 20-yard shuttle clocking of 4.23. He opted not to perform in the bench press. Scouts from the Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants were on hand for the morning workout. Among those, the Colts and Ravens were his favorite interviews.

“Those teams really stuck out to me the most. I had a great conversation with those guys,” Bryant said. “But wherever I get drafted or if it’s as a free agent, I just need an opportunity and I’ll make the most of it.”

The Eagles aren’t listed as being at his Pro Day. Could be that no one saw them or that they didn’t go. Bryant is reportedly leaving early because of academic issues. That could scare off the Eagles. They don’t require everyone to be Einstein, but if you can’t stay eligible at MSU…that’s not a good sign. That shows a lack of focus and effort more than anything.

Those workout numbers show good speed, but not good agility. The Eagles like safeties who have good man cover skills, which requires good agility. Bryant may not be their cup of tea.

Here is a fun highlight of Bryant in action.

Bright and Carter are limited prospects.

I don’t anticipate the Eagles making a pick, unless it is late and the value is just too good. They could aggressively go after Bryant as a UDFA to add to the safety mix.

*****

Fran Duffy offers his take on the players.

Good stuff as always from Fran.

*****

Things don’t sound so great for Shady McCoy. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that would indicate he’s involved with the incident where someone broke in, assaulted a woman and stole specific items from her.

I hate this story. Shady was such a fun player to watch and he brought us a lot of joy when he was with the Eagles. He’s still fun to watch in Buffalo. I would love to think Shady is completely innocent, but he doesn’t have a strong track record and this incident sounds so specific and personal that it can’t be random. The best case scenario is that someone did this thinking it is what McCoy would want, even if he didn’t specifically request it. Even that doesn’t look particularly good for him. If true, what kind of people is he hanging around?

I hope I’m wrong and there is some angle that exonerates him totally, but it feels like that would be very unlikely unless you are delusional/frighteningly naive.

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