The Shocker
Posted: April 14th, 2020 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »The Eagles will take a receiver at pick 21. Or if they move up or down. They have to. Just look at the roster. They have to.
Right?
Based on need, the Eagles certainly should go for a WR. But what if there is a run on receivers in the 10-20 range? If Jeudy, Lamb, Ruggs and Jefferson are all gone, do the Eagles force the issue and take a player they have rated as a late first?
If Howie Roseman sticks to value, he’ll go elsewhere. This could be a CB or DL or OL.
A couple of recent mock drafts have had the Eagles taking Oklahoma LB Kenneth Murray at 21. Before you go screaming about how the Eagles don’t take LBs early, at least hear this out.
The mock drafts were done by Daniel Jeremiah, a former Eagles scout and friend of Howie’s, and Dane Brugler, who has good NFL connections and doesn’t just say things without info or understanding the whole situation.
Beyond that, we know the Eagles haven’t seriously addressed LB in free agency and that they have looked at some highly rated LB prospects.
I know the history. The last non-pass rushing LB the Eagles took in the first round was Jerry Robinson in 1979. The last ILB they took early was Barry Gardner at pick 35 in 1999. If I’m betting money, there is no way I’d put money on a LB at 21.
But what if this is the year? All trends get broken.
Did you know the Eagles didn’t draft a player from the University of Texas between 1998 and 2015? That school put out a ton of good prospects, but the Eagles didn’t draft one until Jordan Hicks came along.
The Eagles had never drafted a 37-year old Canadian fireman before 2011 and they haven’t drafted one since. Okay, that might not be the best example.
The point is that the Eagles will draft a LB early eventually, whether this year 2025 or 2037. It will happen. We just don’t know when.
It is interesting that both Jeremiah and Brugler had the Eagles take Murray. He does make a lot of sense. He is extremely high character. This is a guy you want to be the captain of your defense for the next 5 to 10 years. Murray is a 3-down player. He’s got the speed, range and cover skills to impact the passing game.
One of the reasons the Eagles have shied away from taking a LB is that the position didn’t always have enough of an impact on pass defense. Howie Roseman talked about the need for the Eagles to get faster. Murray would bring an instant jolt of speed to the middle of the defense.
After the season, I re-watched some Eagles games. Nigel Bradham wasn’t painfully slow (think 2009 Jeremiah Trotter), but Bradham just didn’t run well enough to be the team’s key LB. He didn’t cover ground. He didn’t make plays.
Murray would change that.
Kenneth Murray plays on fire every play. Great pursuit angles and is a great inside out LB. pic.twitter.com/X92iMrmunD
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) April 12, 2020
Kenneth Murray is an absolute dog. Can get sideline to sideline and has that speed the Chiefs have been needing at ILB. He would be another savage on this defense..look at him chase down D’eriq King pic.twitter.com/2mpWBYRSU3
— Braiden Turner (@bturner23) April 8, 2020
Kenneth Murray does a lot of #Patriots-type things at LB. Fits their measurables better than Patrick Queen at 6-2, 241 and took snaps on & off the line.
Not as fast to key on plays as Queen, but range + closing speed is there. Plays the speed option, beats the TE, makes TFL. pic.twitter.com/paJUWg72g1
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) April 6, 2020
That closing speed is freakish.
Murray might just be the kind of LB you want on the field when facing Saquon Barkley twice a year for the next decade or so.
SAQUON TO THE HOUSE!
Eagles fans are punching air right nowpic.twitter.com/kMrMbHwjgq
— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) December 29, 2019
The Eagles will almost certainly focus on getting a WR at 21, but if the best ones are gone, the Eagles will have an interesting decision to make.
Could this be the year they go for a LB?
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[…] DJ mentioned LB as a possibility. I covered that recently. […]