Busy Day

Posted: March 23rd, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

The Eagles are in the process of bringing prospects to Philly for pre-draft visits. The team is allowed 30 of them, unless the players are local and then they are unlimited. Asim Richards is an OL who played at UNC, but he’s from Philly. He can visit and it won’t count. Kids who go to school at Temple or Villanova can visit and it won’t count. Aside from them, the Eagles have 30 visits to use they are picky about who they bring to town.

Teams have admitted to bringing players to town that they don’t have interest in just to throw off the other teams drafting around them. That might have been the case with the Eagles bringing in RB Bijan Robinson. Or maybe they do have interest. It keeps us all guessing.

Sometimes teams bring in players that they have questions about. The team is trying to figure out just how comfortable they are with a prospect. If you get the players away from events (Senior Bowl/Pro Day/Combine), they might let their guard down and give you insight as to whether you really want them.

Most times teams are trying to figure out just how much they like a prospect. Do we like him? Do we love him? Is this a guy we have to find a way to get?

DL Lukas Van Ness is in town for a visit and I’m guessing he falls into the last category. Around Christmas, Van Ness was perceived to be a Top 50 pick. Now that teams have studied his tape and seen his Combine workout, Van Ness has a chance to go very early. The Eagles would need to use pick 10 on him if they really want him.

Van Ness is 6-5, 272. As I mentioned yesterday, he reminds me a bit of Zach Allen, the Cardinals DL who got big money to go to Denver in free agency. Both are athletic enough to play outside, but big and strong enough to play inside. You love that kind of versatility in DL, especially in today’s world of multiple fronts.

Van Ness is only a redshirt sophomore so he had two years of eligibility left. He surprised a few people when he came out because he never even started a game at Iowa. Still, he did lead the team in TFLs and was tied for the sack lead this past season. When he was on the field, Van Ness made things happen. He isn’t just a gifted athlete. He is a disruptive player who has a ton of upside.

Here are some comparisons.

Lukas Van Ness

6-5, 272
4.58 – 40 time
1.62 – 10-yard split
17 reps
31 inch VJ
4.32 SS
7.02 3Cone

Zach Allen

6-4, 280
5.00
1.65
24 reps
32 VJ
4.36 SS
7.34 3C

JJ Watt

6-5, 290
4.81
1.71
34 reps
37 VJ
4.21 SS
6.88 3C

Jason Jones

6-5, 273
4.80
1.62
18 reps
25.5 VJ
4.32 SS
7.29 3C

I wanted a variety of guys so you could see different careers. Watt is obviously a freak. Those numbers are crazy and it showed in him having a HOF career. Allen has developed into a good pass rusher and versatile DL. Jones played in the league from 2008-2016. He played DE and DT, but did most of his damage inside. He finished his career with 31.5 sacks, 44 TFLs and 74 QB hits.

Van Ness is a really intriguing prospect. The question is about value. Is he worth pick 10? He might be a guy you’d love to trade back and get in the mid-teens. Either way, he is a player the Eagles should be considering. Productive, athletic pass rushers are the kind of players you want in the first round.

*****

Neal is a safety. He moved to LB for Dallas in 2021 and there were mixed results so he went back to playing safety last year. Neal is a punishing hitter. He absolutely blows guys up. If you loved watching Wes Hopkins and Brian Dawkins, you’ll love Neal’s hitting.

https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1307772621308801030

https://twitter.com/HotlantaHlights/status/1207756068425736193

Vicious.

Obviously Neal isn’t close to Hopkins or Dawk overall. They were star players. He’s been to one Pro Bowl (2017). Neal would be a good veteran addition to help mentor Reed Blankenship and whoever gets drafted/signed. Neal started 8 games for Tampa last year and played pretty well for them. He isn’t a long term answer, but could be an effective one-year solution for the Eagles.

*****

Now for the weird “story” of the day.

That tweet by Schefter was deceiving. It made everyone think those teams were talking to him. Apparently that’s not the case. Schefter does favors for agents and that tweet was certainly one of them. His agent is trying to create a market for Zeke’s services, especially with teams that Zeke wants to go to. There haven’t been any reports about teams talking to him prior to today. This isn’t an ideal time to be a RB, especially a veteran RB.

From an Eagles perspective, Zeke would make some sense, but only at the right price. He’s no longer the guy you build the offense around. He is a good short yardage and goal line runner. Those are critical situations and having someone like Zeke in them would be good. He is a good pass blocker and effective receiver. He’s durable. Zeke has started at least 14 games for five straight years. He’s never had less than 250 touches, which is good and bad. That’s good because it shows how dependable he is. At the same time, you wonder if he would accept more of a role player situation. And paycheck.

Probably nothing comes of this, but made for some interesting speculation.

*****

Happy Birthday to the Polish Rifle, still one of the greatest nicknames in NFL history.

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One Comment on “Busy Day”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Philadelphia’s biggest free agent loss - COURSESLEARN said at 1:22 PM on March 24th, 2023:

    […] Busy Day – Iggles BlitzThat tweet by Schefter was deceiving. It made everyone think those teams were talking to him. Apparently that’s not the case. Schefter does favors for agents and that tweet was certainly one of them. His agent is trying to create a market for Zeke’s services, especially with teams that Zeke wants to go to. There haven’t been any reports about teams talking to him prior to today. This isn’t an ideal time to be a RB, especially a veteran RB. From an Eagles perspective, Zeke would make some sense, but only at the right price. He’s no longer the guy you build the offense around. He is a good short yardage and goal line runner. Those are critical situations and having someone like Zeke in them would be good. He is a good pass blocker and effective receiver. He’s durable. Zeke has started at least 14 games for five straight years. He’s never had less than 250 touches, which is good and bad. That’s good because it shows how dependable he is. At the same time, you wonder if he would accept more of a role player situation. And paycheck. Probably nothing comes of this, but made for some interesting speculation. […]