Combine Notebook

Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman spoke to the media on Tuesday. One thing Howie Roseman said really stood out to me.

“I think just obviously we took a little bit of a different tactic this year,” Roseman said. “Usually, we like to sign guys early and sign guys during the season. And because of how hot we started, how well we did, and how many free agents we had, we thought it would create a different dynamic if we started to pick one guy and not another guy.

“We understood that could cost us in the end, but we felt like it was worthwhile because of the opportunity to potentially win a championship. Unfortunately, we came up short.”

Very interesting. The Eagles normally do make deals during the season. They hate going into an offseason with a bunch of unknowns. Right now, the Eagles might be the league leaders in unknowns. They have a ton of free agents and only limited cap space to work with. I like the fact the Eagles were willing to embrace the unknowns so as not to mess with the chemistry on a special team. They didn’t win the Super Bowl, but that was still a special bunch.

Roseman acknowledged there will be a lot of change. As much as he wants to keep everyone, it just can’t happen. He’s got to pick and choose who gets to stay. More appropriately, who gets an offer to stay. I’m sure the Eagles would love Javon Hargrave and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to be around for the future. Can they afford those guys?

Roseman talked about paying Jalen Hurts big money and what a challenge that is. But as he pointed out, that’s a good problem to have. There are plenty of teams who would love to have to figure out how to pay their young, star QB.

I read a blurb today about the Vikings trying to work something out with Kirk Cousins. That’s kind of like buying a first class ticket for a flight from Philly to Los Angeles, but knowing ahead of time the flight will only reach Salt Lake City. Cousins will win some games. He’ll do some good things. But you’re investing time and money in a player that feels like an extreme longshot to ever get to a Super Bowl.

As for Nick Sirianni, he said a few things of interest. He sure does love what he perceives to be coaching advantages.

“One thing that we definitely have now is what we had our first year going into it,” Sirianni said when asked what Desai’s defensive scheme will look like. “We have a little bit of unknown. Now, whoever we play first game can go and watch some of Sean’s stuff from Chicago or even some of the things from Seattle. But one thing that we have is some uncertainty again going into that first game, where you hide some things in preseason football.

“So not give everything away, but what I did like is some of the similarities to the things that we do, that we’ve already been doing here on a very successful defense with different coverages, different run blitzes, things like that.”

Desai will run the Vic Fangio scheme that is all over the NFL. Sirianni is right that the first opponent or two won’t have a strong feel for what Desai will do in some situations, but this isn’t as if the Eagles are going to a 2-4-5 or a 4-4 look or something crazy.

I loved Sirianni talking about the search for a new DC and saying his job was to do what was best for the team. The easy thing would have been promoting Dennard Wilson. That would have made the players happy (from what we’ve heard). I assume the other assistants like him.

Instead, Sirianni brought in an outsider. He felt that was the best move. Sirianni doesn’t just talk to coaches for the heck of it. He said Jemal Singleton was maybe the ninth interview he did for the RBs coach. As soon as it was over, Sirianni knew he’d found his RBs coach.

The goal isn’t to be first. The goal isn’t convenience or offering a reward to a current member of the staff. You go find the best person for the job. Go get someone that you think can help you win a Super Bowl. Sirianni felt Desai was that guy. Time will tell.

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You’ll hear about the Eagles meeting with a lot of prospects. It isn’t critical to keep track of that at the Combine. The Eagles will meet with a ton of guys. They already met with 90 to 100 at the Senior Bowl.

You want to keep track of which players the Eagles bring to Philly for an in-person visit. They are only allowed to bring 30 guys in so those meetings matter. We’ll also keep track of Pro Days. The Eagles will have scouts at most of them. You pay close attention when the team sends assistant coaches to work someone out. That shows special interest.

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In terms of players, there are a few I’m curious about.

DT Calijah Kancey of Pitt goes about 5-11, 270. He’s highly disruptive and just might sneak into the end of the first round. If the Eagles lose Hargrave, Kancey would be an interesting replacement. I’m interested to see what his measurements are.

OT Peter Skoronski of Northwestern is another player I want to see measurements for. He’s listed at 6-4, 305. I want to know height, weight and arm length. It won’t change what I think of him, but will be interesting to factor in when deciding if he’s a player you want at 10.

DT Bryan Bresee had an up and down final season at Clemson. He was dealing with injuries and the death of his younger sister so obviously his performance needs a lot of context. There is no question that he’s got big time talent. We just haven’t consistently seen it at Clemson. A strong showing would help teams to feel comfortable that Bresee is healthy and locked in. Could go anywhere from pick 15 to pick 50. There are a lot of different opinions on him. This week could help his cause.

DB Chamarri Conner was incredibly versatile at Virginia Tech. Played CB, S and NB. I love his physicality and think safety is his best fit. It will be interesting to see how he tests and if that means some teams do see him as a CB.

WR Parker Washington never became an elite player at Penn State, but played well in 2022 and certainly has an NFL future. He lacks ideal size and I’m curious to see how fast he is. Washington could be a good slot receiver and RS. He’s quick and elusive. I think he’s a solid athlete, but I’m curious to see just how athletic.

WR Jonathan Mingo is a player that fascinates me. Maybe I’m just biased toward Ole Miss wideouts because of AJ Brown, but Mingo would be a good fit for the Eagles. He has good size and strength. Good RAC ability. Shows deep speed. Want to see just how athletic he is and where that could land him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hir9pEOFKZ4

The QBs will be of interest. The Eagles would love them all to shine so that as many as four of them could go in the Top 10. That would push a good position player down to the 10th pick. Or maybe one of them is on the board at 10 and the Eagles are able to trade back. Either way, would be good for the QBs to stand out.

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Remember that Combine workouts are just one part of the process. They show how athletic prospects are, not whether they are good players. Some of the drills can be helpful as you get a better feel for movement ability and even some specific football skills.

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