Draft Visits Update

The Eagles are continuing to bring in draft prospects for visits. That doesn’t mean they love all these guys, but it does mean they’re interested and trying to figure out something about the players. In some cases…is this guy someone we want? There might be character or injury concerns. In other cases the question is how badly they want the player. The Eagles are fine-tuning their draft board.

Let’s take a look at all the Top 30 visits.

QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson – UCLA

RB Bijan Robinson – Texas

OT Peter Skoronski – Northwestern
OT Dawand Jones – Ohio State
OT Paris Johnson – Ohio State
OT Darnell Wright – Tennessee

DT Jalen Carter – Georgia
DT Bryan Bresee – Clemson
DT Mazi Smith – Michigan
DT Gervon Dexter – Florida
DT Jaquelin Roy – LSU
DT Brodric Martin – Western Kentucky

DL Lukas Van Ness – Iowa

Edge Nolan Smith – Georgia
Edge B.J. Ojulari – LSU

SAF Jason Taylor II – Oklahoma State

CB Kelee Ringo – Georgia
CB Julius Brents – Kansas State
CB Joey Porter Jr – Penn State
CB Emmanuel Forbes – Mississippi State

Special Interest

WR A.T. Perry – Wake Forest
OT Jake Witt – Northern Michigan
OG Anthony Bradford – LSU
C John Michael Schmitz – Minnesota
TE Zach Kuntz – Old Dominion
WR Braxton Westfield – Carson-Newman

Edge Jose Ramirez – Eastern Michigan
Edge David Perales – Fresno State
DL Viliami Fehoko – San Jose State
DT Desjuan Johnson – Toledo
LB Amari Burney – Florida
CB Anthony Kendall – Baldwin Wallace
CB Starling Thomas – UAB

Local Pro Day

RB Aidan Borguet – Harvard

CB Christian Braswell – Rutgers

DB Jaquan Amoms – Ball State

WR Sean Ryan – Rutgers

LB Johnny Buchanan – Delaware

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The new guys we found out about are Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jason Taylor II.

DTR makes a ton of sense for the Eagles. He is a gifted athlete who made a ton of plays at UCLA. He stands out as a runner, but also has potential as a passer. DTR needs work in that area, but he’s the kind of Day 3 project you don’t mind taking a chance on.

DTR measured in at 6-2, 203 so he’s big enough. He ran 4.56 at the Combine and that speed shows up on tape. I was surprised at how good his arm is. DTR can really sling it. The downside with him is protecting the ball and improving his passing game. He has the tools to potentially be a starting QB, but needs work. If the Eagles want a really athletic backup behind Hurts, DTR would be a fun choice.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1576073340338446337

I've seen basically zero talk about Dorian Thompson-Robinson this draft season, so I just wanted remind people he's out there.

QBs with DTR's arm and athleticism always get drafted. pic.twitter.com/DJso6XTdWY

— Ryan McCrystal (@Ryan_McCrystal) April 7, 2023

I have him rated as a 5th rounder. It is possible he goes earlier, but it wouldn’t be much. While he has good tools to work with, he is still a project at this point.

Jalen Hurts is the long term answer at QB. Marcus Mariota is the backup for this season. Ian Book is a mystery. The Eagles like him, but they haven’t seen him in game action yet. He joined the team after last preseason.

DTR is the kind of highly athletic QB the coaches may be looking for to run this offense.

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Taylor is a talented safety who would be a good fit for Sean Desai’s scheme. He started for 2 years and proved to be a good playmaker. He had 10 TFLs and 8 INTs in that time. Taylor is at his best in Cover 2. He tested well at the Combine (4.50 in the 40 and 43-inch vertical), but you don’t always see that athleticism on tape. He will get beat deep on occasion.

Taylor is a solid tackler and hitter. He showed the ability to play in the box or back deep. He also is a good STs player.

https://twitter.com/CodyNagel247/status/1570136753381457921

Both of Jason Taylor II INTs vs Texas pic.twitter.com/yPlaXHrSZw

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) March 16, 2023

I’m guessing the Eagles want a playmaker at safety. Taylor showed good playmaking ability at OSU. He’s got good hands. He shows the ability to jump routes and get to the ball.

I see Taylor as a 4th round pick. Obviously the safety position is far from set in stone. The Eagles have a collection of guys, but no foundational pieces. Taylor would give them one more contestant for Who Wants To Start at Safety.

*****

A few people have asked about this.

A “fed up” Devin White, who’s entering his fifth year, has requested a trade from the Bucs https://t.co/kYJVYLwXCa

— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) April 11, 2023

First, the Bucs have said they won’t trade him. I’m sure that is posturing as much as anything, but it is worth keeping in mind.

More importantly, I just can’t see the Eagles trading for a MLB who is due almost $12M this season. Even if the Eagles did have interest, White isn’t an ideal fit. He is at his best blitzing (20.5 sacks, 55 QB hits in 4 years). The Eagles would want a run stuffer with a bit of coverage ability. White has 1 INT and 15 PDs in 62 starts. TJ Edwards had 2 INTs and 13 PDs in 47 starts.

Interesting to consider, but won’t be happening.

*****

This was funny.

https://twitter.com/PointsBetUSA/status/1645216742837305345

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