Moving

Posted: April 19th, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | No Comments »

Howie Roseman hates to stay put. He loves moving up and down the draft board. The Eagles have traded up in the first round of the last three drafts. If there is a player they like, Howie want to go get him. Don’t take a chance on someone else getting your guy before you pick.

The Eagles have pick 22 in next week’s draft. They might want to trade up for a CB. Or an OL. I guess they could move up for an edge rusher, but I don’t  think that would be a good use of resources. The Eagles have good depth for this year. I wouldn’t be keen on spending multiple picks for a player who would help in the future. The only DL expected to go in the Top 20 is Byron Murphy from Texas. There is talk that he could sneak into the Top 10. Murhpy is an athletic, disruptive DT who might remind you of Javon Hargrave. Unless he slides, it might cost a lot to get get him.

CB is the one spot that makes the most sense. Quinyon Mitchell and Terrion Arnold are the two best prospects. There are good players after them, but there is a drop-off.

Mitchell won’t make it to 22. He’s a gifted athlete and playmaker. Arnold isn’t likely to fall to 22. The Eagles do have interest in him. He was in Philly on a visit earlier in the week. Arnold is 6-0, 189 and ran 4.50 at the Combine. He can cover really well and is a good run defender.

As you see in that clip, Arnold can play the slot. And he is a physical tackler. He would make a lot of sense for the Eagles because of his versatility and playing style. The secondary could use both of those.

This is a deep OL class. There will be good players on the board at 22 so I would prefer not to move up. Howie may feel differently. The three guys I could see them having interest in are JC Latham from Alabama, Taliese Fuaga from Oregon State or Troy Fautanu from Washington. All three are expected to go in the 11-20 range. A wildcard is Amarius Mims from Georgia. He might make it to 22.

Latham makes me a bit nervous. He is a big RT with good ability, but Alabama OTs have struggled in the NFL in recent years. Fuaga and Fautanu are aggressive, nasty blockers. Both are a lot of fun to watch. Mims has the most potential, but only has 8 starts. If he makes it to 22, I could see the Eagles taking him.

Could the Eagles move back? If they don’t love the options at 22, dropping back a few spots would make some sense. Howie prefers to move up, but we’ll have to wait and see how the board breaks.

*****

The NFL recently reinstated some players who had been suspended for gambling violations. Unfortunately, CB Isaiah Rodgers wasn’t among them.

The Eagles expect him to be reinstated. It is a bit strange he didn’t make it in the first wave. Hopefully that’s not a bad sign.

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This article mentions the Eagles thinking about Bill Belichick.

Roseman told ESPN he had a conversation with Belichick, a check-in to see how the coach was doing after he was out in New England. A source close to Belichick confirmed there was no talk during the call about working for the Eagles.

Still, there was chatter in league circles that Philadelphia and Belichick could be a match. Despite some owners and executives believing the game had passed Belichick by, the Eagles felt he still had his fastball; he had nearly beaten them in the 2023 season opener with an inferior team. There’s also a belief that Belichick will coach only until he gets 15 more wins, enough to pass Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history. Though not seriously considering a move, Lurie wondered to a confidant: Was it worth overhauling the building, changing personnel and philosophies on everything from training staff to salary cap structure, for someone who might coach only two years?

“You’ll have to start over again,” said a source with firsthand knowledge of the Eagles’ thinking. “Who would replace him? He hasn’t had a good record of developing coaches. They were afraid that he’ll have changed everything and every person, and [then] you’ll be starting from scratch again. He didn’t demand those changes, but they felt like, if we hire him, we have to give everything to him and trust how he does it.”

Belichick is one of the greatest coaches in football history. But he didn’t help himself in recent years. He was stubborn, arrogant and posted a losing record over the past four seasons. He didn’t win a playoff game after Tom Brady left. Belichick made bad personnel moves and did some bizarre stuff with his coaching staff. Without Brady he sure didn’t look like a genius. But he continued to act like he was one.

That wore out his welcome in New England and I think it hurt him around the league. Who wants to hire a guy who is bad with the media and projects an image of being difficult to get along with?

I am glad the Eagles kept Nick Sirianni instead of going for BB. He seems like such a miserable guy at times.

Belichick is going to do media work this year. He’ll come on and tell funny stories and show a charming side to himself. It is too bad he couldn’t do that while coaching. It would have helped his image a lot.

If Sirianni doesn’t win this year, Belichick could be an option. Let’s hope Sirianni does win and we can see BB go elsewhere.

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Skinny Dude Gets Fat Money

Posted: April 15th, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »

You can’t make everybody happy. We saw that this offseason when Haason Reddick let the Eagles know he wanted more money and the team instead found a new home for him. Howie Roseman was able to give big extensions to Landon Dickerson, Jordan Mailata and Jake Elliott. Now they’ve got some company.

DeVonta has been a terrific player for the Eagles. He isn’t one of the Top 10 WRs in the game, but he is a stud. In three seasons, he averages 80-1060-6. That’s not bad for a #2 WR. To be fair, he’s more like 1B, with AJ Brown being 1A.

Smith has good speed. He has very good hands and outstanding body control. He’s tough. The exciting part of all this is that his best football should still be in front of him. That’s a big reason why the Eagles were willing to pay him now. Plus, the timing makes a lot of sense for them.

Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and several other prominent receivers are due extensions. They will get megabucks and push the market even higher. It is hard to understand what Minnesota and Dallas are thinking. When you find star players, pay them. Keep them happy.

The Eagles now have a lot of key players locked up for the next few years. They have a strong core that should keep this team in the title hunt. If they can fix the defense, 2024 could be a fun season.

The Eagles do a great job of keeping their guys. You don’t see many key free agents leaving here. They let Miles Sanders walk because they wanted an upgrade. They let Isaac Seumalo  walk because they wanted to get younger. The Eagles have drafted, traded for and signed some key guys. They keep them by being good at cap management. That allows them to re-sign good players and not be severly limited due to financial constraints.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1779883628115140764

I know it came in a loss, but I love the catch against Dallas. Minshew put the ball up high and in traffic. Smitty went up and got it. Huge play in that game. I look forward to a lot more highlights in the years to come.

*****

Great name, good player. He should be on the board at 22. Good cover corner. He is a solid athlete (4.47 in the 40, 34.5 inch vertical), but isn’t special. More hitter than tackler, but can be aggressive. Only has 2 career INTs. He was a punt returner and had some big returns. Smart player with good instincts.

*****

I mentioned the Eagles having interest in OG Zak Zinter. He’s good on and off the field.

https://twitter.com/football_sis/status/1779902566282756142

I don’t put a ton of stock in the stat above, but thought it was interesting. I do love his game tape. You can watch the clips and see his skill set and nasty demeanor. Should be a mid-round pick.

*****

I still need to watch tape on this guy. Ran 4.34 at the Combine. Has solid size at 6-2, 188. I don’t know if the CB the Eagles will draft will pan out, but it won’t be for lack of effort. They have checked out a ton of guys.

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