We Must Draft Locker!

Jake Locker is working out/meeting with the Eagles today.  In the past I would have said this is no big deal, but something very important occurred to me.  If we draft Locker, we can start dusting off the Jake and the Fatman references.  What the hell is that you ask?  Only one of the greatest shows of the 1980s that involved a cop named Jake and a fat man.  DVD sales would go through the roof.  Lurie will secretly buy the rights to the show before the season so he can collect on all the sales.  Jake and the Fatman…do it Big Red.  Do it!

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Okay, seriously, I’m not sure what to make of the Locker thing.  Most likely it is a ploy to make teams think we want Jake, but I have to tell you that Jake is the kind of QB Andy loves.  Jake reminds me of Donovan McNabb.  Both were/are athletic guys that had strong character, but weren’t pro-ready QBs.  Reid developed Donovan into a possible Hall of Fame player (we’ll see how the next few years go).  Reid might see similar potential in Locker.

Donovan lit it up at the Senior Bowl back in 1999.  His coach was Jon Gruden and those two hit it off really well.  That helped create a buzz around McNabb (plus his 4 years of game tape) and he went up high.  Locker failed to shine in Mobile.  He was up and down, just like his career.  That means he’ll go anywhere from pick 10 to the middle of the 2nd round.

I don’t think Locker is in serious play at pick 23, but like we’ve talked about before…Andy has earned the right to go get a QB if he feels the guy can be a good starter.  If he sees Locker as a star QB that just needs some coaching and time to develop…can you pass that up?

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We had a real good discussion yesterday about the OL and needs.  mcud made a very compelling argument for not taking OL early in the draft.  He actually made me question my own position.  Kudos for that.  Or should I say, very horrorshow.

I stick by my contention that we should come out of the draft with a starting caliber G.  We’re set on the interior as of now with Herremans-JamJax-McGlynn.  The problem is that Jamaal is coming off back-to-back serious injuries.  We’ve got to take that into account.  The backup C is McGlynn.  We do have Max Jean-Gilles behind him, but Max isn’t an ideal fit for Howard Mudd’s new style of doing things and Max hasn’t shown that he can be relied on for a whole season.  He’s never played in 16 games.

One of my reasons for targeting a G in the 2nd round is to get someone that can come in and challenge McGlynn for his starting spot at RG.  We need competition as well as depth.  I love Clint Boling because he has the size, athleticism, and experience to be able to play right away.

I do recognize that he might sit this year.  That is a possibility.  There is also the chance he beats out Mike for the RG spot or Max for the #3 G spot.  You don’t know for sure, but he’s got the capability of doing that.

The key for me is the phrase “starting caliber G”.  That player doesn’t have to come in the first couple of rounds.  Howard Mudd may think there is someone in the 3rd or 4th that he could get ready to play this summer.  If so, that’s fine with me.  I don’t see guys that I feel that way about, but Howard knows exactly what he’s looking for and I’m still kinda guessing.  The Saints did okay with 4th rounder Jahri Evans as a rookie.  He was the right guy for their system.

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What do we do if Da’Quan Bowers falls?  Pass.  He’s not ideal for the new system.  Bowers would have been perfect in the old system.  He’s not a pure speed rusher.  Several of Bowers sacks came on bull rushes or inside moves.  We’re looking for guys who can fly off the ball and play outside-in.  Plus, we’ve had bad luck with injured players.  I’m fine with using a 3rd rounder on Bruce Carter, but I get the feeling that if we take Bowers it will be one issue after another.  The Eagles will finally let him go after the anvil falls on his head in 2014.

Speaking of DEs…I’ve been watching lots of draft tape in recent days.  I don’t know if we’ll take a DE, but Ryan Kerrigan is hard not to want.  Okay, that sounded funny.  Football-wise, I mean.  (My heart and soul are still committed to Eric Berry and Megan Fox.)   Kerrigan would be ideal for the new system and god he is fun to watch.  A 6-4 guy with a good motor.  Athletic and productive.  I also watched tape of J.J. Watt and Aldon Smith.  Those guys each were great in their own way.  I’m not sure Smith would be a great fit for the system, but man is that guy talented.  He uses his hands to punish blockers.  And he’s doing this as a young kid.  Imagine when he gets to be a bitter man.  Let’s hope he goes to the AFC.  When I see a guy with Watt’s size and athletic ability I can’t help but flash back to the days of Reggie and Clyde.  It would be fun to have a monster-sized DE like that (preferably not named Jon Harris).   Lots of great D-linemen to choose from in the 1st round.  All I ask is that Kerrigan not be a Dallas Cowboy.  I’m still suffering from their selection of Sean Lee last  year.  And with a pick we traded them.  The horror.  The horror.