Tim Hauck. Damon Moore. Blaine Bishop. Michael Lewis. Quintin Mikell. Those are the men who played opposite of Brian Dawkins from 1999-2008. None of them was great, but they played on some great defenses (2001, 2002, 2004, 2008).
As great as it would be to have a dynamic duo like Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor or Wes Hopkins and Andre Waters, you can have a good defense with one good Safety and one solid starter.
Part of the problem in recent years is that you had Quintin Demps, Macho Harris, Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, Jarrad Page and Patrick Chung trying to help each other succeed. They had no one to lean on. That’s why it was so important for the Eagles to sign Malcolm Jenkins last year and see him play well. He finally gives the Eagles a Safety they can build around.
Clearly he’s not in the same class as Dawkins, but Jenkins is a reliable veteran player. He’s going to do the right things on the court and can help the other Safety off the field. Knowing how to train and study is important for young players trying to develop.
Here are some Jenkins highlights from last year.
The Eagles must find someone to play opposite of him. This could be in free agency or the draft. But the good news is that the Eagles do have one starting spot set and that player can help the new guy.
Last year at this time the Eagles had Earl Wolff and Nate Allen atop the depth chart. That wasn’t awesome. Seeing Jenkins in place makes the task of improving the Safety position seem a heck of a lot easier.
Could this be the year the Eagles get back to having a pair of Safeties they like? Seems like forever since that has been the case.
I have very mixed feelings on Brett Hundley. He has the potential to be a good NFL starter, but I can also see him struggling to ever play well. I think he made a huge mistake by not going to the Senior Bowl. He could have helped himself a lot, on and off the field.
Hundley certainly looks the part of an NFL QB. He’s big and strong. He runs well and has a good arm. The problem is that I have questions in the 2 most important categories – accuracy and decision-making. UCLA ran a really simple pass offense that had Hundley throwing to his primary target most of the time. And many of those plays were at or behind the line of scrimmage. We don’t have enough information to know that Hundley can consistently understand coverages and read through his progressions.
There are times when Hundley makes great throws and really looks the part. He will also throw some poor passes and look awkward at times. His pocket awareness ranges from mediocre to awful. He had poor blocking at UCLA, but didn’t help matters. There were many times when he seemed oblivious to the rushers closing in on him. You love a QB that can stay focused on his receivers and not the rusher, but this went beyond that. Hundley seemed clueless that he was about to be hit a lot of the time. That’s not good.
I can see where some teams will have a 1st round grade on Hundley, while others won’t have him on their draft boards at all.
Aside from skills, it is hard for me to make a compelling case for Hundley. Tom Brady was 20-5 as a starter. I watched him lead Michigan to a late come-from-behind win over Penn State in 1999. I saw him beat Alabama 35-34 in OT in the 2000 Orange Bowl. I saw Drew Brees lead Purdue to the Rose Bowl and play some epic games against Big Ten powers. I saw Cam Newton carry Auburn on his back to a national title. I saw RG3 do some great things at Baylor and really put that program on the map. I watched Colin Kaepernick lead Nevada to upsets over Top 10 Boise State teams in consecutive years. And on and on and on.
Hundley? He helped UCLA win games and go to bowls, but didn’t do anything special. I’m not saying the guy had to play in a BCS game or win the Heisman, but I don’t know if there was ever a really compelling game or part of a game for Hundley. He was a good player on a good team. UCLA went 29-11 in his 3 years. They swept USC, but never beat Oregon or Stanford. They played 3 so-so bowl games and went 2-1.
Simply put, I never watched Hundley play and said “That guy is definitely an NFL starter.”
I do like Hundley more than EJ Manuel, who went in the mid-1st. Hundley reminds me of a better passing version of Kaepernick, who went in the early 2nd. Hundley has a chance to go early. But I still struggle to say that I think he’ll succeed in the NFL.
Does Hundley fit the Eagles? Maybe. He would be the kind of running threat Chip Kelly would like in this offense. I like his downfield accuracy, which is helpful in keeping the defense honest and opening up the running game. Hundley is comfortable with the short, quick throws that Kelly likes to use. My question is how he’ll handle 3rd/8 in the 4th Qtr when the Eagles are down a TD. Can he sit in the pocket, read the defense, find the correct receiver and then get him the ball? I have very serious doubts about that.
Interviews are going to be critical for Hundley. He’s got to convince NFL teams that he can run an NFL offense and be a consistently good passer.
I keep going back and forth on Hundley. As of right now, I’d prefer the Eagles not draft him. If you could invest a 3rd round pick in him and try to develop Hundley, that would be one thing. Pick 20? No thanks.
Kelly might feel differently. He used a 4th round pick to draft a Senior QB from a team that used a pro style offense. Matt Barkley has not panned out so far. Hundley is the anti-Barkley. Hundley has the size and skills of an NFL starter. Kelly wouldn’t have to worry about his raw tools. Kelly would simply have to coach the bad habits out of Hundley and develop him as a passer.