Combine take away: RGIII, Kuechly and DeSean
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Combine take away: RGIII, Kuechly and DeSean
Jonathan Tamari
Back from Indianapolis, here are five take-aways from my time at the scouting combine, including thoughts on Luck/RGIII, a CBA quirk that might affect DeSean Jackson and Luke Kuechly:
-- The 40 is overrated, but I don’t care: I love the 40-yard-dash, even if its hype far exceeds its worth in evaluating players.
To me, the 40 is the closest thing the NFL has to the simple, silly fun that once was the Slam Dunk contest. It requires zero attention span, zero jargony tape breakdowns and just gives you a brief moment to be awed by raw athleticism, to have that jaw-dropping instant that makes you say ‘holy Mel Kiper, did he really do that?’
When RGIII was initially clocked at 4.38 (later revised to 4.41), it was one of those moments. When Dontari Poe, a 346-pound cement mixer on legs ran it in 4.87, it was one of those moments. (And when Vontaze Burfict clocked in at 4.93, it was like the guy who sets up an elaborate dunk attempt and clangs it off the back of the rim).
Most people around the NFL will tell you that what matters far more than any combine drill is a prospects’ play in actual football games. If the guy scores touchdowns or makes tackles, does it matter how many hundredths of a second it took him to do it?
You might want to know if a supposed burner at corner or receiver lives up to his billing. But if your defensive tackle ever runs a 40 yard sprint, something has gone horribly wrong. I have never once seen a broad jump executed in open play. Straight up speed helps, but it’s just one part of the equation, along with agility, balance and strength. Ideally all that is mixed with smarts, heart and toughness. Plenty of great players have used talent in some areas to make up for deficiencies in others.
But I’m still mesmerized by freakish 40 times.
It’s like looking over 0 to 60 acceleration times while car shopping. While you navigate Center City, drive over to Wegman’s or roll to Chipotle, how often are you going to open up the engine into a full sprint? But it’s still nice to know what it can do when you bolt off the entrance ramp and wheel into the flow of traffic.
When the ball is snapped and the moment comes when your linebacker has diagnosed the play and made a decision and it’s time to just hit somebody, or when your quarterback needs to get past one man to reach the end zone, it’s fun to know what’s under the hood.
-- The Eagles have options beyond Kuechly: It’s hard to find a mock draft that doesn’t have the Eagles taking Boston College LB Luke Kuechly with the 15th overall pick, and he certainly bolstered his case by being one of the top linebackers in nearly every drill they run at the combine. That he did it while five pounds heavier than in college seems to answer the only question surrounding him -- his athleticism – because Kuechly’s game play was outstanding. He led the nation in tackles for the past two years and last year won the Butkus Award (best linebacker) Lombardi Award (best linebacker or lineman) and Bronko Nagurski Award (best defensive player). In other words, he can play, and the combine shows he can run, jump and zip between cones with the best of this year’s prospects.
All that said, Jeff rightly pointed out that there might be some intriguing free agent options at LB and that a proven veteran might make more sense. And, as Les wrote today, people in Indy were raving about the defensive tackles. We know how much Andy Reid loves his linemen, and there might be a great one available at 15. The other obvious place to look is wide receiver, but one guy sometimes linked to the Eagles, Baylor’s Kendall Wright, disappointed with a 4.61 40. This is an instance where the time matters, since Wright is supposed to be a speedster who might be a like-for-like replacement if DeSean Jackson is gone. Maybe Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd – not a burner but a 6-foot-3 target who can play big – will tempt them.
I’ll throw out one other place to consider: safety. It’s considered a thin class, with not much beyond Alabama’s Mark Barron. And the Eagles already have two recent second round safeties on the roster. Nate Allen has shown enough potential that he deserves another year to show what he can do. Jaiquawn Jarrett has only had one season, and normally you can’t give up on a high draft pick that quickly. But what if the Eagles have already seen enough to know that they reached and missed? They quickly admitted the Daniel Te’o-Nesheim mistake. Jarrett would be an even bigger strike out, but if he’s not the answer, it would only compound the mistake to stand pat.
-- RGIII is going to dominate the next few months nationally, and maybe in Philadelphia too: No one created more combine buzz than the charismatic Robert Griffin, III, first with a media performance that was stellar, by all accounts, and then with a blazing 40 time. There isn’t much drama at number one: Andrew Luck seems sure to go to the Colts. But the bidding for number two is going to be a huge story that probably won’t resolve until shortly before the draft.
The Eagles have become part of the talk because they met with Griffin. I don’t read too much into that meeting alone. According to SI’s Peter King, Griffin “really enjoyed” his time with Reid – but what else would the quarterback say?
Still, Phil Sheridan raised some fascinating points that are worth considering, about Reid maybe taking the long view on Griffin. If you can get a game-changing quarterback, you can set up your franchise for a decade or more. As current Eagles stars age, Griffin, if he pans out, would be coming into his prime just in time to carry the team.
That said, the price to get Griffin would be enormous and I think the Eagles have constructed a team to win now and should draft accordingly. Trent Cole turns 30 this year. Jason Babin will soon be 32. Jason Peters is 30 and Nnamdi Asomugha turns 31 before the season. These are some of the most important pieces of the team. I’d even add in LeSean McCoy as a player who the Eagles need to take full advantage of right now. Even though he is only 23, running backs have stunningly short primes. These players are known quantities and the Eagles should take advantage of having them while they can still play at high levels.
I once heard from an NFL personnel man that teams are always keeping an eye on top players, even ones who aren’t available right away, because you never know what might happen. Three years ago it would have been impossible to imagine Peyton Manning hitting the open market, but it seems sure that that is about to happen. I got the impression last summer that the Eagles were long enamored with Asomugha, even before he was due to reach free agency. But once those guys are under contract, contact with them is limited, so the combine presents a rare chance to really sit down and talk to what could be the next big thing.
My guess is that’s all the Eagles were doing. But I can’t totally rule out the idea that they would go big and try to land RGIII. At the very least it makes for an excellent debate.
-- The new labor deal includes some quirks that will affect contracts and maybe DeSean Jackson: Franchise tag salaries have actually decreased from recent years (NFL.com has a breakdown here), angering a number of agents at the combine. The reason is that the league has changed the formula that once determined the tag price by using the average of the top five players at a given position. The new, more complicated formula factors in how much of the cap the tag took up in each of the previous five seasons.
The end result is that the roughly $9.4 million franchise number the Eagles would have to pay Jackson if they tag him is still a huge raise, but not as much as the $11.4 million a tagged receiver would have made in 2011.
On the other hand, the Eagles would have to pay substantially more in 2013 if they tagged DeSean a second time. While there are several reasons, the bottom line, essentially, is that using the tag on a player for a second year will almost always require teams to pay 120 percent of the player’s salary – in other words, a 20 percent raise from the $9.4 million Jackson would get if he plays under the tag this coming season. The cost goes up even more for a third year, according to the NFL Network’s Albert Breer.
That means that if the Eagles keep DeSean for 2012 on the tag and want to keep him beyond this season, it would give them incentive to work out a long-term deal.
One other labor note: with the league's new TV contracts, many agents are anticipating a sharp increase in television revenue in a couple years, which means bigger salary caps and larger paydays. Jermichael Finley's two-year deal with the Packers might be the first example of players looking for short-term deals now with an eye toward cashing in again in the near future.
-- Can’t wait to see Luck/RGIII over the next five years: The obvious comparison is the 1998 draft, when quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf went one and two overall. But that story quickly fizzled as Leaf burned out and Manning starred.
I have a feeling – or maybe just a hope – that this year ends up more like the NBA draft of 2003, which saw LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade all chosen within the first five picks. Quarterback is the closest thing the NFL has to an NBA superstar: they can single-handedly lift an organization, and while great regular seasons are expected, stars are ultimately measured by postseason excellence and championships.
Luck and RGIII are both being touted as those kind of franchise-changing talents and personalities. If they live up to their billings, they could be iconic players for the next decade, perhaps dueling it out for league-wide prominence and each trying to stake their claim as the best of their class. I’d love to watch that.
The Birds, could make a deal for RGIII, with their 1st. RD. PK. & 2# two's & Samuels, & still get what they need a MLB. From free agency, Tulloch, or Lofton. RGIII, Is Mike Vick, on steroids. Vick is my guy, but we won't see anything like G3, for a long time.— Lb 54 wide 9- The Birds, should take Lofton, or Tulloch at MLB. From Free agency.Then take Zack Brown,OLB. with the 15th. Pick.
— Lb 54 wide 9 - Could we all stop talking about Vontaze Burfict now? He's no longer part of the conversation. His disastrous interviews and workout at the combine knocked him out of the first-round and possibly even the second-round. He should feel grateful if he gets picked as high as round 3. He has a lot of work to do to repair the damage and prove himself and become a quality NFL LB once he does get picked.— rich0376
- The Combine means nothing to this front office. It's who plays good at the senior bowl is what counts to them. I don't know why they even bothered wasting there time going to it. Lawyers and Accountants evaluating football talent..........What a joke!!— Geno D
- I have to admit that I was a Burfict supporter, but after his results at the combine coupled with blaming his coaches for his poor play last season, I'm not sure he would be the best LB to take in this years draft depending on how far he slips. With that said, my main knock on Kuechly was that I wasn't sure about his athletism. He proved that he is in fact one of the most athletic LB in this class. In addition, I liked Spence before the combine and I still like him as a very solid option for us.— Phillycb21
- Who really cares how fast Tom Brady can run? Or Peyton Manning? Or Joe Montana? or Dan Marino? or Johhny Unitas? or Norm VanBrocklin? And do we really care now how fast Donovan McNabb was? The Eagles do not understand what a quarterback is.— West_Philly_Fan
- Poe, the 338 pound DT had a faster 40 time than Burflict, so let's end that discussion. You can probably get Burflict on day 3 of the draft at this point. The idea that Ozzie Newsome, one of the best drafters in the NFL, would make him the #1 pick of the Ravens is laughable.
— dlivesay - If the Eagles can put something together to get Griffin, I say do it. They could still get a decent free agent LB, and they'd have what could be a young franchise quarterback. That opportunity doesn't come up very often. Also, I don't know how anybody could easily pass up a chance at drafting Dontari Poe. That guy is an absolute freak. Can you imagine having a 346 lb. d-tackle in the middle of the line? He'd make the LBs look a lot better.— p-diddy
- Trade up get Griffin or stay put and draft Kuechly tough decision.— eaglessuck@life
- The eagles should trade 15th pick and go back to pick up dont'a hightower who has proven himself against better teams and in my opinion is more nfl ready than keuchly and the eagles will end up getting more out of trading back and the eagles run a 4-3 which on film is the type of defense hightower usually runs and is very good at it— AidanK
- Kuechly will no longer be available at 15. His on-field performance together with his combine showing moved him up.— Bobby G
- Payroll and success do not correlate in the NFL. The two cheapest teams from 2000-2010 were the Patriots and Steelers. The Colts also make the lowest 6 average payrolls for that time period. In 2010 these teams had the least payroll(I pick 2010 bc it was an uncapped year) Ravens, Colts, Falcons, Packers and Chiefs(who went 10-6) meanwhile teams like the Redskins, Panthers, Texans had payrolls at the top. That was an uncapped year when their is actually a spread between team payrolls. With the cap in effect, almost all of the teams end up with a very tight variance in payrolls. The Eagles generally ended up in the top 1/3 of payroll for that period. Being cheap has never been their issue.— UncleStosh
- This is the time of the year that I begin to cringe when Andy and Howie outsmart the other 31 teams in the NFL draft. This starts the hype over how good we will be come OTA's and training camp when Howie Roseman assures us that he knows talent and FA. Here we go again, suckers.— walt1
- Philly has been known to not draft well. going after lineman wither O or D lineman. Eagles got lucky with DeSean Jackson still being around when he was and capitalized. They were great by drafting LeSean McCoy just look at what he did this year. And he was a huge factor in the Eagles winning out right to go .500. If Philly can get RG3, that will and maybe another decent reciever then Eagles can clearly take back the NFC East. I don;t see Jerry Jones buying another super bowl anytime soon with the stadium he had built and the contract for Romo. It will be none the less a season to look forward to especially if the Eagles can deal Asante Samuel and free up that cap room.— ICEInvestigator55
- RGIII is overrated. If the Eagles think they have options at LB, then you can guarantee they are drafting a lineman at #15. Our team is run by a salary cap lawyer who never coached or played football.— Sports4Life
- This is all a ploy. The eagles are not going to trade up for RGIII. This is just a distraction. They're just trying to get us all to stop calling for Reid's head.— sickoflosing
- How is Vontaze Burfict a freak of nature? He's 6'1", 242 lbs. and is the slowest and one of the lowest rated LB's in the draft. Luke Kuechley is 6' 3", 242 lbs., led the nation in tackles two years in a row and is the highest rated LB in the draft. It now looks like Vontaze Burfict is going to slip into the middle-rounds and Luke Kuechley will be picked before the Eagles pick at #15. Vontaze Burfict may very well gets his act together and end up being a good LB but he can pretty much forget about being picked in the first two rounds.
— rich0376 - "I think the Eagles have constructed a team to win now and should draft accordingly."
the Eagles have constructed a team to win now for the last 10 or 12 years.
they just never actually do it.
— ekw555 - post of the day. — coloradoeagle
- Mike Mamula was not a bust!! Yes, he was picked way too high in the draft but he was a quality player on a bad defense until he had to retire due to injury. He was also playing out of position. The Eagles had him playing DE but Mike Mamula and just about everyone else viewed him as a LB. The team didn't do him any favors by promoting him as the guy that would replace Reggie White. Also, this myth that nobody good ever came out of BC is ridiculous. BJ Raji, Mathias Kiwanuka, Matt Ryan, Matt Hasselback, Damien Woody, Chris Snee, Doug Fluite, Bill Romanowski, Mark Chmura & Marc Colombo were all from BC all became quality NFL players.— rich0376
- they traded up for him and passed on warren sapp a hall of famer and derrick brooks also a hall of famer...yes, he was a bust.
- I agree Rich. Whenever WIP lists the "worst" Eagles picks, Mamula is always at the top. He wasn't a great player, but was certainly was a serviceable player. He was better than Larry Allen, Brandon, Graham, Jon Harris, and Freddy Mitchell, just to name a few. — NO1PHILZPHAN
- Yeah, and one of their best backs ever is known for the phrase, "For Who, For What?" That's life, deal with it.
- I want Vontaze. I heard the same things about Brandon Graham two years ago and the eagles picked him ahead of JPP. I want a freak of nature at linebacker that will be a force in that defense not just another player. From what I am hearing Burfict might go in the second and third round. It would be an absolute steal.— snort_richmond
- You must be quite a football fan, Shemp. Do the names Matt Ryan and BJ Raji mean anything to you?— JLB
Give it a rest stooge. Mamula was a thousand years ago. Mamula did well at the combine but the tape, which doesn't lie, clearly had him as a 3rd round pick at best. Rhodes feel in love with the guy's combine stats, but Kuechly can clearly play. Just watch the tape. I tell you what, over the time Rhodes was the head coach I liked his draft with the defense way better than Reid's.- tape? i suppose you are hanging out at nfl films picking tape apart with jaws and didinger?
- correct Shemp - and no recievers from notre dame or anyone from ohio state for that matter also— dheis
- no first round picks from BC..i'm sorry...mike mamula ruined it for BC players.
- You can tell guys who have never actually played the game. They make statements like, "The 40 is overrated . . . even if its hype far exceeds its worth in evaluating players."
Undoubtedly, NFL personnel men around the country were on the floor laughing when they read that one. Some 145-lb. pencil pusher claims to know more about football than those who get paid to make decisions about multi-million dollar investments.
