EAGLES MOVE UP FOR MACLIN
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
EAGLES MOVE UP FOR MACLIN
Bob Brookover
The Eagles made a trade with the Cleveland Browns for a wide receiver after all, moving up two spots in order to select Missouri's Jeremy Maclin.
In order to get Maclin with the 19th pick, the Eagles dealt their first-round pick and a sixth-round selection, the 195th pick overall. He is just the second receiver the Eagles have taken in the first round during coach Andy Reid's tenure. The other was Freddie Mitchell in 2001.
Reid said the Eagles didn't expect Maclin to be available when it was their turn to make a pick.
"Actually, we thought he was going to go quite a little bit higher than he did," Reid said. "This was not who we had targeted. He just happened to be one of those guys who fell a little bit and he kind of fell into our lap there."
Maclin, 20, set a single-season school record for receptions with 102 and yards with 1,260. He also scored 13 touchdowns. In addition to his ability as a receiver, Maclin will likely take over as the Eagles' kick returner, a role he did extremely well at Missouri. His 1,346 kick return yards as a freshman were two shy of an NCAA record.
"I just love doing it," Maclin said when asked about returning kicks. "I put a lot of work and film study into it in order to be successful."
Maclin, who declared for the draft after just two seasons at Missouri, was just the third player in NCAA history to average more than 200 all-purpose yards per game.
Comments (52)
Very interesting pick. AR fooled us all again on draft day. At least with AR on drafts, we can predict that he will surprise— jbourne53- I'm confused why we did that— tampaPhillyfan
- Not sure if we needed to trade up to get him, and I honestly don't know much about the guy and how he projects at the pro level. Was he a better pickup than a stud TE (i.e. Pettigrew) or a RB (i.e. Brown)... not sure. Time will tell.... it always does.— Zaknafein
- What is up with that?? Wells was there and if you're gonna take a WR take Britt 2nd round or give the pick to AZ for Boldin...and fans wonder why the Birds fall short...Macklin and DeSean Jackson are the same receiver!!— sportsjournalist
Comment removed.- What do those guys smoke on draft day? They didn't need to move up to get this jkid. We drafted this guy last year. Wells/Pettgrew still out there and we gat an undersized receiver who they claim has trouble running routes! Have another cheese steak Andy - can anyone say here's your dunce hat!— jakster
- Don't like it. I don't care what some "Experts" think. I think it was a reach!! A player similar to Desean, but who supposedly has "worse hands" than Desean. I'm so excited to get Todd Pinkston's heavier Brother!!!— reggiedunlop
- Should have stayed with the 21st pick and taken Chris Wells... who is still there btw.— CBL2744
- In effect, we traded Reggie Brown, who is now the odd man out, for Maclin. Doesn't seem like such a bad deal to me.— SteveS11
- Whoah, whoah, whoah...careful how you describe him as "considered a third-down specialist". You're making the guy sound like a part-time player. He had 182 receptions in 2 seasons at Missouri. He had 22 catches last season on third-down that went for first downs. So he was very good on 3rd down but the guy is an every down player. Since he only played 2 seasons before coming out of college, he's a LOT younger than Boldin too.— JimG
- I like the move. Its always a risk but if Maclin pans out he has the potential to be a gamebreaker. AR rolled the dice, rather than go with the safer trade for Anquan Boldin...— Cameiros
- Jakson, Curtis, Maclin. With the O Line being strong again, McNabb will have time and that will be an almost impossible trio to cover...especially if we get the rb in the 2nd to allow Westbrook to split out as well. Maclin was a top 10 talent. Why did we have to move up though?— christopherkmaddaloni
- Enough of the nonsense about Maclin being the same WR as DeSean just because they are both fast and both good returners. Do some homework. Maclin is 2 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than Jackson. Maclin is 6'0 and 200 lbs which is decent size for a WR. He's not a little guy.— JimG
- um... why did we pass on pettigrew??? i mean i like celek at TE but dude can't block... i know some scouts had maclin rated over crabtree, but i dunno man... pettigrew was a consensus best player at his position, a position thats vital to the west coast offense. im ok with the pick, yet still somewhat puzzled...— dinrah
- Listen people. The Cardinals are NOT trading Boldin. Get over it.
- Boldin is not going to be traded.
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- Andy beat out Childress for Maclin...Childress bummed!— JBP
This pick stinks. I hope it works out, but why spend a 6th pick to move up two places. Plenty of equal or better talent out there. Eagles need some stud players, not more finesse.— NHLfan- there is no way our fans can be upset about this. all i ever hear and read from our fans is that we need another threat WR. i'm completely shocked by this, but good pick. he's a bleeping speedster. if he picks up our system well, imagine him and jax spreading the field. try covering that speed. good job eagles...though i'm still a bit confused, let's go running back next!— durtyburd
- and a lot of "experts" have him being better than crabtree even. plus he had 1000+ yards returning kicks. cheer up guys, we just got a steal. *bleep* boldin, he's older, overpriced, and injury prone. plus, he's a possession guy, we have those already. good job gulls.— durtyburd
- great pick,hope beanie keeps falling— soliteryman
- I don't care about Anquain Boldin...he was a spoiled kid who wanted more money. Who's to say he wouldn't do that in Philly. We all knew in our hearts with the s**t T.O. put the team thru, Boldin wasn't going to happen. I'm confused as to why everyone wanted to waste time talking about something that wasn't going to happen. With that said..I'm still surprised that with Pettigrew, Brown, Hicks and Britt still on the board they got this guy. Maybe 'cause of the loss of Dawkins they want to move Demps to full time safety and let Jackson/Maclin handle the return game. Brown went to the Colts but hopefully we'll get a running back maybe Pitt's McCoy if he's still available. Wells is too injury-prone McCoy is the much better choice.— tony b
- I'm amazed but not surprised by some of this hometown negativity. Maclin was projected to go to Oakland at #7! We need a receiver. Boldin was going to demand an enormous contract, which was going to increase the resentment building among the defensive players. Oh, and DeSean was a great pick, so the comparison really doesn't undermine this selection.— AWC
- Has Boldin ever sadi he wants to play for the Eagles? Are we all assuming that Philly is the place he wants to go?— jonjon75
- Pettigrew is slow, overrated and beyond... Wells is a bust, boldin not getting traded... We can get a RB later.. we need OLB, GoCong is horrible— fman727
how can an eagles fan possibly be upset with this? you crave a wideout and you get a player who is extremely fast and a LOT bigger (2in 25 lbs) than desean, so why the comparison? and exactly as maddaloni said with the trio of jackson/maclin/curtis and a great o line our offense is going to be nasty.. add a good rb and our o is great for a LONG time— MPatt24- Comment removed.
- Great pick. Some experts rated Maclin ahead of Crabtree because of his great explosiveness and versatility. This guy is a threat to score from anywhere on the field at any time, and he is a tremendous return man. This is an excellent value at #19. BTW, rumors had Detroit taking Maclin at 20 so Stafford would have another target, which is why the Eagles moved up to 19 - very smart. In round 2 Eagles could go Shonn Greene (big back with power and slash who can block and has a big upside) or at tight end Jared Cook from South Carolina who has a huge upside.— Tom.Mack
- Charlie Casserly on NFL TV just said his favorite pick of the draft so far was the Eagles taking Maclin. Casserly said Maclin was one of the ten best players in the draft.— Tom.Mack
- Charles Casserly (NFL Network and former NFL GM) just called Jeremy Maclin the "Best Value Pick In the First Round".— knighn
- Hey JimG, He might not be a "Little Guy", but the reports have been that Macklin's hands aren't as good as Deseans, and I believe that Desean was a more established player coming out than Macklin. It doesn't matter how big you are if you can't catch the ball!!— reggiedunlop
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- Maclin is just what 5 asked for. A weapon. This guy is dangerous...— Grazman
- Give Andy his due this guy is just what we need. Donovan has his new "weapon" a fast, hardworking playmaker who's not a diva with a posse. Thank you Al Davis for taking Heyward-Bey and leaving this guy for us.— brs50
- Lets go for Javon Rionger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— The Roz
- Jeremy Maclin info: VITALS Position: WR Class: Sophomore School: Missouri Conference: Big 12 Ht: 6.0; Wt: 198 40 Time: 4.42 NOTES: Received all-Conference and all-America honors as both a receiver and return specialist. In 2008 led Missouri in receiving with 102 receptions for 1,260 yards and 13 TDs. Averaged 11.7 yds on 23 punt returns with one TD and 24 yds on 42 kick-off returns with one TD. Led the nation in all-purpose yardage averaging 202.36 yards per game. SI.COM Description: "Explosive, playmaking prospect who is a threat to score whenever he handles the ball. Plays much faster than his 40 time, can turn it on in one step, and runs away from defenders. Dangerous in the open field, and displays elusiveness as well as speed. Quickly gets off the line into routes, easily adjusts to the errant throw, and makes the reception in stride. Plays with good balance, body control, and uses his frame to shield away defenders. Gets vertical and extends to make the reception away from his frame, displaying good eye/hand coordination. Cannot be caught in the open field, and he strikes fear in opponents." SI.COM Analysis: "Maclin is a game-impacting skill player who could help a team in a variety of ways. He possesses solid receiving skills, and at the same time, he is dangerous returning punts or kicks. Maclin offers a tremendous amount of upside potential, and he will see immediate action on special teams as a rookie in the NFL while he develops into a number one receiver."— Tom.Mack
- Great pick.— mikechris
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- Maclin was projected as high as #10. Boldin has money and age downside. Good pickup - westbrook will run wild.— quagmire
- Pettigrew was on the board and they balked. I thought that was who the were trading for— albertpa
Birds got McCoy from Pitt...loving it! Great draft so far— kjuggs77- Comment removed.
- Good pick. I honestly wanted Pettigrew but I'm very happy with this pick. Maclin is a bigger version of DeSean Jackson. I was surprised he fell to 19. The speed we have at WR now between Curtis, Jackson and Maclin is amazing. McCoy was also a good that I didn't expect to fall to us in the 2nd. Negadelphians won't be happy no matter what they do.— beeron
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzrltr66LqI Missouri fan here. Maclin has very good hands (i honestly can't think of a drop off the top of my head), and is much bigger and stronger than D. Jackson. they are not the same receiver at all. the fear with Maclin that I'd heard was durability--he played with a couple nagging minor injuries--and route-running, because he didn't get to show off the latter skills in our offense, primarily running screens, reverses, streaks, deep posts. he impressed with route running at the combine, and had the Raiders not horribly reached at 7 for Heyward-Bey, he'd have been a Raider or possibly a 49er were Crabtree not available. this is a great pick for Philly. he's a great kid, an incredibly hard worker (fought back from severe knee injury to become FASTER), and a wonderfully gifted athlete.— TigerFace
- pass-catching TE in round 3 for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv6ORtqmEpY— TigerFace
- A fine replacement for the devistating loss of G-Lew.— -=gu=-
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