Looking back at the Eagles' 2010 fourth-round picks on day Mike Kafka signs in New England
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Looking back at the Eagles' 2010 fourth-round picks on day Mike Kafka signs in New England
Zach Berman, Inquirer Staff Writer
The news of Mike Kafka signing a futures contract with the New England Patriots makes this a good time to revisit the Eagles' 2010 draft class -- and specifically the fourth round.
That's when Kafka went. He was one of four fourth-round picks. A fourth-round pick in the NFL has value, but not significant value. There's rougly a 10 percent chance of finding a starter in that round. Of course, based on those odds, the Eagles had a realistic statistical chance of finding a starter in that round. Yet of the four players drafted in that round (cornerback Trevard Lindley, linebacker Keenan Clayton, Kafka, and tight end Clay Harbor), the Eagles did not find a starter. In fact, the only player who has stayed on the roster since 2010 has been Harbor.
EAGLES 2010 DRAFT: 1st - Brandon Graham;l 2nd – Nate Allen; 3rd – Daniel Te’o Nesheim; 4th- Trevard Lindley; 4th – Keenan Clayton; 4th – Mike Kafka; 4th – Clay Harbor; 5th – Ricky Sapp; 5th- Riley Cooper; 6th – Charles Scott; 7th – Jamar Chaney; 7th – Jeff Owens; 7th – Kurt Coleman
The fourth round in 2010 was actually more fruitful than one would typically expect. Tight end Aaron Hernandez (Patriots) and defensive tackle Geno Atkins (Bengals) have developed into Pro Bowlers. Wide receiver Mike Williams (Bucs), linebacker Perry Riley (Redskins) cornerback Alterraun Verner (Titans) have developed into regular starters. Tight end Dennis Pitta (Ravens), defensive end Everson Griffen (Vikings) and linebacker O'Brien Schofield (Cardinals) are consistent contributors, as was defensive end Corey Wootten (Bears) this season, and wide receiver Jacoby Ford (Raiders) in past seasons.
Maybe Harbor turns into a regular contributor for the Eagles. He appeared promising at times this season, but also struggled from inconsistency. He's the closest to joining that list.
But the fourth round that year could have been an opportunity for the Eagles because of the amount of picks they had. What's interesting is the Eagles had an impressive haul in the seventh round by finding Coleman and Chaney, both of whom have been starters at times. (Albeit starters with debatable merits.)
Of course, the draft is ultimately remembered by the top picks. The jury is out on Graham and Allen. Graham came on at the end of this season, and might become the player the Eagles expected when they traded up in the draft to pick him. Allen has been too often inconsistent, but a new coach and new scheme might be exactly what he needs.
The Eagles let go of Te’o Nesheim, who's actually become a contributor in Tampa Bay. And then came the fourth round, when the Eagles seemed to whiff on three picks and need something from Harbor to salvage it. It's unrealistic to expect a team to hit it on fourth-round pick, but having four picks increases those odds. Kafka could not beat out Nick Foles this season, and Lindley and Clayton were not able to stay on the roster. So the last hope remains Harbor.
"What's interesting is the Eagles had an impressive haul in the seventh round by finding Coleman and Chaney, both of whom have been starters at time."
HUH?
That's an indictment for incompetence not impressive. In fact the whole draft produced no one who SHOULD have started. Maybe you can combine the before-Nate Allen, and the after-Brandon Graham and get one whole quality starter out of the deal.
— banned- The jury is out on Nate Allen? Really? What games have you been watching the last three years, Zach?— topwonk
- Mayock says you have to get an All-Pro at number 4.
In the Eagles case, they seldom ever get an All Pro in the first round at all. It only happened twice in the Andy Reid era, Lido Sheppard made it in 2004 and Shawn Andrews made it in 2006.
— banned - I do not care what Jeffrey says, Little Howie had a ton of responsibility for the 2010 draft. He found his boy Brandon Grahm at the senior bowl and persuaded everyone to go along. He traded up to 13 and almost everyone (except the Eagles) thought the pick would be the safety from Texas, Kelly. That mistake lead to wasting 2 second round picks on Allen and Jarrett. Howie should be promoted immediately to Account Receivable.— drj1955
- Graham is a marginal player at best but he's the only one worth keeping on the roster. Remember not only did we pick the wrong player (Earl Thomas ring a bell) but the Birds gave up 2 3rd round picks and their first rounder to move up to get Graham! The rest of the picks are garbage, special teamers (if they had any heart). Nate Allen couldn't tackle my Grand Mother! Whomever (Wasn't Howie, WINK WINK!) was part of the selection process in 2010 and 2011 was either Blind, Drunk or just doesn't know Football (Hello, Howie!)! All of the above sounds about right! Horrible Drafts that equal a 4 and 12 season just 3 years later and NOBODY (and I mean NOBODY) is surprised!— cooperhawk
- If the Eagles had just stayed home for this draft, the teal would be no worse off. And, that's not second guessing. Any casual fan could have told them (and many did) what stupid picks these were. Fire all the scouts and the General Manager and just pick from Mel Kiper's list. Save some money.— Bama
- The jury is still out on Allen?? No it's not! He sucks!— BleedPhilly
- This draft was absolutely terrible and Roseman somehow managed to follow it up with an even worse one in 2011.— jdimaggio555
- Luckily, Mailroom Howie had nothing to do with the 2010 draft. Or the 2011 draft for that matter. No, to hear Jeffy tell it, Howie has only contributed to the good things to have happened to the Eagles (still trying to figure out what they are) since Howie took over as GM in 2010. What's that Jeff? It's just the rain? Good thing, for a second there, the Tonner thought you were peeing on his head.
- An article like this is made for one reason, to get all the angries to click and comment to vent their venom— peteike
- 2010 draft was in the Reid era and it's over. Move on, whatever as to be said about it has already been said.— tpizza
- After 3 years, you know what you have. Only Graham, and he's still iffy, looks good enough to be more than a commodity. It's not a good draft, no matter how you qualify it.— Bobby G
- This is the tip of the iceberg. Our talent mechanism is one blunder after another. In 2012, Curry was taken one pick ahead of an offensive tackle selected by Baltimore who has played almost every game. Our pickers don't know what they are doing and we will never be able to beat the best teams because their drafts are so solid. Raise your hand if you are more comfortable having Howie pick the talent than you would be to have Ozzie, Belichick, Colbert, Thompson, Loomis or the guy from SF. Birds can't win the SB under this structure no matter who the coach is. Sorry Jeff, Howie is a joke and so is your organization.— casehop
- They had 4 chances to get a quality player in the 4th round that year and blew it, as other teams, who I'm sure didn't have as many selections, drafted some good players. Surprised that Berman didn't have a comment on Cooper, who I still believe was the best player they drafted that year.— watsonmr
- I remember this draft. After picking the players, Howie had his thumbs on his suspenders, pushing them out, hey, look at what I did.— camasbud
