4/21: Eagles draft buzz
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4/21: Eagles draft buzz
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Every day, from now until the draft, I'll round up the latest Eagles buzz on MTC. Here is today's installment.
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Today, we round up some newly released mocks. If you missed my post from Friday, here are three thoughts on the Eagles' draft.
Meanwhile, Chad Reuter of NFL.com thinks the Eagles will take a shot on Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe:
Andy Reid doesn't mind taking a chance on a player's upside, and the extremely athletic, 346-pound Poe has as much potential as any player in this draft.
Adam Caplan of TheSidelineView.com has the Birds going with LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers in the first round:
Brockers may not make it past the Chiefs, but if he does, the Eagles will be salivating. Brockers plays with power against the run and while he's not a great pass rusher, the Eagles need a run stuffer much more than another pass rusher.
Caplan has the Eagles landing Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks and Nebraska LB Lavonte David with their two second-round picks.
Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com thinks North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples will be the pick:
The Eagles can go a few directions here and there are a lot of talented players still on the board. Coples had a monster 2011 season and a solid combine. He could play defensive end or rush the passer from the outside linebacker spot. A lot of draftniks have him going in the top 10. He could be a steal at 15 for Philly.
Schrager's mock goes three full rounds. He has the Birds taking Cal offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz and Arizona State QB Brock Osweiler in the second. In the third, he gives them Arkansas wide receiver/return man Joe Adams.
Michael Lombardi of NFL.com has the Eagles taking Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones. It's worth noting that Lombardi has Jones going ahead of South Carolina defensive end/outside linebacker Melvin Ingram.
Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com also has the Birds taking Jones:
The Eagles are still reeling from their decision to bypass Jason Pierre-Paul in favor of Brandon Graham two drafts ago. Graham, selected with Philly's pick at 13, has three sacks through two seasons. Drafted by the division-rival Giants two picks later, Pierre-Paul is a first-team All Pro. While not as explosive off the edge, Jones has some JPPish traits as a long-armed, high-effort pass rusher with loads of "growth potential." He'd be the Eagles' left defensive end of the future.
OurLads.com has the Eagles taking Brockers in the first round:
Brockers will help get push up the middle to force the ball to the edges. Started 14 games in his career. In 2011 had 9.5 tackles for loss. He had 6 tackles in the SEC Championship game vs Georgia.
They've got the Eagles taking Iowa State offensive tackle Kelechi Osemele and Nebraska LB Lavonte David in the second.
CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
Good news for draft-viewing this year. ESPN and the NFL Network have agreed to not show prospects on the phone in the green room right before they are selected. I think most people often found that practice annoying, spoiling the actual moment when the pick was announced. NFL reporters may still try to "break news" of the pick beforehand, but hopefully, this will allow the suspense to unfold a little bit.
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Coples- 25 sacks in wide 9!!!— danco225- Sheil, any word on Graham's rehab status? I saw this kid pay for Michigan and he was a very productive player in the Big 10. The two successive abbreviated training camps impacted his game tremendously. Now he's forced to rehab from a serious almost freak injury.
Boy what a shame for the Eagles.— Dexter - I think when most look at Eagles needs they see
1. Upgrade at safety
2. Upgrade at red zone target
3. Upgrade at outside linebacker
4. Upgrade at kick returner
5. Upgrade at back up QB
But all we hear about is D line players being taken. Does Washburn have that much clout?— camasbud - Kuechley, Barron, Cox, Couples, Brock in that order. No need to move up or down.— dmanphilly
- I think they are waiting until after the draft to Sign Plax. If they sign him now, it tips off their draft hand. Just hoping its a lucky hunch.— dmanphilly
- Dexter - stop drinking the Kool-Aid regarding Graham. You maybe a friend, but its time to move on.
The priority is
1. run stopper (Cox, Brockers, and then whom ever Eagles beieve can be a 3rd option if those 2 are gone.
2. Kuch or Hightower as Strong Side LB;either will strrengthen last year;s area of weakness
3. saftey is important only afterDTacke and LB are addressed
4> Red-Zone tall receiver - I agree
5> another OTackle is really necessary to cover unexpected injuries to the OLine
6> best available athlete regardless of position.
NO MORE UNDERSIZED - HIGH MOTOR - DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Tell Roseman to sell crazy somewhere else, as Eagles Fans are all stocked up.
— Lerze777 - Ok first of all brockers is only a run stuffer and if the eagles wanted a big run stuffer with no pass rush abilities they wouldnt have traded bunkley to denver.a dt in our wide 9 has to rush the passer.second,kuechly would play will not sam.third hightower cant play in space or cover or play sideline to sideline he is a 3-4 downhill ilb.he couldnt not play sam in our system.u clearly dont know enough to hold your own here so dont pretend u know enough to presume to tell the front office how to draft.stick to what u know which clearly isnt eagles football. — Sean s.
- What if this is as good as it gets?— philly_floyd
- Poe looks very good and has the girth and leverage to play in the D middle of the line. I agree..no more undersized D linemen...get big and physical and mean.— psuwelsh
- Start first by hiring a REAL GM with Football experience and pedigree. Laurie needs to stop with inexperienced fantasy geeks Heckert and Roseman, that can be easily manipulated by Reid.— CrashTestCorzine
- How did Peter King get his job?
With all-pros at both end slots, and two iffy DTs (for differnt reasons) he thinks they're going to pick not only a DE, but a big one with a "low motor" so to speak.— banned - as long as the player is undersized with a high motor im on board— Mottz
- The Giants pick last and will no doubt select a much better player than the Eagles, because than know talent.— farley
- Can u tell me a recent giants draft success story aside from jpp?amukamara?eh..injured.k phillips maybe but again injuries.chad jones?no.injuries.linval joseph.nah.nicks n cruz ill give u that but look at our track record.d jax maclin mccoy celek watkins i say were drafting much better.especially in the later rounds. — Sean s.
- uhh, Eli Manning. guy has won 2 superbowls, more then almost every QB ever, except Brady, Montana and a few others. BRANDON JACOBS a 265 pound power back that has also won 2 superbowls in his 7 year career. thats almost a superbowl every other year. and hes the biggest running back in the entire league. do the eagles have a 265 pound running back ? Ahmad Bradshaw in the 7th...did the Eagles, or ANY team get him ? NO, thats the Giants...a good drafting team...and better then the Eagles..alot better in recent years. The Giants dont need kool-aid they play football. Eagles play two-hand touch and pat themselves on the back for winning the last 4 games against bad teams.
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