Leftovers: Draft, Asomugha, Dawkins

A bunch of little things to get to today. In no particular order...

* Let's start with some Nnamdi Asomugha chatter since I know MTC readers can't get enough of that. ESPN's Adam Schefter was on with Mikey Miss earlier this week and said he would put the Birds at the top of the list of potential suitors for Asomugha. Schefter also suggested, as he did during the draft, that it could be an NFC East competition for Asomugha's services between the Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins.

And he's not the only one who thinks that. Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News blogged recently that the Cowboys' fear of the Eagles getting Asomugha could motivate them to take a run at him:

They already need help at cornerback and the fear of Asomugha landing in enemy hands -- the hands of an NFC East rival, no less -- could provide added motivation for the Cowboys if they decide to launch an aggressive campaign to sign the talented three-time Pro Bowler.

Meanwhile, SI.com's Peter King was recently asked what the market might be like for Asomugha:

I could see five teams with big wallets going after him: Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, Detroit and the Jets -- but the Jets ONLY if there's not going to be a salary cap in 2011. See, that's the difficult thing to forecast. If there's a cap, I can't see the Jets in the running, because paying two cornerbacks a combined $35 million a year (or some such lunatic number) would squeeze too many contributing players off their team. Detroit's probably a dark horse, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Ford family, which has to be as excited about its team as it's been since the prime Barry Sanders days, would authorize a big check for Asomugha.

It's fun to talk about where Asomugha will land (especially to avoid reading about the lockout), but the truth is, he really could help any number of teams. Cornerback is not like quarterback or running back where only teams with needs might be interested. How many teams have two Pro Bowl-caliber corners? In other words, he could step in and play for pretty much anyone.

The teams to exclude from the list are ones that won't want to pay for Asomugha, who is likely to command an enormous paycheck.

* Guess who is organizing workouts for the Denver Broncos during the lockout? That's right, Mr. Brian Dawkins. Here are some details from Mike Klis of The Denver Post:

Dawkins sent out a mass text/e-mail to his teammates a few days ago inviting players who were in the Denver area to attend conditioning workouts Tuesday and Thursday. Despite the short notice, 15 players reported to the first session Tuesday.

"This was not a get-here-at-all-costs type of thing," Dawkins said. "This is about providing a safe haven for those who want to come out and work."

Dawkins will turn 38 next season, and I'm not sure how much he has left. But he still appears to be the kind of leader the Eagles probably won't have on their roster for years to come.

* Two blog clarifications on recent posts. Yesterday, I wrote about Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and throwing the deep ball. I realized after the fact that I should have explained I was talking about two different things. The first part was about actually throwing the deep ball, which Pro Football Focus defined as passes 20 yards downfield. I looked at how Vick compared to other QBs on those throws in 2010.

The second part was about the Eagles' offense over the years and big pass plays. Big pass plays include short completions where receivers picked up big yards after the catch. In other words, I wasn't just talking about balls that traveled 20 yards or more downfield. My fault for not making that clearer in the original post.

* Last week, I wrote about David Akers and Alex Henery. As Derek (formerly of Iggles Blog) Tweeted at me, I probably should have expanded on how each guy might affect the Eagles with their kickoffs, since field-goal success tends to fluctuate. While I didn't research Akers' kickoff distances, it is worth noting that he set a career-high with a 24 percent touchback rate in 2010. Henery did not handle kickoffs in college so his success in setting the defense up with favorable field position is something to keep an eye on.

Remember, there will be new kickoff rules next year. Kickoffs will start at the 35 instead of the 30, but touchbacks will still put the offense at the 20 yard line.

* Prior to the draft, I put together a list, aggregating reported workouts and visits for the Eagles. It had 45 names on it, and the Birds ended up taking five of them:  Jaiquawn Jarrett, Jason Kelce, Curtis Marsh, Casey Matthews and Brian Rolle. In 2010, the Eagles ended up selecting four of the players on my list.

I've explained it before, but it bears repeating. Teams work out a lot of players in the months leading up to the draft. They are allowed 30 official visits to the Novacare Complex, but can check out as many players as they want in other areas of the country. And they can look at local players as much as they want also.

The list didn't tell us exactly who the Eagles were interested in, but based on the last two years, it's hard to argue that the workouts/visits are insignificant.

* And finally, it wouldn't be an MTC blog post without a Kevin Kolb mention. On Tuesday, I linked to an Adam Schefter report, which said the Seahawks might want to bring Matt Hasselbeck back. That could have an effect on the Eagles, as the Seahawks have been considered potential Kolb suitors.

One other team that stills need a quarterback is the Miami Dolphins, but according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, they are unlikely to make a play for Kolb. Per Jackson, the Dolphins don't want to trade a future first-rounder, and one team official told Jackson he's skeptical about whether Kolb's body of work warranted the suggested asking price.

You can follow Moving the Chains on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.