IS STOCKPILING DEFENSEMEN
One more rundown of Eagles draft grades and evaluations.
We've done this twice already: part one and part two.
And finally, I'd like to start up a weekly reader mailbag here at MTC. I respond to every e-mail (if you haven't heard back from me, it's coming), so I figured I might as well do so as a blog post.
So send me your questions, funny comments, observations, etc. and we'll try to get this thing going. I'll pick some of the e-mails and respond to them every week.
Here are the draft links:
Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News gives the Eagles a B:
Andy Reid has his offense of the future locked into place with QB Kevin Kolb, McCoy, WR DeSean Jackson, Maclin and Ingram. The Eagles had the best fifth round of this draft with Ingram, Harris and Tupou.
Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News looks at nine first-round moves that created the most interesting aftershocks, including the Eagles trading up and getting Jeremy Maclin:
It helped: Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb. DeSean Jackson had an immediate impact last season, and with him and Kevin Curtis flying around, Maclin can make his mark as a big-play threat as well. It hurt: Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin. The Eagles traded up to get Maclin, all but ruling out them going after a veteran No. 1 receiver. Boldin will be "stuck" with the reigning NFC champions.
Clifton Brown of the Sporting News gives the Eagles an A:
Their offense has become more dangerous. Jeremy Maclin is a threat as a receiver and a returner. Running back LeSean McCoy can make people miss and can catch the football. Tight end Cornelius Ingram fits their system as a receiver. And they traded Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters before the draft.
Matt Bowen of the National Football Post compares Maclin to DeSean Jackson:
Maclin was as high as No.7 on some experts boards, but he fell because he isn’t a polished route runner worthy of a top-10 pick and is more of an athlete learning the position out of the spread system in college. I think Philly took him because it had him rated high, but to me he’s the same player as DeSean Jackson.
Scott Wright of draftcountdown.com wonders whether Maclin is the best fit for the Birds:
Almost everyone viewed Jeremy Maclin as a Top 10 talent and if the Raiders weren’t being run by a crazy man that is probably where he would’ve gone. The Eagles jumped at the opportunity to provide Donovan McNabb with the playmaker he has been asking for, even trading up a couple of spots just to make sure they got him. This is a great value pick and the Eagles definitely needed a wideout, however I have some reservations about whether or not another speedster like Maclin is the best fit. If they were going to use their first round pick on a wideout anyway then why not just trade it to Arizona for Anquan Boldin ?
