Rounding up Eagles draft grades
Draft grades from around the country are trickling in. How did the Eagles fare? Some give them an A-plus. Others a C. Here's a roundup:
Yes, I know that it's probably unfair to hand grades out right after the draft. Instead, we should probably wait until three years after the fact.
But this is 2010. Who wants to wait that long?
So here's a roundup of how people across the country are grading the Eagles' draft.
We'll do this in a couple parts since I know more grades are sure to trickle in today. If you have some that I missed, e-mail me.
And if you missed it, I offered some analysis with my thoughts on Sunday. Thanks for the kind comments on that piece by the way. Much appreciated.
The roundup:
We start locally. Paul Domowitch of the Daily News gives the Eagles an A-minus:
Graham and Allen should help a defense that gave up 27 TD passes last season. Added more speed at LB, but didn't get a corner until the fourth round.
Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News gives the Eagles a C:
Graham was the most polished pass rusher in this draft. The Eagles also had the best fourth round. Harbor gives QB Kevin Kolb a move tight end in the Dallas Clark mold, and Kafka gives Andy Reid insurance at quarterback.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. gives the Eagles a B-plus:
The Eagles were positioned well to take advantage of a deep draft, and they did, piling up seven productive picks between the third and fifth rounds. But Philly started well too. In Brandon Graham they have a potential Rookie of the Year on defense. They filled a need at safety with Nate Allen, and I like Trevard Lindley in the fourth. He has second-round ability. Ricky Sapp may be a tweener, but getting a guy who can get to the quarterback like he can in the fifth round is good value. He could be a solid situational pass-rusher early in his career. Riley Cooper is quicker than many people think to go with above-average size.
SI.com's Ross Tucker thinks the Eagles should have taken Earl Thomas in the first round, not Brandon Graham:
The Birds need second-round pick Nate Allen to step up and fill the safety spot next to Quentin Mikell. That spot remains a question mark at a very important position in the pass-happy NFL.
SI.com's Peter King offers his take on the Eagles' draft:
An OK draft some in the league thought should have been better. I knew one team with draft-managers who cursed loudly when the Eagles traded up and took Brandon Graham at 13 -- instead of Earl Thomas -- because these personnel guys thought Graham was by far the best pass-rusher in the draft. That's what Philly needs, a bookend to Trent Cole. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim is the best defensive end in University of Washington history and should enter the Eagle rotation quickly, and Clay Harbor (125nd overall) will be good alternative to Brent Celek, also quickly. But a few personnel types I spoke with over the weekend though Philly overpicked in a few spots, especially safety Nate Allen of South Florida at 37.
FoxSports.com's John Czarnecki gives the Eagles a B-minus:
The Eagles gave up a lot to move up in the first round to take Michigan pass rusher Brandon Graham (pictured), who was a dominant performer in the Big Ten. Andy Reid is hoping that second-round pick Nate Allen of South Florida can shore up the safety position, but he's not an intimidator like Brian Dawkins was for this franchise.
CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco gives the Eagles an A-plus:
You look up and down their draft board and it's full of really good players. They had a lot of picks and the Eagles really did a nice job with them. That shouldn't be surprising.
Gregg Rosenthal of NBCSports.com gives the Eagles a B:
Shockingly, Andy Reid didn't pick a single offensive lineman. But the value was good at each selection, and Graham and Allen are certain to help in year one.
Rob Rang of CBSSports.com gives the Eagles a B:
For a team that some believe is as deep as any in the league, however, wouldn't packaging some of those lower round picks for top-tier talent have been a better use of them?
Chris Steuber of Scout.com gives the Eagles an A-minus:
The biggest surprise of the Eagles draft was third round pick Daniel Te'o-Nesheim from Washington. A tweener on defense who can play inside or outside on the D-Line, Te'o-Nesheim was considered to be a late round prospect.
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