Thoughts on Graham, the 1st round, the NFC East
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Thoughts on Graham, the 1st round, the NFC East
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here are my thoughts after that whirlwind of a first round tonight:
* Evaluating whether I think Brandon Graham is going to have a better career than Earl Thomas is pointless. During the season, I re-watched every Eagles game for Man Up, and felt comfortable offering player evaluations for pretty much everyone on the roster. But I haven't seen enough of Graham or Thomas to make that assessment now. If the Eagles targeted Graham and felt he could be an impact player, then it's a good thing that they were aggressive in making a move and grabbing him.
* That being said, I crunched some numbers on first-round pass rushers for a post back in March. The average defensive lineman taken in the first round over the past five years had 2.69 sacks as a rookie. For the average defensive end, that number was 3.89. Only three times in the past five years did one of those guys have more than six sacks in his first season.
And if you look at the top-10 sack guys from 2009, they had on average 5.5 years of experience.
In other words, if Graham were to have a major impact as a rookie, he would be an exception to the rule. Pass rushers take time to develop. Which makes me wonder: If the Eagles still had Donovan McNabb, would Graham have been the pick?
* The Eagles at times last season used a nine-man defensive line rotation. Gone from that group are Darren Howard, Chris Clemons and Jason Babin. The new guys in are Graham and Darryl Tapp. It's up to Sean McDermott to figure out the best way to utilize everyone. Not sure how flexible Graham can be in terms of where he lines up to get after the quarterback.
* I think I like the new draft format. That was an insane first round. Seven trades in all. A frantic pace. Now we get 24 hours or so to think about it and then move on to the rest of the draft. Good job by the teams not taking the full 10 minutes between picks.
* One cornerback was taken in the first 19 picks. Four were taken in the final 13. That hurt the Eagles. They desperately need to add a corner (or two). We'll see what they come up with on Friday. I think those of you who don't like the Graham pick are more upset with the Eagles not addressing their secondary than anything else.
* A quick look at the other NFC East selections. The Redskins took Oklahoma offensive tackle Trent Williams at No. 4. He's considered to have a high ceiling but isn't as NFL-ready as Oklahoma State's Russell Okung, per the draft experts. Williams will be entrusted to protect McNabb's blind side.
The Cowboys were the fourth team to occupy the No. 24 position, which originally belonged to the Eagles, and they gambled on Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant. Does this make Roy Williams the Cowboys' third receiver? If the young guys pan out, Dallas has quite the arsenal with Bryant, Miles Austin, Felix Jones and Jason Witten.
And finally, the Giants snagged DE Jason Pierre-Paul at No. 15. Pierre-Paul played just one season at South Florida and is considered a raw prospect with a high upside. It'd be interesting to find out how the Giants had Pierre-Paul graded, compared to Graham.
* That's it for tonight. On Friday, we'll post during the day and then be back at it with a live chat for the second and third rounds, starting at 6 p.m.
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Man, i can't get over this, 3, count 'em three nights of non- stop act...ZZZ....ZZZZ....ZZZ -not bob levy— remyy- If the Eagles could evaluate D linemen, then they wouldn't need this guy at all, because Bunkley, Patterson, Abiamiri and Laws would be really good ballplayers. Given the Eagles horrible record in this area, it would be wildly optimistic to expect this kid to be more than a fill-in.— jimmyj
- Eagles need to get O-lineman. When the offense continually goes 3 and out like in the Dallas games the defense tires and looks must worse then they really are. KEEP THE DEFENSE OFF THE FIELD! O-LINEMEN!
I was hoping that either Earl Thomas, Brandon Graham, Markice Pouncey, or Morgan would slide to them at 24. In hindsight, that was unrealistic since all of those player went earlier. And the Giants were set to take Graham if the Eagles didn't move up and grab him. Now the Eagles have a player and the Giants have a project. The Eagles got a player I wanted them to get, so I'm happy. Don't be surprised if the Eagles get a O-tackle with the first pick in round 2, or trade down for extra picks. They may like a corner or safety later in the round. I think they also like the LB Washington.- PhillyFanSouth has it exactly right. If Eagles don't get more QB pressure, not gonna matter who's in the secondary. I like pick of DE, time will tell if Graham better than Morgan.— Z-Force
- Why is everyone here so hung up on getting Mays? He's not a good safety and too small for SAM. maybe a Wil but not a Sam. If Sergio Kindle is still there than that is the pick. If not there a a few teams behind them desperate for a quarterback so we can trade down a few spots and get a 3rd in exchange.— Viewkeeper
I'm ok with the pick, and I'll bet anything the Eagles traded up to beat the Giants to Graham. Now, we need a CB and a S in the worst way, so who wants to bet we take an offensive tackle with the next pick?— dpcoz- The Eagles issues are mostly on the defensive line and LBs. The DBs/S can hold their own as long as they are not trying to cover guys for 5-8 seconds because no one is getting to the QB.— PhillyFanSouth
- Tampa might take Mays. Mays fits the cover 2 scheme quite well.— Philadel12
- Mays could be a dangerous pick. He is known to have trouble in coverage. He could be at the same level that B-Dawk was at during the last three years, a liability. He would be WAY more of a risk than Graham would have been. It hurt when the Jets took Kyle Wilson. I though he would drop to the Birds.— ESFjellin
- I'm sure there is a offensive lineman that no one ever heard of from Utah that Reid has his eye on for pick 37. Remember we can always draft a CB and Safety with the 2 comp picks.— younged
- Eagles need to tap Taylor Mays with the 37th pick. Minnesota will take Clausen, and KC already has Berry so two of the four teams ahead of us won't take Mays. We just are not sure what St. Louis or Tampa will do, or if someone even trades up in front of us. But Mays is the definitive pick should he fall to 37.— Eaglenation5
- action packed 2nd round.. like nate allen— GillyKingofPhilly17
- Good pick. Get Mays in the second round. That kid has attitude. A mean streak.— Corey301
- with Graham taking the doubles off of Cole the Eagles should have a dangerous pass rush. Can't wait till round two.— NBAdraftRoom.com
Can't be disappointed with the player they got, actually I'm happy they took him over Thomas, DE has more value than a S. Just wondering if they gave up too much to get him, and if they would of gotten just as good of a player with one of the highly rated CB's that would of fallen to them later in the round...Anyways, am very eager to see this kid Graham do his thing.
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