Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH

  

TEXT SIZE: A A A A
email this
print this
reprint or license this
READER POLL
Do you like the Eagles' deal with Carolina?
Yes. It was too good to pass up.
No. We could use the help now.
Post a comment
SAVE AND SHARE


Eagles draft Trevor Laws, DeSean Jackson

For the second straight year, the Eagles declined when it was their turn to pick in the first round.

And then they did so again in the second round.

Then finally, in the second round, they took Notre Dame defensive tackle Trevor Laws (6-03/4 304 pounds) at No. 47 and California receiver/kick returner DeSean Jackson (5-93/4, 169 pounds) at No. 49.

"Trevor is a high-energy player," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "He had the most tackles for a loss in the country this past year."

Jackson returns punts and kicks and is an explosive player. "He's very fast, very quick and he's one of those guys that, if you talk to people around the league who have evaluated him, they put him in that exciting, explosive category," Reid said.

Jackson has been working out with Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice. "I have been working with him for the past two months," Jackson said. "He is a great mentor of mine. He has been teaching me a lot of things about running routes and being ready for the competition at the next level."

The Eagles also traded a fourth-round pick (114) for Miami Dolphins running back Lorenzo Booker.

"He's somebody we really liked in the draft last year and we couldn't pull it off where we were able to get him last year, but he's somebody we've had our eyes on," Reid said. "He does some of the same things that Brian Westbrook does."

The Eagles, scheduled to pick 19th, dealt that selection to the Carolina Panthers for three additional picks. The Eagles received a second-round pick (43d overall) and a fourth-round pick (109th overall) in this year's draft and the Panthers' first-round selection in next year's draft.

The deal left the Eagles with two second-round selections, but when their chance arrived to take the 43d pick they acquired from the Panthers, they dealt that and a fifth-round choice (152 overall) to the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings took safety Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State. In return, the Eagles received the Vikings' second pick, 47th overall, and an additional fourth-round pick, the 117th selection.

The Panthers used the 19th pick to take Pittsburgh offensive tackle Jeff Otah, a native of New Castle, Del.

A year ago, the Eagles traded their first-round pick - 26th overall - to the Dallas Cowboys and used their first pick of the second round on quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Laws was happy to join former college teammate Victor Abiamiri, who was drafted iin the second round last year. "We're real close friends," Laws said. "We were roommates for over a year. I talk to him on a weekly basis almost. It's really exciting to go to the same team as him."


Contact staff writer Bob Brookover at 215-854-2577 or bbrookover@phillynews.com.

 

Comments
09:47 PM, 04/26/2008
Once again, the Eagles spit on the fans. They drafted another skinny and fast wide receiver ala Todd Pinkston. He will maybe be a situational receiver and will never be able to get off blocks. Their defensive end will probably be redshirted. Another season at 8 and 8 or 7 and 9.
Posted by ww2buff
09:57 PM, 04/26/2008
Defensive backs will only have to play bump. They won't have to run because DeSean will be 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. God I hope I'm wrong. Donovan must be looking at those two first round picks for next year, know that rookies don't contribute for Reid, and think that they will really help Kevin Kolb in 2010.
Posted by airbuzz
10:11 PM, 04/26/2008
Wow, I didn't realize the Eagles were so good they didn't need help in this year's draft. So far no immediate impact players, just more red-shirted guys who we might see 2 or 3 years from now. I guess the plan is for Dawk to play until he is 100 and that the current receivers only have to have Reid "put them in better positions to make plays". Another season at 8-8. Yippee.
Posted by didderbops
10:13 PM, 04/26/2008
What do you guys mean? DeSean Jackson's primary value is as the PR/KR that everyone knows we need. I thought they would have picked Otah in the first round, but for what Carolina offered, how could you pass that up?
Posted by yobill626
10:26 PM, 04/26/2008
I really don't understand why everyone is upset. If we picked in the first round, it would have been Otah and he wouldn't have played at all this year. Carolina is a terrible team and we could potentially be looking at a top five pick next year. I don't really understand taking a DT, but Jackson will contribute right away as a KR. Who knows what he will turn into as a WR, but fans were hoping for a player who can contribute right away and Jackson absolutely can as a returner
Posted by JYurk
10:33 PM, 04/26/2008
Maybe some of you need to look back on some of the draft picks Ried has taken. Most have been successful. I guess you thought B West was a bad pick too. Trevor Laws is a machine that they need on the inside. By the way he's DT, and Jackson can strech the field. Not every team can press cover without getting burned.
Posted by cange30
10:39 PM, 04/26/2008
You combine Jackson's speed with Kevin Curtis, and have a healthy LJ Smith running down the seam, and you've got a difficult match up for the D-backs. Then you put Westbrook in motion out of the backfield into the flat. Someone's gonna be single covered by a linebacker. McNabb just has to find them. And we'll probably see plenty of quick screens and end around runs this season. Jackson can break those plays wide open. And we may actually have a kick or punt returner that actually has a chance to return one for a touchdown. When was the last time the Eagles had that kind of threat--Brian Mitchell?
Posted by mish798798
10:49 PM, 04/26/2008
Exactly agreed. I'm glad we traded down b/c Otah just didn't excite me at all. I would have preferred Devin or that other WR in the first round somehow, but we don't exactly have a great track record with first round WRs. So, let's see if we got a Dante Hall type player (KR/PR/situational WR) and if so, I'm happy with that. We still have Lito to shop. The DT pick confuses me though. But the scouting reports on him from ESPN make him sound like a smart, skilled DT.
Posted by Edmund
11:08 PM, 04/26/2008
Ha! As a Giants fan, the only thing I enjoy more on draft day than the Giants making good picks, is watching the Eagles make bonehead moves year after year. And once again, they did not disappoint!!!
Posted by BigBlueBob
11:24 PM, 04/26/2008
Field position is the name of the game. If Jackson gets us one or two extra wins per year it will all be worth it.
Posted by Drew777
11:30 PM, 04/26/2008
I think the reason the Eagles are getting in the habit of trading away their 1st round picks is to save money. Smaller contracts are given to 2nd and 3rd round picks. It's the same old thing--they hope they can win a Superbowl on the cheap.
Posted by salim
01:58 AM, 04/27/2008
Google DeSean Jackson and watch some video. Makes you think of Devin Hester. Jackson is a playmaker. He may not be a #1WR, but still, if he is as electrifying in the pros as he was in college in the return game, he shortens the field for the Eagle's offense and can, perhaps, affect a game the same way Hester affects a game.
Posted by isaac80
04:26 AM, 04/27/2008
I'M DONE WITH THE EAGLES!!!! SWEED IS THE BIG BODY IN T O 'S MOLD. PINKSTON PART 2. TIMES YOURS
Posted by songsrme2
04:26 AM, 04/27/2008
I'M DONE WITH THE EAGLES!!!! SWEED IS THE BIG BODY IN T O 'S MOLD. PINKSTON PART 2. TIMES YOURS
Posted by songsrme2
09:57 AM, 04/27/2008
Picks 50 thru 53 wouldve helped the birds better than Laws and Jackson. Didn't we learn a lesson on undersized receivers from the pac10 ala Freddie X?
Posted by BoooBaller
18 comments | View All Comments
 
Spotlight Deal
Southwark 19147
Spotlight Deal
Center City 19107
Spotlight Deal
Fishtown/Kensington 19125
Spotlight Deal
Old City/Society Hill 19106
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The childhood that Maurice Sendak remembers, in which children were allowed more trial and error in coming to grips with the vicissitudes of life, no longer exists. Childhood today is tightly regulated, circumscribed and electronically monitored.
NEWS
More than 6,000 breast cancer survivors had a "Parade in Pink" down the art museum steps to kick off the 18th annual Susan G. Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure on Sunday morning. The Mother's Day event drew 45,000 walkers, joggers and runners to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.
Post a comment