Eagles top draft picks coming up short

Last Sunday, when the Eagles revealed their list of players who would not dress in the opener against the Rams, three of seven names stood out: guard Danny Watkins, safety Jaiquawn Jarrett, and cornerback Curtis Marsh.

They are, in order, the Eagles' first-, second- and third-round draft picks of 2011. For various reasons they weren't ready to suit up for their first professional game.

Of all 32 NFL teams, the Eagles and New York Giants were the only ones to not have a player selected in the first three rounds active in the opener. Two of the Giants' first three picks, however, were injured: Cornerback Prince Amukamara has a broken foot and defensive tackle Marvin Austin was lost for the season because of a torn pectoral muscle.

Twenty-six teams had at least one early-round draftee starting.

But it isn't just the Eagles' most recent early-round draft picks who are having problems getting onto the field. None of the Eagles' top selections from the 2010 draft class - defensive end Brandon Graham, safety Nate Allen, and defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim - is a starter.

Injury played a part with Graham and Allen, and Te'o-Nesheim was released a few weeks ago and is hanging on as part of the practice squad.

Nevertheless, the Eagles were the only team in the league without a starter from the first three rounds of the last two drafts, based on opening-game lineups.

To be fair, it is way too early to form conclusions about the Eagles' top draft picks over the last two years. Watkins, Jarrett, and Marsh have plenty of time to develop into starters or contributing members of the Eagles, and Graham and Allen could fully recover from knee injuries and regain starting jobs.

The Eagles are a perennial playoff team that is stocked with talent and can afford their young players more time to develop. Of course, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, and Jeremy Maclin - top picks from the 2008-09 drafts - had no problems playing significant minutes early in their careers.

The Eagles' recent collection, though, is behind not only the aforementioned skill-position trio but also the draftees of last season's playoff teams.

The Seahawks had the greatest ratio, with 4 of 5 of their 2010-11 top draft picks starting in Week 1. The Saints followed with 4 of 7 and the Patriots with 4 of 10. The rest of the order: Chiefs, 3 of 9; Bears, 2 of 4; Falcons, 2 of 5; Packers, 2 of 6; Colts, 2 of 6; Ravens, 2 of 6; Jets, 1 of 4; Steelers, 1 of 6; and Eagles, 0 of 6.

On average, playoff teams had 2.3 starters out of 6.2 early-round draft picks (the first three rounds). Overall, the ratio was slightly greater - 2.7 of 6.1 - among the 32 teams.

The Eagles' last two drafts - helmed by second-year general manager Howie Roseman - fared better, comparatively speaking, when all seven rounds are included. They had 5 of 24 picks start against St. Louis while the average ratio for the 12 playoff teams was 3.3 of 15.5.

The list: Seahawks, 6 of 18; Patriots, 5 of 21; Saints, 4 of 12; Falcons, 4 of 13; Chiefs, 4 of 16; Bears, 3 of 10; Colts, 3 of 13; Ravens, 2 of 15; Packers, 2 of 17; Jets, 1 of 10; and Steelers, 1 of 17.

Unlike the other 11 teams, all of the Eagles' starters came from the fourth round or after: Linebacker Casey Matthews (fourth, 2011), kicker Alex Henery (fourth, 2011), center Jason Kelce (sixth, 2011), linebacker Jamar Chaney (seventh, 2010), and safety Kurt Coleman (seventh, 2010).

As impressive as is it finding these diamonds late in the draft, they do not a franchise make. The nucleus of the Super Bowl champion Packers is built on top draft picks such as Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Brian Bulaga, B.J. Raji, Jordy Nelson, Nick Collins and A.J. Hawk.

Typically, the investment ensures almost every high draft pick the opportunity to play right away.

"For me it took almost halfway through my rookie season for them to start putting in packages for me," the Eagles' Coleman said.

Watkins reported to camp a week late because of contract negotiations, but he ran with the first team at right guard from the get-go until he lost the job just before the opener. His late arrival and the fact that there were no offseason workouts for rookies because of the lockout were cited by the Eagles as possible reasons he wasn't ready.

But 53 other rookies opened the season as starters - 13 more than a year ago. And three first-round offensive linemen - Miami's Mike Pouncey, New England's Nate Solder, and Indianapolis' Anthony Castonzo - reported to camp later than Watkins and were still able to start for their teams. Of the four other offensive linemen selected in the first round, three started last week.

Jarrett never cracked the starting lineup in training camp and hasn't pushed Coleman. Marsh can be excused for not breaking into a rotation that includes some of the best cornerbacks in the league. But neither player - at the time of the draft projected to go in later rounds - has warranted a spot on special teams.

Their inactive status could attest to the Eagles' depth, though. Once upon a time under Andy Reid, the Eagles had four high draft picks who hardly played in their rookie seasons.

Their names: Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, Sheldon Brown, and Brian Westbrook.