Eagles Notebook: WR prospect Michael Floyd says he's a pro

INDIANAPOLIS - Notre Dame wideout Michael Floyd, at 6-3, 220, could be the big, strong receiver the Eagles and other teams covet.

If the Eagles are able to address linebacking in free agency, and if they really don't intend to hold onto DeSean Jackson after all, suddenly, a wideout at 15th overall in the first round sounds very plausible.

Floyd came to the NFL Scouting Combine with some 'splainin' to do about three alcohol-related incidents in his past. Floyd was asked this weekend what he wants to show teams about himself, in interviews.

"That you've grown from it. That it's behind you. That it's a mistake that happened in the past, and that I'm moving forward. I think I've grown a lot," Floyd said. "Coming to the NFL now, I think you do have to mature a great deal, because obviously, you'll get behind in a lot of things [if you don't]. Like they said, this is a professional sport, and you gotta act like a professional."

Will off-the-field concerns affect his draft position?

"I don't know. All I can do is be honest and tell them exactly what happened in my past and go on from there," he said.

Floyd said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly helped him.

"One, he put me through a couple classes, stayed on my side the whole time," Floyd said. "Didn't go anywhere, making sure what I was doing every single day. Making sure I was on top of the things I had to do . . . to be back on the team, possibly. I give him a lot of great thanks for sticking by me, because in that position, you never know. A coach could just rule you out of the thing and kick you off the team, and you'd have no availability to be back. He gave me a chance, and I took that chance and moved forward."

Floyd certainly didn't hurt himself yesterday by running a 4.46 in the 40.

"I thought Floyd had about as good a day as anybody out there," said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who acknowledged Floyd's biggest challenge was allaying off-field concerns. "If you're just talking about as a football player, he's a top 21 talent."

The Eagles made a point when they got to Indianapolis of emphasizing optimism about DeSean Jackson's future with the team. But it sure seems they then planted the ESPN report over the weekend that said they're listening to trade offers for him. Maybe they'd like to franchise and trade; that's often easier said than done. Franchising and keeping him for 2012 still seems the most likely outcome.

A few impressions from Mike Mayock's wrapup news conference yesterday evening:

* After watching the quarterbacks work out, Mayock was even more certain that Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are the top-two picks. "I would be stunned if these two kids didn't go one and two . . . and then, [Texas A&M's Ryan] Tannehill might go in the Top 10" after he completely recovers from a broken foot and is able to work out.

* Mayock was impressed with Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill, whose 4.36 40 was the start of a strong day overall.

"Stephen Hill killed it. I had a bunch of scouts tell me before the combine, this kid might blow the roof off of it, and he did," Mayock said. "The tough thing about Stephen Hill is, coming out of that option offense, he's hard to evaluate. We went through this with Demaryius Thomas [now of Denver] . . . because you don't see real routes, all you see are verticals and crosses and play action and jump balls. You've got to do your homework with this kid, and trust me, he's pushed himself right up in the forefront of this receiver class."

Mayock said Hill not only ran and jumped exceptionally well, he looked like a natural pass-catcher.

* Mayock said he was "stunned" to see Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright, who he thought had DeSean Jackson-type speed, run only a 4.6.

Temple running back Bernard Pierce said having a baby due in July wasn't the only reason he came out after his junior season, but it was "the deciding factor." Pierce also said: "It was time for me to become a man. I'm about to start my own family, and I need to be able to support my family and my child." Draft analyst Mike Mayock said he was disappointed in Pierce's day; the running back ran a 4.49 40 . . . Penn State defensive end Jack Crawford gravitated toward football after being declared ineligible for New Jersey high school basketball his sophomore year, when his family moved to the United States from England. "My junior year was my first year playing - I played wide receiver and defensive end [at St. Augustine Prep, in Richland, N.J.]. I fell in love with football. It's crazy. I never would have thought I'd be here, but life's funny," Crawford said.