Eagles seeking smarts, character in their draft picks

For all the ways Chip Kelly monitors his players' health, the Eagles coach doesn't want to babysit them when they're away from the NovaCare Complex.

For all the ways he has simplified instruction and play-calling, Kelly wants players who are smart and studious.

It's difficult to say for certain how much more emphasis he places upon character and intellect than other teams, but Kelly has spoken volumes about the kinds of men he wants on his roster both in word - "That's what trying to get, a bunch of guys who are good people," he has said - and actions.

Last year, all seven of the Eagles' draft selections had already graduated or were weeks away from completing their college degrees.

"Intelligence is a huge part of what we're looking for in every aspect that we do, whether it's offense, defense or special teams," Kelly said then. "So the fact that they have a degree proves where they are from an intelligence factor."

Kelly wants leaders. Several of the Eagles' 15 draft picks since Kelly has become coach were captains of their teams. Free-agent additions like linebacker Connor Barwin, safety Malcolm Jenkins and special-teams ace Chris Maragos have become leaders of their respective units.

Although the last two drafts have been a mixed bag of successes and failures thus far, second-year wide receiver Jordan Matthews is poised to assume more responsibility on offense a year after DeSean Jackson was jettisoned for reasons believed to be related to his character and work ethic.

"An old [Bill] Parcells saying is, 'When the best players are your best people is really when you have something that's going,' " Ed Marynowitz, the Eagles' vice president of player personnel, said last week. "That is the type of culture that we want. The best people, the best players are the guys that have the best intangibles.

"We're big on culture here and the right fit, and I think that it's important that we continue to bring guys in that are wired the right way."

It can be argued that losing Jackson, however, didn't help the Eagles on the field. There have been far worse characters who have been on championship-level teams. The question is where to draw the line.

Daniel Jeremiah, who worked as an Eagles scout from 2010 to 2012, said that when he was previously with the Ravens, an older scout lobbied to have a prospect who had tested positive for marijuana taken off the team's draft board.

"We had to have a discussion there," said Jeremiah, now an NFL Network analyst. "Look, if we take every single player that has had a positive drug test off our board we're not going to have many guys to choose from."

Some teams historically have been more willing to take on players with character questions. The Raiders were most prominent. More recently, the Bengals have rolled the dice as often as any club. The Cowboys signed defensive end Greg Hardy this offseason even though he faced domestic-abuse charges.

The Eagles under Andy Reid were considered one of the strictest when it came to off-the-field concerns. But he became more lenient later in his tenure and drafted Jackson and signed Michael Vick after he was released from prison.

Kelly has yet to take such a gamble, but he is in complete control of personnel this offseason. He didn't take any risks during free agency, though, and because his beliefs are so well known by now, many expect the Eagles to pass on first-round question marks like receiver Dorial Green-Beckham and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Jalen Collins.

But what if a top five talent like linebacker Randy Gregory, who failed a drug test at the NFL combine, drops all the way to No. 20 when the Eagles pick?

"I think Chip has got his own plan and I don't know what it is," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. "I have no idea what his plan is, other than he likes big, fast, smart football players."

Kelly has a three-step evaluation process, as described by Marynowitz, that places size and speed first, scheme fit and positional talent second, and character and intellect third. It may seem that character is just as important, but it's likely further down on the list because it is difficult to get inside a player's head.

There's more to that part of the assessment than just a prospect's criminal record or grade point average. The Eagles want players who love football and are committed to doing what it takes to succeed at this level.

"You've got to spend a lot of time with these guys to figure out their wiring, their makeup," Marynowitz said. "What makes them tick, do they fit in this culture, and do they have the right football mentality and temperament to be a successful player?"

Scouts spend a great deal of the season visiting campuses and talking to coaches and acquaintances to get a better read on a prospect's personality, but it can be difficult to decipher truth from fiction. That is one reason Kelly has acquired a fair number of players he knew personally from his Oregon days - or his assistants knew them.

He has also been a fixture during pre-draft events like all-star games, the combine and pro days in order to spend as much time with the prospects as possible. But the whole staff - from scouts to coaches - is also involved.

"From a big-picture standpoint, you want guys that live their life the right way, that approach their job the right way, that it's conducive to them being a really good football player," Marynowitz said. "If they don't do those things, typically they're not going to be successful."