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Brian Baldinger's breakdown of Eagles draft

Daily News football writer Paul Domowitch chronicles the NFL Network analyst’s take on the Eagles selections.

NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger's take on the Eagles' draft picks:

DEREK BARNETT (Round 1, pick 14)

"The first week in March, I sat down with Willie McGinest (former New England Patriots linebacker and NFL Network colleague) and we watched the top five pass-rushers in this draft. The one thing we saw with Barnett was he was the best pass-rusher of all of them, including (No. 1 pick Myles) Garrett.

"His ability to convert speed to power, to stab, to bend and turn the corner, was really impressive. But what we were most impressed by, and this is why the 40 at the combine really doesn't mean a whole lot with edge rushers, his first two steps probably are the best first two steps in the whole draft at that position.

"His get-off and his ability to close on the tackle, you watch him against Alabama's Cam Robinson and some of the other top guys in the SEC, he gets on them so fast. And once he gets them to open their hips and turn and give him a two-way go, that's when he's got them beat. He has great moves, great hands.

"He knows how to use his hands and arms. He's just a good football player. You watch him play the run, he knows how to disengage, get off blocks. He's an every-down player, which is what you have to be when you get taken that high.''

SIDNEY JONES (Rd. 2/43)

"He's a press corner that can turn and run with his man. At Washington, he had the ability to find the ball in the air. He was able to play the ball in the air without really being grabby about it and putting his hands all over people.

"He had enough confidence in his feet that he could run and flip his hips and turn with these guys and run with these guys down the field. Now, the Pac-12 didn't have a lot of elite quarterbacks. But he was a pure press corner that could turn and run.

"There's three ways to win (in coverage) in this league. You can win at the line of scrimmage. You can win in the stem (of the route). And then you can win with the ball in the air. A guy like (Darrelle) Revis could win at all three. But there's not many guys who can. I think Jones can do it in all three phases. He just has to get healthy and stay healthy.''

RASUL DOUGLAS, CB, West Virginia (Rd. 3/99)

"They play a 3-3-5 defense at West Virginia. He went up against good wide receivers every week in the Big-12. The one thing you see with him is he gets his hands on guys. A lot of corners are afraid to get their hands on guys, afraid of getting beat.

"He has to win at the line of scrimmage because he doesn't have the long speed. But there are different ways to win in this league. At 6-2, with the big body, that's going to help him against the big receivers. He has production and ball skills. He's going to be a good fit for (Jim) Schwartz's press scheme.''

MACK HOLLINS, WR, North Carolina (Rd. 4/118)

"His durability is a little bit of a concern. Broke his collarbone and only played seven games last year, and tweaked his hamstring at the combine. I thought he was drafted a little high maybe. But you can't argue with the yards per catch and his production when he was on the field. The way you have to look at it with him is, is he going to be the guy that's going to replace Alshon Jeffery next year if they can't re-sign Jeffery.''

DONNEL PUMPHREY, RB, San Diego St. (Rd. 4/132)

"He was one of the most difficult guys to evaluate in this draft because he was a complete outlier. There's nobody that's ever played tailback at his level and at his size that's started 42 games in a row. The guy just doesn't get hurt.

"He's 5-8 and only 176 pounds and has no base at all. None. But he does have those feet. He has an unbelievable ability to get through cracks.

"But I don't think he's a starting tailback in this league. I know he rushed for 6,400 yards at San Diego State and broke Marshall Faulk's rushing record and all that. But you've never seen a starting tailback in this league at that size. Never.

"I don't know if he's the next Darren Sproles or not. Because he's not built like Sproles. Sproles is only 5-6, but he's strong and has a big lower base. This kid doesn't. This kid isn't built like that.''

SHELTON GIBSON, WR, West Virginia

(Rd. 5/166)

"When I saw Gibson as a freshman, I thought he was going to be a star wide receiver in the Big-12. But when he went to the combine, he didn't run like I thought he was going to run. He didn't jump like I thought he was going to jump. I thought he was going to jump 40 inches and run in the low 4.4s. He ran a 4.5 and jumped just 32 inches. He just didn't have the explosiveness that I thought he'd have.

"The Eagles have talked about him being able to take the top off a defense. But 4.5 forties at wide receiver don't take the top off very many coverages in this league. He looks like he plays faster. He's a strong kid. While it didn't show at the combine, it looks like he has vertical hops. I remember seeing a play against Kansas his freshman year where it looked like he was riding a bicycle in the air. But he didn't test like that. Maybe he's just one of those guys who plays faster than he tests.''

NATE GERRY, S/LB, Nebraska (Rd. 5/184)

"With 13 (career) interceptions, he obviously knows how to find the football. He's a tough kid and a good tackler. I think he's going to help them out immediately on special teams.

"They plan to move him to linebacker. He's big enough to make the transition, and certainly is fast enough. In Schwartz's scheme, they're probably in nickel somewhere around 80 percent of the time. So you're only going to play two linebackers most of the time. You know (Jordan) Hicks is going to be one of them. The question is who's going to be the other one. You're looking for two guys who can just run and chase and find the football. I think this kid can do that.

"When Schwartz had Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy in Detroit, those guys made all the tackles. They never came off the field. That's what you're looking for here. You're looking for that combination. Is that Jordan and Nigel (Bradham)? Is it Jordan and Gerry? Does Gerry get in there right away? We'll see.''

ELIJAH QUALLS, DT, Washington (Rd. 6/214)

"With the injury to Beau Allen, it was a need. Qualls has more movement skills than Beau. He's a guy you can move around and who can go and play right away and back up the two starters until Beau gets back. You'll get immediate production from him.

"I think he's a good player. It was a good pick. A need pick and a value pick. When you watched Washington's defense, you couldn't take your eyes off of him. As good as Sidney (Jones) and Kevin King and Budda Baker were, you couldn't take your eyes off Qualls because of where they lined him up and what he did for them.''