Three Eagles draft leftovers
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
Three Eagles draft leftovers
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
If you didn't check in this weekend, here are MTC links that you might have missed:
My take on the Fletcher Cox pick
My take on the Day 2 picks
Video of Nick Foles at Jon Gruden's QB Camp
How CB Brandon Boykin fits in
Rounding up Eagles draft grades
Here are three more leftover items:
PIECES IN PLACE FOR CASTILLO
Juan Castillo has players. Now he must produce.
Consider the roster turnover on defense since Castillo took over. Here are the players who were on the field when former defensive coordinator Sean McDermott coached his last game here, a loss in the wild-card round to the Packers after the 2010 season:
Defensive linemen: Juqua Parker, Mike Patterson, Antonio Dixon, Trent Cole, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Trevor Laws, Brodrick Bunkley and Darryl Tapp.
Linebackers: Moise Fokou, Ernie Sims, Jamar Chaney and Keenan Clayton
Cornerbacks: Asante Samuel, Dimitri Patterson and Joselio Hanson
Safeties: Quintin Mikell, Kurt Coleman
Take a close look at that group. Among the defensive linemen, Patterson and Cole will definitely be here next season. Dixon and Tapp will be fighting for jobs, now that the Eagles drafted DT Fletcher Cox and DE Vinny Curry in the first two rounds. Parker, Te'o-Nesheim, Laws and Bunkley are gone.
At linebacker, Fokou, Chaney and Clayton will be fighting for playing time/jobs. It's unlikely that any of them start though.
Hanson has a chance to be the slot cornerback, but the Eagles would probably like fourth-round pick Brandon Boykin to win that job. And if Jaiquawn Jarrett develops, or if the Eagles add a veteran safety like Yeremiah Bell, Coleman will likely be a backup.
In other words, it's conceivable that just 16 games after the Eagles ended the 2010 season, only two of the 17 players who suited up against the Packers will play significant roles in Week 1 of the 2012 season against the Browns.
Have Howie Roseman and Andy Reid assembled a perfect defensive roster? Of course not. The talent could be better at linebacker, even after they traded for DeMeco Ryans and drafted Mychal Kendricks in the second round. And the Eagles have made no roster moves at safety. But there's still a lot of talent on that side of the ball.
We know Jim Washburn's defensive line, which accounted for 46 of the team's 50 sacks last year will be good. It's up to Castillo to make sure Kendricks is ready to go and to determine which of the recent draft picks (Chaney, Casey Matthews, Brian Rolle, Clayton) are capable of contributing.
Reid brought Todd Bowles in to coach the secondary. He and Castillo need to figure out how to use Nnamdi Asomugha, and how to get the most out of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The Eagles spent second-round picks on Nate Allen and Jaiquawn Jarrett the past two seasons. Perhaps they reached on one or both of those picks, but considering they've yet to sign a safety and didn't draft one last weekend, we have to assume they believe in the players they have.
Reid moved Castillo from the offensive line to defensive coordinator before 2011. Despite the roster turnover, that's still one of the major decisions that will determine what kind of team this is in 2012.
GETTING HELP FOR MCCOY
The Eagles didn't draft a running back until the seventh round when they took a flier on Kansas State's Bryce Brown. Brown, a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, carried 101 times for 460 yards at Tennessee in 2009. But he's only had three carries since then, after transferring to Kansas State and then leaving the program.
The other intriguing name the Eagles added is undrafted free agent Chris Polk (5-11, 215) out of Washington. Polk piled up 1,488 yards last year, averaging 5.1 YPC with 12 touchdowns. He was also a good receiver, catching 31 balls for 332 yards and four scores. NFL Network's Mike Mayock had Polk on his Top-100 prospect list at No. 93. Draft analyst Matt Waldman had Polk ranked as his fifth-best running back prospect, comparing him to Corey Dillon with better hands.
The obvious question, then, is: Why'd he go undrafted? This story from The Seattle Times breaks down Polk's injury history. Apparently, his shoulder issues scared teams off. But Polk denied a report that he has a degenerative hip condition. Considering 21 running backs were drafted, and Polk was not one of them, it'd be wise to temper expectations. But from the Eagles' perspective, there's no harm in signing Polk, considering that if he's healthy, he has the talent to play in the NFL.
As I mentioned before the draft, McCoy played more snaps than any other running back in the league last season, and his production slipped down the stretch. In the first 10 games, McCoy averaged 5.4 yards per carry. In the final five, that number was just 3.4. In addition to Polk and Brown, last year's fifth-round pick, Dion Lewis, will get a shot to win the backup job. And the Eagles could still add a veteran like Joseph Addai or Justin Forsett.
HOW DOES McNUTT FIT IN?
The Eagles took Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt (6-3, 216) with the 24th pick in the sixth round. He was a productive college player, with 82 catches for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. McNutt averaged over 16 yards per catch in three straight seasons and got in the end zone 28 times.
Here's a look at how McNutt's measurables compare to Riley Cooper coming out of college:
| Ht. | Wt. | 40 Time | Vertical | |
| Cooper | 6-3 | 222 | 4.53 | 33" |
| McNutt | 6-3 | 216 | 4.54 | 37'' |
In other words, my guess is these two could be competing for playing time. Cooper, a fifth-round pick in 2010, had 16 catches for 315 yards and a touchdown last season. The Eagles need a reliable outside receiver to back up DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. Cooper played over 90 percent of the snaps in three games last year - against the Giants, Patriots and Seahawks. He caught 13 balls (from Vince Young) for 240 yards in those three matchups.
As for McNutt, 15 of his 28 college touchdowns were red-zone scores. Considered by some to be a fourth-round prospect, he should get a chance to compete for a backup/fourth reeciver position right away.
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All I think about when I see the above chart is if Cooper had McNutt's vertical leap -- an extra four inches, he would have caught Vick's heave into the end zone against GB two years ago. And maybe the Eagles roll to the Super Bow instead of GB.— fgdavis- um, vick didn't "heave" the ball. he threw a laser right to the the gb db. — djgq42
- No, Vick put the ball in a spot and had Cooper fought for the ball he would have caught it but he said he lost the ball in the lights which consequently got intercepted. That usually happens when a wide receiver doesn't make a play on the ball while it's in the air.
- Some like to forget that Cooper kept the drive going with a great catch of an underthrown ball by Vick. Then the throw in the end zone was also underthrown. Cooper had the defender beat. — watsonmr
- Todd Bowles may be the most important addition for this coming season. He will have a MAJOR impact on how successful this defense is. Bank on it.
Riley who??? Can't believe he will still be on the roster come September. A mediocre talent, at best.
IF Polk is, indeed, healthy, he will prove to be a STEAL.— FishFryFrank - SK, there was some talk about possibly moving Clayton to safety. Could use an update. Maybe that's why they didn't address that position along with the possibility of Y. Bell?— tpizza
- I thought last year was a transition year and this was the year that would be the payoff. With the Eagles addressing real needs in the draft and with free agents along with bringing in defensive coaching help in the secondary, I am really excited about this year and I do not get pumped up too easily. The big question is if Vick can stay in games and not take stupid hits. It is a big if because Vick needs to be healthy 95% of the time for a successful season. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Vick will be resposible and act for the good of the team instead of the good of a single play.— psubrian
- Get rid of Cooper and Hall. Sign Plax and keep McNutt for red zone.
I hope the Eagles pick up Bell as the guy can hit which we need. Boykin can hit too so maybe with Asante gone and a new coach back there the secondary will toughen up and hit people!
If I was Howie I would try to trade dead weight like Cooper, Hall, 2 or 3 of our LB's, Hunt and maybe even Tapp and take shots on troubled talent like Burfit and Denard (DB from Nebraska the Patriots picked up) as those guys might actually make an impact where all these other guys have not (except Tapp)— connorjr - Unfortunately trading Cooper, Hall, and 2 or 3 of linebackers wouldn't get us anything. It would be essentially the same as cutting them...which is reasonably likely to happen... — JohnFC
- trade coop to jets for next year draft picks.. maybe a fourth? he was tebow's security blanket....— docboy
- Seems like a great draft for the birds.
Regarding, McNutt, I sure hope he's an upgrade over Cooper. Cooper has nice size, but does not know how to utilize it to his advantage, and is not aggressive enough when going for the ball. I doubt the Eagles can get anything for him, though I agree it wouldn't hurt to place a call with the Jets....— Mr. Magee - thank god we didnt take burfict, I was saying we should also only because everyone knows the name and he was touted early on. I watched Mayock break down his film and while the guy can hit, he took so many bad penalties and completely selfish player, slow to boot. He will not pan out, funny that the Bungles took a shot on him. And here we thought Marvin Lewis learned his lesson. Guess not.— peteike
- Don't understand why big receivers like cooper who aren't quite cutting it in the NFL don't try to bulk up and play some tight end. I know I would...— HighDrama
- tpizza...Clayton did play safety when he was at Oklahoma, before moving to OLB. He might be a good choice over any other S on the roster. He is faster than most of them and bigger. He hits and he has a nose for the ball. He is a bit undersized for an OLB in the NFL but he would be a plenty big enough at safety.— Paul SoTX
- McNutt is a definite upgrade over Cooper. If you watch his game film, he runs all the routes. He is not particular to any one throw. If you watch Cooper in college, he wasn't much for going across the middle, he wasn't a sideline guy nor possession type receiver in the hash. He was a deep threat guy who could catch a fade pass. Considering McNutt was being mentioned pre-season for the Belitnikoff award, some folks must think very highly of his skill level.— beegal99
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