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Eagles spring a surprise with top draft pick

Originally published April 20, 1997.

Originally published April 20, 1997.

And you thought you were surprised.

When the phone rang yesterday afternoon, Jon Harris wasn't expecting it to be Ray Rhodes calling to congratulate him on becoming the Eagles' first-round draft choice.

''I have to say I was a little surprised,'' Harris said. ''The Eagles called me in the morning and said they would try to get me; I didn't know they meant in the first round. I thought maybe I would go in the second round sometime. ''

Instead, the 6-foot-7 1/2 defensive end from Virginia was the Eagles' first- round pick. After moving down three spots in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles used the 25th pick for a player some draft experts had going as late as the fifth round.

Before the draft started, the Eagles acquired a player you have heard of. They announced the signing of linebacker Darrin Smith, a free agent who played four seasons with Dallas.

The Eagles drafted middle linebacker James Darling in the second round and running back Duce Staley in the third. They got Darling, a 6-0 1/2, 247-pounder from Washington State, after trading down two spots. He will challenge James Willis for the starting job.

The Eagles traded up in the third round to get Staley, a 5-11, 220-pounder from South Carolina. Staley gained 1,116 yards on just 218 carries last season. The Eagles got Staley with the 71st overall pick after trading the 84th pick and a sixth-rounder to Arizona.

The wheeling and dealing leaves the Eagles with eight picks in today's session: a fourth-rounder, two fifth-rounders, two sixth-rounders (including a compensation pick at the end of the round) and three seventh-round picks.

Dandruff may be the only thing that causes more head scratching than the Eagles' recent first-round draft picks. Last year, the Eagles took offensive lineman Jermane Mayberry from Division II Texas A&M-Kingsville. The year before, they traded up to take defensive end Mike Mamula with the seventh pick.

Minutes after taking Harris, Rhodes found himself on ESPN, sparring with commentator Tom Jackson.

''Tom Jackson doesn't coach this football team,'' Rhodes said later. ''He doesn't evaluate our talent for us. I don't care what anybody else thinks. We did a lot of research on this kid. We feel very positive about this young man.

''We had some defensive line coaches from around the league call and say they liked this pick. They said it takes a lot of guts to draft the guy you want and not worry what people might think. We'll see how all this comes out in the wash. ''

The Eagles' research included a round of interviews at Veterans Stadium two weeks ago, Rhodes said.

''Everybody had a chance to sit behind closed doors and spend two or three hours with him,'' Rhodes said. ''Everybody is on the same page with this kid - the coaches, the scouts, the owner. He's a great athlete with great size who we felt was on the up rise at Virginia. ''

A couple of questions came up when Harris spoke to reporters.

Rhodes said Harris' weight, listed at 269 pounds, was up to 287 when he visited. But Harris said he was in the ''high 270s, maybe 280.''

Rhodes said the Eagles knew that several teams were high on Harris, including Green Bay and New Orleans. The Packers had the final pick of the first round. The Saints picked third in the second round.

Harris said the Jets and Saints had shown some interest in him. Asked about the Packers, though, he replied, ''Uh . . . no.''

Dick Daniels, the Eagles' director of football operations, said it didn't really matter where other teams had Harris ranked. The Eagles liked him enough to take him in the first round and weren't willing to risk waiting until the second round.

''You might not get another chance at him,'' Daniels said.

A number of highly rated players were available when the Eagles selected Harris. Carolina took Rae Carruth, Colorado's speedy wide receiver, with the 27th pick. Denver took Clemson defensive end Trevor Pryce at 28. Highly rated defensive tackles Rick Terry of North Carolina and Nathan Davis of Indiana went with the first two picks of the second round. Harris' teammate, highly rated linebacker Jamie Sharper, went to Baltimore with the 34th overall pick.

Rhodes said the Eagles tried to move up in the first round, presumably for Florida State defensive end Reinard Wilson. They couldn't, and when Notre Dame defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn went to Jacksonville with the 21st pick, the Eagles cut the deal with the Cowboys.

The Cowboys gave up a fifth-round pick this year and a third-rounder next year to move up three spots. They selected Lousiana State tight end David LaFleur.

Rhodes said he had no reservations about helping the Cowboys.

''We're still going to hate them,'' Rhodes said. ''We got Bryant Young [in San Francisco] in a trade with the Rams, so it's not unusual. Besides, we got a pretty good package so they could take a guy that nobody else was going to take anyway. ''

If the Eagles' interest in Harris was a well-kept secret, their need for help on the defensive line was obvious. That need became acute when William Fuller signed with the San Diego Chargers last week.

''We're not asking this kid to fill William Fuller's shoes,'' Rhodes said. ''I don't want to put that kind of pressure on him. This young man will give us a pass rush and he'll also play well against the run. ''

Harris had just three sacks last year as a fifth-year senior. Rhodes said that had more to do with Virginia's defense, which emphasized linebackers Sharper and James Farrior. Farrior went to the Jets with the eighth pick.

''In their system, the linebackers are supposed to make the plays,'' Rhodes said. ''[Harris] was a system player. But when you watch film, he broke the pocket down quite a bit. He's a strong player. He has long arms. He's like Too Tall Jones or Art Still, the kind of guys who create havoc on the edges.''