Defensive Posture: Birds Add LB, DE in 2nd
The Eagles have completed three rounds and two days of the 2012 NFL draft. They've reaped three defensive players that are generally well-regarded, and a quarterback who is viewed as a 'project.'
Defensive Posture: Birds Add LB, DE in 2nd
Les Bowen
The Eagles have completed three rounds and two days of the 2012 NFL draft. They've reaped three defensive players that are generally well-regarded, and a quarterback who is viewed as a 'project.'
The five remaining selections today might contain a few of the elements some fans expected to see by now -- a corner, perhaps, a big wideout, maybe, a little more o-line depth one might guess, and a contender for a backup running back job, you'd think. (Don't hold your breath for a safety, that isn't a strong draft group.)
“That’s just the way it fell,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said Friday night after the Birds added to their first-day selection of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox with a Cal linebacker, Mychal Kendricks, at 46th overall in the second round, and a Marshall defensive end, Vinny Curry, with the 59th overall pick in the second. The Eagles drafted Curry after trading back from 51st spot, allowing the Packers to nab Michigan State defensive tackle Jerrel Worthy, and pocketing a fourth-round selection for Saturday, 123rd overall. The Eagles took Arizona QB Nick Foles 88th overall, in the third round.
"I didn't have my eyes set on having to draft a corner," Reid said when the evening was complete. "(2011 third-round pick Curtis) Marsh continues to improve. He's up here every day working. We liked what we saw (from Marsh) last year."
Reid said the Eagles really wanted to get back into the fourth round, which they did with the Green Bay trade.
Reid said Cox, Kendricks and Curry "are guys we think can contribute" right away.
The first thing many fans will notice about Kendricks is that he is listed at just 5-11, 240. Reid said he plans to start Kendricks off at SAM, a role for which he is pretty short. The Eagles have shown an affinity for such linebackers.
“He has great athletic ability, speed,” said Reid, who noted that Kendricks was defensive player of the year in the Pac 12 Conference. “He gives you the opportunity to cover tight ends.” Reid added that despite his lack of height, Kendricks “has good mass to him.”
“I just play big,” Kendricks told a conference call with reporters at NovaCare, when asked how he answers skeptics about his height. “That’s all I do is just play big, and shut ‘em up that way. That’s never been an issue for me, so I don’t see why it would be an issue for anyone else.”
Reid said Kendricks covered taller tight ends in the Pac 12 and did well. “We’ll see if that carries over,” he said. “I think it will.”
Curry, meanwhile, joins an exceptionally deep group at defensive end. Reid said that was an example of feeling the Birds had to take the best player on their board at 59; they’d rated Curry at the bottom of the first round or the top of the second. Reid agreed that DE is “not an immediate need,” but said that Curry has “one speed, and that’s 100 mph.”
Reid said having too many DEs is a good problem to have.
He also called Curry, 6-3, 266, who notched 11 sacks last year, “quite a colorful guy, who loves to play the game.”
Curry, from Neptune, N.J., grew up an Eagles fan and said he was very excited to be coming aboard to play under defensive line coach Jim Washburn, though he began the draft thinking he’d go in the first round.
"That’s just the way the cookie crumbled,” he said. “You can never predict the draft.”
“I’m just a natural pass rusher,” Curry said. “The first thing to my game is get-off … I really hustle to the ball. I’m just a go-getter … Jim Washburn hand-picked me. I can promise you that I won’t let him down.”
Saturday, the Eagles pick 123rd in the fourth round, 153rd in the fifth, 194th in the sixth, 200th in the sixth, and 229th in the seventh, the much-anticipated Asante Samuel pick.
For our post on Eagles' draft pick Nick Foles, click here.
I like the Curry and Cox picks but with TEs in the league reaching up to 6'6 I dont feel so good about short backers.— soilwork007- Anyone see a pic of Kendricks ? This kid is really put together , He may not be so tall , but the kid can run like the wind and Hit ... actually reminds me of a 5' 11" Clay Matthews ... times yours ...— ingy9
Linebackers that are 5'11" - Stephen Tulloch, Zach Thomas etc
He is a big 5'11" too, at 240, and he is fassssst.
The best thing about him is that he is a solid tackler, he rarely misses tackles (if you dont believe me just search his name on youtube)- And don't forget London Fletcher, Redskins, 5-10 245lbs. he's been playing for quite a few years as well (14). I think the Kendricks kid will be fine. — essell
- great draft except for Foles as could have had Boykins or Lemar Miller and am betting now that both will do a lot beTter then Foles. I would also bet Foles might have been there in the 4th and would have been an awesome draft if we took Boykins for slot or Lemar Miller to back up Shady— connorjr
- What would an Andy Reid draft be without a wasted early DE pick?— banned
- foles was a waste of a pick— psualum
- A wasted early DE pick??? Mayock loves him, as do all the draft magazines I've read. We will have quality depth all along the line now, and this is a line that only led the NFL in sacks last yr.— Mugwumps88
- Psualum, you are a dolt and unknoeledgeble— BirdinParadise
- Andy loves his smurfs.— essell
- internet gm's sit back and enjoy the ride wining about picks you cant control and if you had the job you wouldn't make......love the early picks hope they all pan out QB is a must to develop everyone wants one because its now a passing league you cant win without a quality qb he has time to work and develop if not we draft another one till we get it right not like a qb drafted first is a slam dunk so why not the 3rd round— positive eagle
- 140 Some odd tackles!!! Considering how pathetic our LB's were last year & how they were all allergic to tackling I don't care how big the guy is. If he can tackle (which is what he was known for in college) then he CERTAINLY has a place on our D. If you hate on him for only being 240 lbs you should shut up b/c clearly you don't watch the Eagles play. Their D is built on speed & pressure & big backers dont have any place in their scheme. EVERYBODY (mayock, kiper, cosell, gruden, etc) LOVED the kendricks pick. Thats good enough for me.— thomaspfoolery
so farits been a decent draft, but nothing spectacular, they got an udnersized DT that fell, they got an undersized DE that fell further, and a smallish Linebacker. oh yea and a terrible QB, that is a waste of a 3rd round pick, Andy's sweet spot. QB's who are drafted outside of the first round, in totaas nfl virtually NEVER win the SB or even become good long lasting starters, it is extremely rare. basically QB's taken after the 2nd round are career backups and thats it. You arleady have an OK 4th round backup in Kafka SO YOU GET ANOTHER ONE, WHO IS EVEN WORSE. they need a power back (lamar miller, robert turbin) alot more then Nick Foles, FB, 0-line depth, all would have been way better...kendricks was a good pick, possibly, Cox is undersized at DT, and they dont need another fastball DE. not a terrible draft so far, but not that amazing either. Mostly more of the same, which will obvioulsy NOT WIN A SB. NEVER. pass on a big 330 pound round stuffer for 2 rounds to take undersized pass rushers lol @ Andy 2012- From the small amount I've seen Kendricks is very fast and seems to be around the ball a lot. He gets in the backfield in a hurry. A couple times in the Stanford game Luck tried to scramble for 1st downs and Kendricks beat him to the spot. I thought he tackled well too. Only knock I saw was if an OL gets to the second level they just eat him up and he's out of the play. He also didn't seem to be in coverage a lot.— sg
- Kendrick's was Defensive player of the year in the PAC 10!!! Don't worry bout his height, he runs a sub 4.5 40 and has a 39" vert!!! He can rush the passer/ blitz, cover TE/ RB and plays the run well! Great pick by the Eagles— sullybleedsgreen
