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Eagles bolster linebacking position with Jordan Hicks pick

The Eagles were an injury or two short of holding open tryouts for inside linebackers last season.

The Eagles were an injury or two short of holding open tryouts for inside linebackers last season, with Mychal Kendricks, DeMeco Ryans, Najee Goode and Travis Long all suffering serious afflictions. First-round rookie Marcus Smith, who couldn't grasp the outside linebacking position he was drafted to play, eventually got thrown into the inside mix, as coaches crossed their fingers and hoped.

Clearly, Chip Kelly is going to be certain that doesn't happen again. Little short of a zombie apocalypse will stop the Birds from fielding a full complement of inside linebackers, after they bolstered the count to nine last night, selecting Texas' Jordan Hicks in the third round of the NFL draft. And that nine is only if you count Long as an outside 'backer.

A couple of the nine, Brad Jones and Kiko Alonso, can swing outside. Brandon Hepburn is a practice squad guy, Bryan Braman strictly a special-teams player. That still leaves quite a glut.

"He was our highest-rated guy by far," when the 84th overall selection rolled around, Kelly said, in explaining why he addressed what was not an area of need. "We had him rated in the second round. We had great exposure to Jordan; he was the individual we saw the most this offseason."

Kelly acknowledged that in a perfect world, the Eagles would have found an offensive lineman somewhere in the first three rounds, given that they project three over-30 starters, but he noted that there is still today and the final four rounds to address that need.

Hicks (6-1, 236) confirmed that he saw more of the Eagles than any other team, during the evaluation process. Why on earth that would be, no one said.

"I got a great feel for who they are, a great feel for the organization," Hicks said on a conference call. Asked what he thought the Eagles liked about him, Hicks said: "No. 1, the fact that I'm a smart football player. I can get people lined up on the field. I have a great understanding of football and schemes, what it takes to call a play and check plays."

Kelly said he considers Hicks an athletic, three-down linebacker who also can contribute on special teams.

There has been a lot of buzz about the Eagles wanting to trade Kendricks, who probably was their second-best defensive player last season, after Fletcher Cox. Kendricks so far has skipped spring OTA work. But Kelly said last night that he expects Kendricks to be an Eagle this season, and he thinks Kendricks will be present for OTA work, now that he has shepherded his brother, Eric, through the draft process. Eric Kendricks was drafted last night by the Vikings, 45th overall, in the second round.

Kelly said he hasn't discussed trading any of his players during this draft, but said he had to call some of them, to deny reports that players, including Kendricks, were part of an Eagles offer to Tennessee for the second overall pick and quarterback Marcus Mariota.

"I understand where Mike is coming from. It's only one time your brother gets drafted. I think it's a special time for his family … We anticipate him coming in next week," Kelly said. "The one thing I know about Mychal, he always works. I don't think Mychal's going to show up here 25 pounds overweight … We're excited to see him when he gets back in here on Monday."

Hicks and quarterback Case McCoy were sent home from the Alamo Bowl after the 2012 season, after a curfew violation that reports said also involved a sexual assault allegation. No charges were brought. Kelly said the Eagles checked out the matter and were satisfied with Hicks' explanation.

Hicks has an extensive injury history but was healthy last season, when he led the Longhorns with 147 tackles.