Eagles Blog

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com had a couple of interesting tweets on Dion Jordan to the Jaguars at #2.

“Why does nobody link Oakland to Jordan or Ansah in media? > I think Jordan will be finalizing his flight to JAX when OAK picks”

“are you that certain Jordan is the pick at 2? > Nothing certain in this draft but all signs point me in that direction.”

Interesting. The Jags are the team that I’ve feared grabbing Jordan all along. Maybe the Eagles just go with OT at that point. Maybe Star Lotulelei. My preference would be trading back, but there are no guarantees the team will get the right offer.

One of the guys over at British Eagles shares his thoughts on Geno Smith. I’m not so sure about his conclusion. He thinks Smith could be one of the 4 targets at the #4 pick, but isn’t the primary target. If a team has a QB ranked with a high grade, you take him even if he’s not highest on your board. QB is the most important position. My guess is that the Eagles don’t have an early 1st round grade on Smith and that’s why they’ll pass.

Ever wonder about who has the prospects ranked where? Brent over at Eagles Rewind took the time to compile that info. He posted it in a crazy visual graphic. Very interesting to see which players are high/low on some boards. The one that jumps out is Russ Lande (NFP) having Ryan Nassib as the #1 overall prospect.

Brent has quite a few other posts that analyze the draft from a statistical standpoint. He does a good job, if that’s you’re kind of material. Sometimes the numbers overwhelm me a bit. Still, it is a different way to look at the data and there is value in that.

Earl Okine was a backup DE at Florida. He finished his career with 27 tackles, 2.5 TFls, and no sacks. He has gotten the attention of NFL teams because of his size and athleticism. Okine is 6-7, 284. He had a 3-cone time of 6.99. That would be solid for a Safety. It is crazy for a big DE.

Per Aaron Wilson, the Eagles have shown interest in Okine and have a draftable grade on him.

Here are his workout numbers from Gil Brandt:

“Earl Okine, DL (6-6 1/2, 284) — Okine ran the 40-yard dash in 5.14 and 5.23 seconds. He did 25 reps on the bench of 225 pounds, recorded a 33-inch vertical and a 9-foot-4 broad jump. Okine completed the short-shuttle in 4.65 seconds and ran the three-cone drill in 6.99 seconds.”

Okine would be a late pick or priority free agent.

Per Aaron Wilson, DE Joe Kruger visited the Eagles. Kruger is a 6-6, 269 Junior from Utah. He is the younger brother of Paul Kruger. I think Joe could be a good fit at the 5-tech DE spot. Chip Kelly will love his size. Joe is a good athlete and isn’t even 21, so he’s barely scratching the surface in regard to how good he can be. I think he’ll be a 5th round pick.

Per Mike Garafalo, the Eagles have shown interest in Western Michigan pass rusher Paul Hazel. He also played basketball. Hazel is 6-5, 220. He finished his career with 16.5 sacks and 10 FFs. Clearly Hazel would need to bulk up to handle playing OLB in a 3-4 type of scheme.

I forgot to post this from Monday, when MMQB first went up.  A couple of Eagles nuggets:

“4. Philadelphia. Eagles have been nutty about getting players who fit the 3-4. Hear they like Star Lotulelei a lot to play all along the line, even at nose. Where they go — Geno Smith, pass rusher, best corner in the draft — I don’t know, but my guess is pass rusher.”

“And,” Mayock said, “you throw a Chip Kelly in there at No. 4. He could be so different. I’m not sure they value things in Philadelphia the way everyone else does in the league anymore. So we don’t know that. Add to that the talent in the first round and the second round is pretty equal at a lot of spots. I could see [defensive end] Bjoern Werner going six, I could see him going 28. Right now, I think it’s simply an unpredictable year. I feel very good about my player analysis as we sit here right now. I don’t feel good at all about where those players are going.”

We can’t ignore Peter King. He had the Eagles taking Danny Watkins a few years back. Interesting that he hears Star Lotulelei is of high interest.  Last week we heard Geno Smith was a virtual lock.

It seems like Howie Roseman and Chip Kelly are doing a good job of keeping people confused.

I’m not sure what to make of Mayock’s comment about the Eagles valuing players differently. Could this be a hint that Tavon Austin is a possibility at #4?

Jimmy Bama and I have been delayed in doing a new show for too long, but finally changed that tonight.

90 mins of glory. First 5 mins are on Chip Kelly’s PC and the rest is draft talk.  Enjoy.

Per Don Banks:

“NFL source tells me former Tenn Vols QB Tyler Bray is visiting Eagles today. Bray has met w/ Steelers, Bills, Bengals, at least 1 more team.”

Bray is a Junior from Tennessee. He threw 34 TDs this year and is a talented QB, but I don’t see him as a Chip Kelly QB at all. He’s a pocket passer. He has maturity issues. Bray isn’t a guy I think the Eagles would have interest in.

I could be wrong on that…or the Eagles could be trying to bait teams in the 2nd or 3rd round.  If a QB needy team behind the Eagles fears that Kelly might like Bray, the team might have to call about trading up.

I personally don’t see Bray as 2nd round material, but he does have some people that like him. I do think teams looking for more of a pure pocket passer should have some interest. He might be ideal for a Norv Turner team (CLE) or a Bruce Arians team (ARZ). This scenario could also play out in the 3rd round. Teams who don’t go for a QB early might feel under pressure to make a move in other rounds to make sure they get one of some value.

Let’s hope.

If the Eagles pass on an OT at pick #4, they could go for Syracuse OL Justin Pugh in the 2nd round.  The team has met with him a few times and that shows some serious interest.

Football writer Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel did a good piece on Pugh.  Dunne is an excellent football writer and the J-S does a great job of covering the entire NFL, not just the Packers.

Demetrius Harris played basketball for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but is now hoping for a shot at the NFL. He played WR in high school, but would now be more of a TE.

Harris is 6-5, 237.  He had a good workout for NFL teams.

Harris’ gifts are obvious in physical testing. He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds with a 10-2 broad jump and a 36 1/2 inch vertical leap. Strength is something that needs work, bench pressing 225 pounds twice. However, strength can be improved. It’s rare to be that big, fast and explosive.

“I’ll be hitting the weights hard wherever I wind up,” Harris said. “I’ve only been lifting weights since last year, so it’s something I’m working on.”

Per Aaron Wilson, the Eagles have already worked him out.  Harris would be a late round pick or priority FA. Could be a good fit in the Chip Kelly offense. Clearly would need some time to develop, though.

Per Aaron Wilson, the Eagles had a private workout with OT Patrick Ford of Eastern Kentucky.  Ford was the LT for the last 2 years.  He played OG in 2010.  He is a terrific run blocker and solid pass protector. Very fun player to watch.  He appears to be a late round prospect.

Per Adam Caplan, the Eagles brought in Tennessee OL Dallas Thomas for a visit.  Thomas was a LT in 2010 and 2011. He slid inside to LG for 2012. I think Thomas will be a 3rd or 4th round pick.

Notice a pattern? The Eagles are interested in versatile OL.