Mid-Late round draft picks

The Eagles usually do a very good job at collecting a plethora of draft picks in the middle to late rounds of the draft. They also do a good job using those picks wisely using them to pick up good depth players and occasionally find a starter or two in the mix. Last season due to injuries a lot of late picks got significant playing time and most of them did not look out of place. Kurt Coleman from Ohio State was a 7th round that played quite a bit with the injury to fellow rookie 2nd round pick Nate Allen. Jamar Chaney, another 7th round pick from Mississippi State, played very well at ILB when Bradley got hurt. Other late round picks made contributions as well. This year the Eagles have two 4th and two 5th round picks so expect to see them build depth and special teams again with those picks. Perhaps they can find the next Todd Herremans who was a 5th round pick out of Saginaw Valley St.
One intriguing player at OLB is Lawrence Wilson from Connnecticut. The one FBS scholarship offer came from UCONN so this kid played with a chip on his back his whole career. He is an intriguing prospect because he is one of those players that just loves to play the game. He is the kind of player you want on the field when the defense has no pulse because it is the players that love to play the game that will keep going 100% and never give up.
With the other 4th round pick I think the Eagles may look at the OG or DB positions. It depends on who falls from the 2-3 round grades into the 4th. Ahmad Black, S from Florida, would be a good pick to build depth in the weak secondary if he can slip out of the 2-3 rounds. If he slips it will probably be because of his height, which is below-average for the position.
This is a very deep corner class so there will be some very capable corner backs available in that 4-5 range where the Eagles have multiple picks. Shareece Wright from USC is an option as well as Rashad Carmichael from Virginia Tech.

Philadelphia Eagles mock draft 1

1. Anthony Castonzo--(OT-Boston College)6'7" 295lb
2. Ras-I Dowling--(CB-Virginia)6'11/2" 201lb
3. Mark Herzlich--(LB-Boston College)6'4" 247lb
4. Shareece Wright--(CB-USC)5'11" 184lb
4. Lawrence Wilson--(LB-Connecticut)6'01/2" 220lb
5. John Moffitt--(OG-Wisconsin)6'4" 319lb
5. Cliff Matthews--(DE-South Carolina)6'4" 263lb
6. Nathan Williams--(SS-Washington)6'0" 216lb
7. Roy Helu--(RB-Nebraska)5'111/2" 223lb

NFC East Draft Grades

Cowboys- B+ : They were able to get the top receiver, Dez Bryant, in the draft to fall to them in the late first round and they were also able to make a trade with the rival Eagles to trade up and get Sean Lee, a LB from PSU, who can come in immediately and start. (See Dan Connor and Paul Posluszny). Also, they added one of the most athletic CBs in the draft, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, with the 28th pick in the forth round. (The Eagles had four picks in the fourth round and passed on Owusu-Ansah each and every time.) I really do think that he will come back to bite the Eagles in the ass once he gets onto the field. You can teach a player position, you cant teach them athleticism and this kid has a ton of it. In the 6th round they added Sam Young, OT Notre Dame, and Jamar Wall, CB Texas Tech. Both of these players are guys to watch in the next 3-4 years because they both have good upside.

Eagles- B+ : The Eagles are masters at dominating the later rounds as they showed that again this year. However, what was unique this year was the activity early trading up to No. 13 to draft a DE out of the University of Michigan named Brandon Graham. He is a special talent that has many people in Philly thinking about the next Hugh Douglas. But, the Eagles didn't go with a CB until the fourth round, which was a major need heading into the draft. They took Trevard Lindley out of Kentucky. The Eagles officials are sticking by the old adage "The best pass defense is a good pass rush." The Eagles certainly have a solid d-line now with the addition of Graham. They also added a DE from Washington, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, in the third round and a DE from Clemson, Ricky Sapp, in the fifth round. Te'o-Nesheim is more of a high-motor run stopper with great character, whereas Sapp is a pure pass rusher. The Eagles love bulking up the DE depth so they can rotate fresh players in constantly. With the addition of three DEs in the draft and Darryl Tapp via trade the Eagles have a very young, athletic d-line. In the second round they took Nate Allen, S South Florida. I personally disliked this pick; I wanted the Eagles to pick safety Taylor Mays from USC who is known for his size, speed and highlight reel hits. But, the Eagles seemed to love the coverage ability of Allen over the physicality of Mays, so as a fan I pray Allen becomes a stud. Besides Lindley, in the fourth round the Eagles added some high potential players in TE Clay Harbor, QB Mike Kafka and LB Keenan Clayton. Harbor is a small, quick TE with great hands and a surplus of athleticism. Kafka is in my opinion the smartest QB in this draft and is a great pick. He can learn the system for a couple years and then hopefully be a potential starter and, if Kolb works out, good trade bait. Clayton is a unknown LB from Oklahoma that entered college as a safety. He is flying under the radar, but I have a good feeling about this guy and he can come in right away and help the special teams unit. In the fifth round other than Sapp, Philly picked a large receiver from Florida, Riley Cooper. Cooper has a chance to come in and add a new aspect to an already stellar WR corp, his size advantage. With their only pick in the sixth round the Eagles selected a power back from LSU, Charles Scott. Lets hope he isn't among the likes of Tony Hunt. They added more depth in the seventh round with three picks.

NY Giants- C : The only reason I have the Giants above the Skins is because of the picks NY made in the middle rounds. I think that JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) is a one-year wonder and will never amount to anything more than a situational DE. He has already come into camp out of shape and is struggling to adapt to the NFL. Linval Joseph is a DT from East Carolina who is massive but lacks explosiveness to break through the line and stuff the RB. He brings good depth to a team with strong DTs. Chad Jones, S LSU, and Phillip Dillard, LB Nebraska, both have the makings of future starters, but I'm not sold on either yet. I think Dillard has a better upside than Jones, but Ill bet the Giants wish that Rolando McClain, LB Alabama, was available at No. 15. Mitch Petrus, OG Arkansas, will provide good depth at guard and I think in the future he could develop into an adequate starter.

Redskins- C- : When will the Redskins realize that building a team is done through the draft, not free agency? With that said the addition of Donovan McNabb gives them a solid QB finally after the Jason Campbell experiment finally ended. However, with the need of a LT to protect McNabb this year they take a high risk high reward player over the proven Russell Okung who is the most NFL-ready tackle in the draft. Perry Riley, LB LSU, seems to fit into their 3-4 system as an inside linebacker, but this pick didn't come until the forth round because they did not own a second or a third round pick. With their final four picks, three coming in the seventh round, they took two offensive linemen that are both projects. Overall, the Skins only had six picks and with so few picks they were unable to address all of their glaring needs. As a result they will continue to struggle in the physical, fast NFC East.

Draft Safety Preview

I don't know whether I want the Eagles to draft Taylor Mays at 24 or trade up and acquire Earl Thomas from Texas. I watched some of his video today and Thomas represented a tremendous knowledge for the game. He was able to remember one team's offense plays in some film I saw and he ended up jumping the route and getting a pick 6. He has amazing cover abilities and can hold up in the Eagles scheme where the safety has to play man coverage. That's the knock on Mays. His ability to cover zone and read the QB coupled with the fact that he is stiff and will have trouble in man coverage are forcing his name down draft boards and now out of some experts 1st rounds all together. I still love his raw abilities and hitting power, but now I became a little more confident in Thomas after seeing his film. I didn't think much of him prior to this, but now I'm a believer in him. I think the Eagles will trade up for either Thomas, Joe Haden, a CB from Florida, or Eric Berry, a S from Tennessee. It's a hunch that they trade up and I became more comfortable with it when I heard the new GM is going to have the Eagles be very aggressive this draft. With five picks in the top 87 why not go get who you want. It will be a crazy 1st Round tomorrow.

McNabb Traded to Skins

Last night Donovan McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins in a surprise move. Everyone thought that McNabb was going to be traded at some point before the NFL draft, but the possible destinations included St. Louis, Oakland, and San Fransisco. Not a division rival in Washington. Hopefully this wont come back to bite us in the ass next year when he comes to visit us at his past home. On the other hand how nice would it look to see his helmet buried into the grass at the Linc after his former teammates pummel him into the ground. Seeing how the skins have a severe need to rebuild their offensive line this dream could become true very quickly.
The Eagles received a 2nd round pick this year (no. 37 overall) and a 3rd and 4th round picks in next years draft. This gives the Eagles two 2nd round picks and four picks in the top 70. The defensive needs to be rebuilt and injected with youth and athleticism. This year will be a prime year to do it. This could be a draft we look back on 5 years from now noticing how it was pivotal to a Super Bowl run. A run lead by new starting quarterback, Kevin Kolb.

A New Beginning

Lets not forget that 8 months to this day Jim Johnson, our beloved defensive coordinator and football genius, died from cancer. Therefore, this will be the first draft that Sean McDermott has a large say on who the teams picks. Seeing how the team desperately needs to draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball I think McDermott is going to be a big part of the Eagles draft plans. We all know that Jim Johnson was a phenomenal drafter. Lets see how Sean does seeing how this a very important draft for the Eagles defensive future.

Eagles Pre-Draft Rumbles

Is it possible for the Eagles to work there way into position to draft University of Tennessee safety Eric Berry? Reports note that the Eagles will most likely have Berry for a private work out. Now this does not mean they are definitely going to make a play for him but it shows their interest. Possibly a trade involving McNabb could net the Eagles a early second round pick they could use in a deal with their first round pick and other picks or possibly cornerback Sheldon Brown to get into position for Berry. Brown has voiced his displeasure with the team and tried to be traded last year. Teams have called and inquired about Brown so it could be a very real possibility that the Eagles make a deal involving him seeing how his longtime partner Lito Shepperd was shipped away already. The Eagles are looking to re-stock their secondary with youth and a new group that will lead the Eagles like Brown and Shepperd and Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent did before.