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.

Here We Go Again

As if the Flyers haven't had enough goaltending controversy this season yet another goalie has gone down with an injury. Early in the season it was Ray Emery that got hurt and ended his comeback year. Then, after only a few games Brian Boucher gets injured and thus entered the unknown Michael Leighton. He has done a tremendous job filling in after being picked up off of waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15. He was 16-5-2 with a 2.48 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Those are good numbers and obviously the Flyers organization agreed considering they did not pursue a goalie at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, now the injury bug has caught Leighton which leaves Boucher to start. Philadelphia called up Jeremy Duchesne to fill in as Boucher's back-up. Do these two goaltenders sound like viable options in the midst of a heated playoff push? No. The Flyers organization need to get their heads on straight and realize they will not win another Cup until they get a legitimate tender. It wasn't Clarkie that won the Cup, it was the play of Bernie Parent. Two names that are floating around in the off-season are Tomas Vokoun and Jaroslav Halak. Both are legitimate goalies and would provide the Flyers some consistency in net that they have been lacking for years.

Another QB?

The Eagles QB coach and offensive coordinator were both in attendance to watch QB John Skelton out of Fordham throw at his pro day. Its interesting that the Eagles are scouting another quarterback seeing that they already have three on their roster. Is it possible that they are eying up Skelton to be the next QB in line and they hang on to McNabb this year but trade Kolb while his value is high? It seems unlikely because the locker room prefers Kolb and the organization has been grooming him to take over for three years now. But if they decide to move Kolb and keep McNabb for one more run then eying a player that could down the road be a starter in this league and select him in the middle rounds could turn out to be a very smart decision. But there are a lot of ifs about this scenario. First, they would have to be confident Skelton will be the guy of the future. Second, they would have to have a good season next year to save face for keeping McNabb. Third, they have been grooming Kolb for three years and spent a second round pick on him. It will be very interesting to see if this interest in Skelton amounts to anything and leads to the Eagles moving one of their QBs.

A Final Encore

Domonic Brown, a 20th round pick out of high school turned down a full ride to the University of Miami for football to pursue a career in baseball. He was protected by the Phillies when they made trades for Cliff Lee and most recently, Roy Halladay. Today proved why the Phillies decided to keep him over arguably more popular Michael Taylor. (Taylor was 6'6" and had tremendous speed and batting for average ability.) But the organization favored Brown and he made them look good today against the Tigers. He was 3-3 with a walk, two home-runs and four RBIs. Ironically, after the game he was sent down to the Minor League Camp. This spring Brown didn't let any of the hype about his talent or expectations and comparisons to Darryl Strawberry get to his head. He batted an outstanding .435 with two home-runs, eight RBIs, three walks, and only five strikeouts. He displayed tremendous athleticism in the field as well tracking down fly balls and throwing out base-runners with his strong arm. Standing at 6'5" and 200 lbs. he is an athletic specimen with five-tool talent. Interestingly, since he is a lefty batter one would think he would thrive against righties and struggle against lefties. But, this spring was the exact opposite. Brown batted .583 against lefties and .250 against righties. How he fares against right handed pitchers will be something to watch as he starts in the minors this season. He will be fun to track this year and possibly even see him get a late-season call up. Let's hope the strong spring rolls over into the regular season for Brown.

Another 3rd Round Option

Besides Rolle and Ward another safety that may be available in the 3rd round for the Jags to take is from a school very close by. Major Wright (FS,Florida) is a tough, strong player that can deliver a big hit and make a play to energize the defense. That was something the Jags defense definitely lacked this past season.

Jaguars Mock Draft

Round 1: Derrick Morgan-(DE, Georgia Tech) Lets hope he is a better choice than when they traded up for Derrick Harvey.
Round 2: No pick
Round 3: Myron Rolle-(S, Florida St.)/T.J Ward (S,Oregon) Rolle might be gone by this point at the rate his stock is rising, but Ward is a pretty good consolation prize. He is a solid safety that went down with an injury this past season, but when he plays he is a solid tackler that does a good job watching the QB's eyes. He is not a wow player but the Jags need smart, athletic players that have a strong foundation of toughness and instincts.
Round 4: John Skelton-(QB, Fordham) Getting a QB in the 4th round that can develop into a NFL starter one day is a steal. The Jags have David Garrard right now. He can be sufficient for the time being, but he will never be the long-time answer nor will he ever be an elite QB. Skelton has the size and arm strength of a prototypical NFL QB. He needs to spend time learning at the pro level and develop his entire skill set instead of depending on his arm strength. But, with the time and patience he could one day take over QB there and provide a staple in their anemic pass attack.
Round 5: Eric Olsen(C, Notre Dame)/Ciron Black(OG, LSU) The "heart and sole" of the line is known for his nastiness and and versatility. I love linemen that play with a mean streak and are nasty. I'm sure NFL line coaches feel the same way. The Jags could use a player with nastiness to help inject some meanness into a lackluster line. If Olsen isn't there Black would be a solid pick and possibly even a steal in the 5th round. He is a solid pass blocker and is a massive maneater that can create space for the small MJD.
Round 6: Dexter Davis(DE/OLB, Arizona State) Had 31.0 career sacks...3rd most in school history...That says enough for a team that only had 14.0 sacks last season.

Changing of the Guard?

The ESPN Scout inc. came out with their updates Top 32 prospects for the upcoming draft. If you take a close look at it you will discover some interesting statistics. There are two Rutgers players in the Top 32, OT Anthony Davis (ranked #5 overall) and CB Devin McCourty (ranked #31 overall). Both of these players continue to generate draft buzz and look to climb into a solid round 1 pick after the scouting combine.
If you took another look you would notice there is only one Penn State player in the Top 32, DT Jared Odrick (ranked #28 overall). It is surprising to see Rutgers, a school that annually loses it's top in-state prospects to Penn State, with more players in the Top 32. Granted OLB Navarro Bowman has been in and out of the Top 32 and will most likely be a 1st round pick this year, but still, in the updated Top 32 there are less Nittany Lions than Scarlet Knights. Who would've thought? Well Greg Schiano has done a great job at Rutgers bringing in solid talent and molding them into top players.
If you took another look there is only one more Oklahoma Sooner than Rutger Scarlet Knight. Before five years ago that would never have been possible to fathom and now its a reality. There are two Alabama players in the Top 32. That's right, the same team that just won the National Championship with the same amount of Top 32 players than the Scarlet Knights of the lackluster Bis East.
How about the team Alabama played in the National Championship? Texas only has two members of the Top 32 as well.
I could continue to go on and on with very well known teams lacking supreme talent, but that's not my point. My point is that with the new scholarship rules the top teams of the NCAA are not able to hoard all the talent in the country. Therefore that talent is trickling through to the second tier teams. As a result these teams are now becoming more competitive and making the overall college football field a lot stronger across the board. In the near future look out for some fairly unknown teams to overtake the traditional giants. Just ask Notre Dame who by the way have no players in the Top 32.

Spotlight: Devin McCourty (CB, Rutgers)

I grew up in New Jersey watching Rutgers from the stands singing "Hoo Rah Hoo Rah Rutgers Ra" every game watching the program slowly ascend the rankings of the college football elite. They are still not there yet, but if you look at the amount of prospects being drafted now and where they are being drafted compared to five years ago, you can see the program getting much stronger. The prospect I'd like to focus on is cornerback Devin McCourty.
His brother, Jason, is now playing for the Tennessee Titans. He was a sixth round draft pick last year, but do to little depth in the secondary he started part way through the year.
Devin, who was back in school in 2009 because of a redshirt his freshman year, took advantage of the sole spotlight. He had 80 tackles and ten pass breakups this past season and anchored the defense that lost multiple players to the NFL last year. Also, McCourty is a tremendous special teams player, which will raise his draft stock because he can come in from day 1 and contribute in ST while making the adjustment to being an NFL CB. He is a very sound player and does not have many holes in his game. He isn't flashy and wont stand out except on special teams where he can block punts and change a game. But, at corner he will do his job quietly and efficiently. He is getting comparisons to Ronde Barber from Tampa Bay. That is a pretty good player to be compared to. Barber has been to multiple Pro Bowls and is very consistent in his play. He is also a great leader and a very talented defensive back.
McCourty also is very good against the run. He is a strong tackler and is able to consistently wrap up the ball carrier. That is the biggest weakness of most NFL corners. Asante Samuel has missed the most tackles I have ever seen and I think is one of the worst tacklers in football. Any team could use a corner that is sound in coverage, man and zone, and also attacks the run, tackles well and can read the quarterback well. He can blow up screen plays, which is Sheldon Brown-esc. The bottom line is McCourty is a very solid player with leadership ability and few, if any, holes. He can immediately contribute on special teams and he wont be far off from contributing on defense as well. Any team that takes him will have a very strong, well-rounded corner for years.

Eagles 1st Round Mock Draft

Round 1: Taylor Mays (S, USC)--In the Eagles defensive scheme the safeties must be able to be the overall leaders. They have to play deep zone, man coverage on and off the line of scrimmage and also be very good at wrapping up tackles. No one I have ever seen played this position better than Brian Dawkins. He was able to cover receivers, tight ends and running backs, while wrapping up well and being able to deliver the big hit. The Eagles secondary needs safeties that scare receivers of going over the middle. Without Dawk the other teams do not respect the secondary and constantly test it. In this draft the Eagles must address this issue early. I have felt for the last two seasons that Mays is the best safety in college football. I think of him as the next coming of Dawk, maybe its just the big hits and tinted visor, but I believe that Mays is the perfect fit for Philly. His stock dropped due to a season of not living up to the hype and expectations, but I expect it to rise after the combine where he will display his freakish size and speed. Therefore, the Eagles might have to trade up in order to get him. This is possible due to the fact that they are bound to trade one of their three quarterbacks. They could make a package trade with one of their early picks and a QB for that teams first round choice.
Other Round 1 choices: Patrick Robinson (CB, Florida St.); Kyle Wilson (CB, Boise St.); Devin McCourty (CB, Rutgers); Brandon Graham (DE, Michigan); Everson Griffen (DE, USC)

Philadelphia Eagles' Secret Weapons

DeSean Jackson. No. Jeremy Maclin. No. Brent Celek. No. Give up? I have one offensive and one defense player for you. Jason Avant and Tracy White.
Avant has been linked as McNabb's favorite target before the entrance of Jackson and Maclin. The reason? He is a polished route runner with strong hands and a knack for finding the first down marker on third down. This four year veteran has developed into a solid slot option and a very reliable option on short throws to counter the down-field explosion of Jackson and Maclin. This past season he set career highs in receptions (41), receiving yards (579) and touchdowns (3). He also recorded just his second 100 yard receiving game of his career this against San Diego in November. In that game Avant set a career long catch of 58 yards. He also set single game career records of catches (8) and yards receiving (156). He rarely drops passes and doesn't shy away from contact when he has to go over the middle to convert the third down. I simply cannot find a reason to dislike him. He isn't flashy and exciting, but he is reliable and always gets the job done. My hat is off to you Jason Avant.
On the defensive side of the ball there is one player that stood out in my mind all season. Every time I saw the lackluster effort of the sluggish, unmotivated defense get turned around, only momentarily, it was by the play of number 52, Tracy White. He was brought in as a free agent in 2008 after spending time with Seattle, Jacksonville and Green Bay. White was an undrafted free agent out of Howard, so in order to stay in the league he had to perform well on special teams. He came to Philadelphia as a special teams player, but due to injuries and lifeless play, White got a chance to play live game snaps. Knowing that he must make the most out of every opportunity he got, White played with tremendous passion and energy, something the team has been lacking.
Two unsung heroes, Avant and White, have excelled in their play and as a result they provided the team with some life during points this season where the light at the end of the tunnel looked like the eye of a needle. White took advantage of injuries and poor play by the starting linebackers and worked his way into a very productive season. Perhaps his stats don't suggest he had a tremendous season, but his work ethic on the field caught the eye of the coaches as he showcased his ability as a linebacker, not just a special teamer. Perhaps his play will earn him a considerable look this upcoming training camp. I know he deserves it. As for Avant, his consistency will continue to earn him playing time. He makes the most of his catches and due to his hard work he has earned the respect of his teammates. White and Avant are two of the players that make the wheels on the Eagles' bus go, and hopefully next year they will help the team churn those wheels all the way to the Super Bowl.

Another name to remember

Redshirt freshman John Boyett. Free Safety: Oregon. He replaced the defensive leader T.J Ward for six games this season and lead the Ducks with 78 tackles. He played tremendous in the glorious opportunity he was presented with. Instead of doing nothing with the golden opportunity he made the most of it. He parlayed his efforts into a first team All-America recognition. During the Rose Bowl against Ohio State he displayed his athletic ability. He was playing a two deep zone and followed the eyes of Buckeye quarterback Terrelle Pryor and shaded over to elevate up and pick the ball off. On another play a Buckeye receiver went up for a catch and on his way down Boyett made an outstanding football play. He went low on the receiver cutting out his legs from under him causing the receiver to hit the ground on his shoulder. Due to the impact the receiver lost control of the ball and the end result was an incomplete pass. It was a very smart football play by a very intelligent football player. I cant wait to see over the next three seasons how Boyett grows as a football player. He seems to have all the intangibles a safety needs to be successful in college football. He will take the gift of playing time he had this season and parlay it into a strong sophomore campaign now that he has experienced playing major FBS football against strong competition. I think he will develop into a very good all-around safety by his junior season.