Draft Thoughts

I’m still trying to figure out who to congratulate regarding the Eagles successful draft. I think it’s the members of the organization who tied up Andy in a broom closet. That is the only explanation for the birds moving up in the first round to take a wide receiver, and following it with a stud running back in the second round.

The Eagles moved up from 21 to 19 in order to take Jeremy Maclin, Missouri’s first Team All-America Wide Receiver. For those who have not seen him play, he has some of Desean’s explosiveness, but is a lot stronger and more likely to break some tackles. He was a touchdown machine in college, and will continue to do the same, both in the return game and as a wideout.

I was still nervous because I thought this draft hinged on getting a solid running back and this draft really fell off after the first 4 running backs. The Eagles clearly need someone behind Brian Westbrook (insert joke here) given his inability to make it through 16 games. The birds got lucky that Lesean McCoy, a first round talent, slipped to them at 52. As Todd McShay of ESPN stated, this was the best value in the draft. While I am prone to exaggeration, I mean this when I say it: this made the draft for the Eagles. He will, barring injuries, become a pro bowl caliber running back within a few years.

The Eagles stockpiled 6 5th round draft choices, and then moved two of them to get Ellis Hobbs, a starting cornerback from New England on the last year of his contract. I’m not sure if this means the end of Sheldon Brown as an Eagle, but it certainly gives them 4 quality cornerbacks. In addition, Hobbs lead the AFC in kickoff return average last year.

After trades, the birds did not draft anyone in the 3rd or 4th Rounds. Additionally, the Eagles only drafted to 3 5th round products, trading away the others for future picks (in addition to getting Hobbs). The first 5th round choice was Cornelius Ingram, a Tight End from Florida who missed his senior season due to injuries. While not the blocker the eagles need, he has the ability to separate from Linebackers in the NFL.

The second 5th Rounder was Victor Macho Harris. I’ll struggle to say anything nice because of my Hokie hatred, but I’ll try. He was a high school all-america athlete who developed into a very good cornerback/safety hybrid at Virginia Tech. He will make this team, which is all you can ask of a 5th round draft choice.

The last 5th round choice they kept was used on the left tackle from Oregon, whose name I will never be able to pronounce. The Eagles also took another offensive lineman and a linebacker out of Maryland in the 7th round. I’m not sure any of these guys will be impact players in the NFL, but might be valuable depth guys. It’s really a crapshoot at that point.

Overall, one of the best drafts by the eagles in terms of skilled position players. They came out of it with pro-bowl left tackle (Jason Peters), another explosive and NFL-ready wide receiver (Maclin), a NFL ready heir apparent to Westbrook (McCoy), and a starting cornerback (Hobbs). If anyone else turns into a player, that’s gravy.

Eagles acquire pro bowl left tackle, Jason Peters

Multiple sources, including Keith Brown, have confirmed that the Eagles have stolen, I mean obtained, Jason Peters, from the Buffalo Bills. The sources indicate that Philly gave up the 28th pick in this years draft, a 4th round pick in either this years draft or next years draft, plus a late round pick in this year's draft. The Eagles still have the 21st pick in this years draft.

Jason Peters, a 27-year old undrafted, former tight end from Arkansas, has blossomed into one of the best left tackles in football. This trade stems from the Bills unwillingness to re-negotiate with Peters, who is due just under $4 million this year and becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2010. Given what the Eagles gave up in the trade, it is likely they will re-negotiate his contract.

The trade will not be official until Peters has undergone an physical and the Eagles have negotiated with Peters.

one of a kind food experience at Kanella

Last night I had the opportunity to join a few friends, bloggers and real foodies at Kanella for a mostly "off the menu dinner". Per special request, Chef Konstantinos provided us a memorable and delicious meal, highlighted by two lambs heads, wood pigeon and partridge. We also had some menu dishes, including grilled melt in your mouth sausage, lamb salad, goat stew, and pork loin chop. The beans, other starches and sauces/broths were tasty as it gets. All of it was fantastic and I would highly recommend heading over to 10th and Spruce to check out this Cyprus born chef's creations (and it's a byob).

Phils starters making you nervous yet?

The starting rotation has not looked very good so far this year. Against one of the worst long ball teams in Major League Baseball last year, the trio of Myers, Blanton and Moyer gave up a combined 5 home runs in the first two innings of games. Not pretty, not at all. To make it worse, missing out on free agent Derek Lowe came back to bite the Phils in the first game of the season. He had October stuff on Sunday night when he shut down the Phillies.

Fortunately, baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. Hopefully this is another slow start, not a sign of things to come.

Eagles First Round Running Back Options

Given the eagles lack of free agency spending despite a ton of cap room (see my prior article), I believe the draft plays an even bigger role than usual in both the Eagles future and the relationship they have with the fan base. If the Eagles keep both first round picks, I will guarantee a running back with one of them. If I am wrong, I will announce my new NFL team on this blog the following Monday.

I think all four potential first round running backs this year will be solid players in the NFL. The top two backs on most draft boards are Chris “Beanie” Wells and Knowshon Moreno. Chris Wells of Ohio State was a star from grade school on (see Desean Jackson), and was dominant when healthy. He has some injury problems and I am not sold on his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. I would note that while the Eagles interviewed him at the combine, they did not bring him in for a separate workout.

Knowshon Moreno is almost the complete package, sans home run hitters speed. I believe that his lateral quickness and “jukeability”, however, make up for the lack of straight-line speed. As a fan of the SEC, I did get to watch a lot of Moreno and he reminds me of Auburn’s Carnell Williams. Injuries aside, that is a very good thing.

Donald Brown (pictured top left), who consistently produced for an average to below-average Connecticut team, really increased his stock at the NFL combine and his pro day. In fact, of the four (4) potential first round backs, he had the best 40 yard dash time. In addition, all reports are that he has good character and is a tireless worker. These factors mean more to the Eagles than most teams. If he went to BYU, you might as well be selling his jersey already.

Last is LeSean McCoy, who was a machine last year at Pittsburgh. I watched him single-handedly will them to at least a few victories. He does have some explosiveness and ability to make defenders miss. The scouts seemed to be concerned about his size and durability in the NFL. To my eyes, he looks like a nice inside runner. I have seen several comparisons to Warrick Dunn, who, despite his diminutive size, excelled in short yardage situations.

Unfortunately, I doubt the first two backs are in play for the birds. Barring a trade for Jason Peters, no one can convince me Andy Reid will be able to restrain himself from drafting an offensive tackle with the first pick. I believe waiting until pick 28 for a running back takes Moreno and Wells off the board. While I like McCoy a little more, I think the Eagles go with Donald Brown. We’ll see what Banner, Heckert and Reid decide to do. Just in case they decide Lorenzo Booker is the second option, any suggestions on my new team?