Posts tagged "Philadelphia Eagles"

Philadelphia Eagles: What Happens at Quarterback Now That Matt Barkley is Here?

Howie Roseman and Chip Kelly shocked the league Saturday when they jumped up to the top of the fourth round to grab USC quarterback Matt Barkley. Heading into the draft Barkley was seen as, at worst, a second round prospect and nobody saw him dropping all the way to the fourth round.

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2013 NFL Draft: Philadelphia Eagles Fifth Round Pick – Earl Wolff

With the 136th pick of the 2013 NFL Draft the Philadelphia Eagles selected safety Earl Wolff from North Carolina State. Wolff is a good athlete who posted strong measurables at the combine. He is average size for a safety with above average speed. He tends to overrun plays a bit and will need to improve on his tackling to succeed at the next level.

He joins a somewhat crowded safety position in Philadelphia with incumbents Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen being joined by free agent signees Kenny Phillips and Patrick Chung. The team also re-signed Colt Anderson this off season.

On the surface it looks as though Kurt Coleman is going to be the odd man out entering camp. I doubt Wolff challenges for a starting stop right away and probably needs a year or two of seasoning before that is the case. Don’t be surprised if he pushes Colt Anderson out of the door though. Anderson provides little more than special teams play and was horrible when pressed into playing safety over the last month of the season.

2013 NFL Draft: Philadelphia Eagles Second Round PIck – Zach Ertz

With the 34th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft the Philadelphia Eagles snagged Stanford tight end Zach Ertz. I really like this pickup for the Eagles.

Incumbent veteran starter Brent Celek struggled with drop balls last season and it has been a chore for him to stay healthy the past couple of seasons. Celek is still a solid pass catching tight end but Ertz is slightly bigger and stronger and does not have issues with dropping the ball.

Celek has a step Ertz in terms of speed and getting down the field but Ertz is the better route runner and uses that to make up for his lack of straight line speed.

Look for Ertz to challenge for the starting job out of the gate. His selection could mean the end of Clay Harbor in Philly or Celek could be shown the door in an effort to save some money.

2013 NFL Draft: Philadelphia Eagles First Round Pick – Lane Johnson

With the fourth pick of the 2013 NFL Draft the Eagles selected offensive tackle Lane Johnson out of the University of Oklahoma. Johnson is one of those guys who sky-rocketed up draft boards on the heels of strong combine workouts.

I like this pick for the Eagles. He is very athletic and played in an up-tempo offense at Oklahoma and played quarterback and tight end before converting to offensive line.

With this pick it solves a couple of issues for the Eagles. He will be an upgrade over Todd Herremans at right tackle who, in turn, will now slide back inside and be an upgrade over Danny Watkins at right guard. In addition to that he also provides some insurance in the event Jason Peters is not longer able to play at an elite level.

2013 NFL Draft: Handicapping the Fourth Pick

The 2013 NFL Draft is just over a week away and the Philadelphia Eagles currently hold the fourth pick in the draft. There has been a lot of speculation as to what the Eagles will do with this pick. Will they take a defensive tackle or an edge rusher to play in the 3-4 defense? Do they land one of the stud offensive tackles in this draft? Or, will they roll the dice on a potential franchise quarterback? What are the chances any of this happens come next Thursday?
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2013 NFL Draft: Defensive Needs

On the heels of discussing the offensive needs for the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the 2013 NFL Draft it is time to talk about the team’s defensive needs as we approach draft day. The team is expected to change from a base 4-3 defensive front to a 3-4. The team has already made a lot of moves to sure up the defense via free agency adding a pass rushing LB in Connor Barwin and adding four new members to the secondary.
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2013 NFL Draft: Offensive Needs

The 2013 NFL Draft is rapidly approaching and it is time to discuss post-free agency pre-draft team needs on offense. The team is pretty well set at the skill positions for the time being with Pro Bowl talent at both the running back and wide receiver positions. The Tight End position could use an elite level talent and the offensive line needs to be re-stocked with younger players who could potentially step in and play right away if need be. The looming question, without a real long term solution at QB in the fold, is there a QB in this draft that Chip Kelly and Pat Shurmur are enamored with enough to spend the 4th overall pick on him.

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Looking Back at the 2012 NFL Draft

Thus far the 2012 NFL draft is looking like one of the stronger ones in recent franchise history.  In recent memory the Eagles have had very mixed results with the players they drafted under the Andy Reid Era.  Let’s take a look back at who the Eagles drafted in the first draft involving General Manager Howie Roseman.

Of the nine players taken last April eight of them made it to the active roster and appeared in at least four games a piece.  Five even managed to start at least one game or more.

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