Combine and Some FA Stuff

As I said yesterday, Saturday went well for the Eagles. Sunday was okay, but not as good for us. The hope was that several of the bigger WRs would shine and several RBs would have good days. No potential Eagles targets stunk it up or anything like that, but we didn't see a lot from the guys in the middle of the pack. You hope those guys show something so that you can have safety options. You need guys that appeal to you in the 3rd or 4th round.

WRs

Hakeem Nicks is the WR I'm enamored with. Charley Casserly had him timed at 4.49. That is good for Nicks. He's not known as a blazer. I didn't get to see as much of him as I wanted, but I love what I see on game tape. He's got some Boldin-esque qualities. He could be our target at 28. He could slide to the early 2nd, but we'd have to trade up to get him.

Kenny Britt (6'3, 218) ran well for his size, but I'm not sure he's a guy that does a whole lot for me. McNabb can be erratic. We need WRs with exceptionally good hands. Britt has pretty good hands. I love his size/speed numbers, but I don't know that he's a good fit for us.

Brian Robiskie had an excellent day. He caught the ball very well. He has excellent hands. He ran in the 4.5 range, solid for him. He's a polished receiver that should be able to contribute as a rookie. At 6'3, 209 he has some size and could help in the RZ. He would be in play at 28 or the early 2nd.

Plenty of smaller guys had good days, but I don't see the Eagles adding a smaller WR. Mike Thomas and Deon Butler had very good workouts. I like both guys a lot, but not for us.

Some guys had solid days (Tiquan Underwood, Demetrius Byrd), but aren't players that I covet. They have size and could fit in here in the future, but wouldn't necessarily do much in 2009.

USC WR Patrick Turner was impressive. I've gone back and forth as to whether he'd be a good fit here. He is 6'5, 221. Don't fall into the trap of thinking he's Mike Williams and Dwayne Jarrett. Those guys couldn't run, but thought they could. Patrick was a possession receiver at SoCal and seems to understand that's what he'll be in the NFL. He showed the ability to get down and play smaller if needed. He has good hands and catches the ball very naturally. Patrick is very good on slants. He might just be a mid-round big guy who could help.

Louis Murphy has size and speed. I'm just not sure where to project him in the NFL. He was underused at Florida. He's got NFL ability and skills. Where do you take him? Does he ever become a starter?

I didn't get to see any of Austin Collie. He's a kid with some size and speed from BYU. Don't laugh. Austin has legit ability. He's 6'1, 200. He had a 6.78 time in the 3-cone. That shows you good agility for a guy his size.

Ramses Barden is another big guy I wanted to really check out. I was especially hoping to see him run the gauntlet drill. I'm not sure how good his hands are. Because of McNabb I only want guys with top flight hands. Barden is 6'6, 229. He has okay speed. He'd be a mid-round guy.

At this point the only 2 WRs I strongly like for us are Nicks and Robiskie. Other guys could certainly be of interest, but aren't ideal targets.

RBs

Knowshon Moreno had a solid day, but wasn't special. That's actually good for the Eagles. He might actually make it to pick 21, should they be interested. I'm still highly unsure of that. Moreno did make one sensational catch on a downfield pass. I'm sure that got Big Red's attention.

Beanie Wells was solid, but timed slower than I expected. He's still a 1st round RB, but isn't a lock to go top 20.

LeSean McCoy claimed to have the flu and didn't work out. He only weighed in at 198. In watching him this year I figured that was about his weight instead of the listed 215. Now you wonder if the flu caused him to shed pounds or if that was an excused because he's struggled with adding weight. RBs always want to be at or over 200 pounds.

Donald Brown had a good day. Value makes him a tough fit for us. He's not worth pick 28 to us, but has very little chance to make it to our 2nd round pick. He goes 210 pounds and has very good feet. He did well in the athletic tests.

Shonn Greene confirmed why I'm not interested in him for the Eagles. He failed to follow instructions in one of the drills. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but the Eagles failed with Ryan Moats because he couldn't learn the playbook. Greene missed the 2007 season due to academic issues. This guy has good ability, but I'd be shocked if the Eagles took him.

Andre Brown of NC State had a good day. The Eagles could absolutely be interested in him. He actually reminds me of Buck in terms of size and skill. He should be on the board at the 2nd round pick. The question is whether he'd last to the 3rd.

Rashad Jennings also looked solid. He's 6'1, 234 and I'm sure AR is interested. Does he last to our 3rd Rd pick?

Cedric Peerman had a very good day. He led the RBs with a 4.45 time in the 40. He would be an excellent backup RB. I don't know if he would ever be a full-time starter at the NFL level. He's either 3rd or 4th round material.

Mike Goodson could be of real interest to AR. He is a gifted receiver. He didn't show great speed, but was athletic. He's a 3rd to 4th kind of guy.

Gartrell Johnson didn't have a good day. He's 5'10, 219. He isn't fast or all that athletic. He still caught my eye as an Eagles target. He has thighs the size of New Jersey. He's got a big butt. That thick of a build down there gives you a lot of power when you run. It would have been very nice to have him on some 3rd/1 runs or 3rd/goal situations. Gartrell is a late round guy because of his limited athleticism, but I'd love to see the Eagles pick him up.

Kory Sheets had a good workout. He's athletic and catches the ball really well. I'm just not into him for the Eagles. Do we really need a 3rd down back? If the team added a bigger runner early and took him late I'd be okay with that. I just don't value him for the Eagles in the first 5 rounds.

Guys like Jeremiah Johnson, Marlon Lucky, and Javon Ringer don't grab me as anything special for us. They'd be nice role players and I'd be fine with taking them late.

I was hoping to get a better feel for Glenn Coffee. He's a physical runner. He has some size. He has some speed. I just don't know how much I like him yet.

The smart thing might be for the Eagles to try and trade up in the 3rd round. They could go for Andre Brown or Jennings at that point. Mike Goodson could be a fall back option. They could then add a complementary runner late. For Brown or Jennings that might be a gifted receiver like Lucky or Sheets. For Goodson you would get a power guy like Gartrell Johnson.

The Eagles could also be aggressive and go for Mike Goodson in the 3rd and Cedric Peerman in the 4th. That would give them a pair of quality rookies to add to the mix. You'd hope one would step up right away as the primary backup. I love the thought of adding Moreno, but I'm just not sure how realistic it is. Heck, it might not even be smart.

FREE AGENCY

I've gotten a few questions about Gibril Wilson. I wanted him last year, but Mikell is now our SS. Dawk will re-sign to be the FS. Wilson won't be an Eagle. He'll go somewhere and start. Maybe Spags will bring him to the Rams to pair with Atogwe.

I watched some tape of Daniel Loper this morning. He played some LT in a Titans blowout. I didn't get to see him much in pass pro because they were running to work the clock. He did a very good job of blocking on the 2nd level. He has good hands and really mashed on LBs. He doesn't have LT feet from what I saw. I'm intrigued, but I'd really like to see him in pass pro.

The Eagles could have him pegged as a key target, but I'm not sure they'd trust RT to a guy in his situation. It would be one thing for him to come here as the #3 OT and fight for a job. It'd be one thing to have him come be part of a situational rotation. Taking a relative unknown and setting him at RT with at least a medium salary is risky. The Eagles have all his preseason tapes. They've studied him thoroughly. If they like him, they'll go for it. I wouldn't count on that being their primary strategy.

Interesting article today about Jason Brown:

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2009/02/23/sports/bsports22309.txt


He had 28 starts at LG prior to this year. He started all 16 games at C. His preference is to play C, but he wants to be paid G money. Could we lure him here to play LG with big money? Should we? Could we lure him here to play C with big money? You could then deal Jamaal Jackson (to BAL maybe?) or move him to LG.

I guess the question really boils down to whether the Eagles feel that Brown is worth elite money. If so, go get him. If not, stick with JJ and focus on RT.

All the freaking variations can really make your head spin...
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