Andy Reid and his coaching staff jumped on a plane earlier this week and went to the NFL combine in Indianapolis in search of a starting offensive tackle.
The Eagles starting right tackle, Jon Runyan, recently underwent microfracture surgery on his knee and will be laid up for four to six months. He’s unsigned, 35 years old and definitely near the end of his career
Their left offensive tackle is William “Tra” Thomas is also unsigned. He just finished his twelfth NFL season and has missed some games due to back problems.
On Thursday the Carolina Panthers ended any hope the Eagles might have had in signing the Panthers Pro Bowl left tackle Jordan Gross, when they signed him to a record contract.
That signing upped the pressure no the Birds to get at least one quality tackle in the draft.
Thankfully they have two picks in the first round, 21 and 28.
The Eagles coaches and scouts will be looking closely at six offensive tackles who have the chance of being drafted in the first round..
Their eyes will be focused on these workouts but the information they gather from off the field activities may be more important.
The extensive physicals which will be conducted before the workouts start can’t make a player but they can disclose an injury which could eliminate any chance a player has of being drafted.
The interviews will also be very important because the coaches will get the chance to sit down with players, look them in the eye and try to find out if they’re the kind of young man they can believe in.
Remember that these teams and coaches are getting ready to gamble millions upon millions of dollars, as well as their jobs on the production or lack thereof, of these young 22 year olds.
The Birds will be looking at these tackles with the knowledge that selecting one of the top four will mean parting with both of their first round picks. Need I say that they can’t afford to make a mistake on this pick.
The guy who’s starting to look like the cream of the crop is Eugene Monroe out of Virginia. He’s enormous but very light-footed. The young man is technically sound as both a run and pass blocker.
The Eagles will drool when they see this young man work out but they shouldn’t spend too much time on him because he’ll be off the board before the fifth pick.
They also shouldn’t spend too much time with Alabama’s huge offensive tackle Andre Smith. He’s a better run blocker than he is a pass blocker, which means he probably isn’t the type of guy the Birds will want.
Smith can cave in the entire side of a defensive line with his tremendous power and size, but the big fella struggled during his career when matched up against speed rushers.
The Eagles like to throw the ball, so Smith has to prove he can move his feet fast enough to block the speed rushers in the league.
Next up is Jason Smith (not related to Andre) out of Baylor, who was formerly a tight end and regarded as an outstanding pass blocker, maybe the best in this year’s group
He's 300 pounds but has the frame and height to put on more weight.
Smith has played both the right side and the left side. He’s a smart young man who had a 4.0 grade point average and seems to be highly-motivated..
The big guy has had knee problems which caused him to miss some games, so his physical will be the most important thing he does during the combine.
If his knees are found to be strong and solid, he’ll go within the first ten picks.
This kid’s stock is rising at the moment, so the Eagles will probably have to give up too much to go up and get him.
Next up is Michael Oher of Mississippi who is as talented as any offensive tackle in this year’s draft but there have been questions about his intelligence or lack thereof.
He’s got great size, quickness, strength as speed but scouts have questioned whether he can pick up all of the complex defenses and strategy that are present on the NFL level.
The most important thing Oher is going to do is take the Wunderlink test, which is the intelligence test given to all of the prospects. If he does well on that, he’ll be drafted near the Eagles first pick at 21.
I could see this guy being the Birds pick if they like his interview and the score he gets on the intelligence test.
How smart do you have to be to play offensive tackle? It’s basically block the guy in front of you.
One of the tackles, who has been talked about as being drafted at about the time when the Eagles grab their first pick is Arizona’s Eben Britton. This young man has tremendous talent and upside but a lot of the scouts think he should have stayed in school for another year.
He needs more work with his technique but he’s good enough of an athlete to play right now.
The experts feel very confident that he will become an outstanding player but the question the Eagles will have to answer is how soon will he be that player. The Birds don’t have time to wait.
Another guy that Birds know will be there when they draft in the first round is William Beatty from UConn. He came out of nowhere and made quite an impression on the scouts and coaches at the Senior Bowl.
He’s a better athlete than a lot of scouts thought and he showed that he can block the better pass rushers in this draft.
He could interest the Eagles, if continues to impress. In Beatty’s case some availability is more important than ability.
Reid and company know that they may have to move up for the other tackles but Beatty and Britton will be on the board when they draft, so they know if they like them, they can have them. In addition they would be able to get another player with the other pick.
