I don't know that it's going to happen in this draft with the Eagles but there are times when a team is sitting late in the first round and a great talent drops in their laps because of injury or an off the field problem.
Andre Smith could fall into the Eagles lap if he continues to make newsworthy mistakes. Were this kid to make more news before the draft, the Eagles could have their left tackle for years to come.
It could happen to the Eagles in the second round, or the third, fourth or fifth. Somewhere in this draft the Eagles could have the decision to ignore off the field problems or an injury because a player is on the board who is too good to pass up.
The key to taking advantage of these opportunities is doing your home work. A team has to have looked into the reported problems a player is rumored to have had, for themselves. Sometimes there might be a legitimate reason for a player's problems.
With regard to injuries, the Eagles have to let their doctors examine the injured players and make their own findings. Taking the word of other team's doctors can be a mistake.
In all likelihood, Missouris tight end Chase Coffman was brought in here to Philly, for taking a good look at his foot injury more than anything else.
There are times when a player is worth selecting even though they are injured. The unexpected could happen and they may be able to get a talented player who dropped because of an injury that they can and will recover from or some bad behavior which is an untrue picture of the player's character
People do grow up. Sometimes a player will grow up and make the decision to chang their behavior and stay away from people who help them get in trouble.
The Eagles were able to grab middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, who had an injury and dropped lower than his talent warranted.
Eagles cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu was drafted by the Eagles even though he had a knee injury which would sideline him for an entire season and he had a court case for theft staring him in the face.
He worked out things with the court case and has been given the stamp of approval to practice.
There have been some legendary players who have dropped for various reasons.
It happened with Randy Moss and the Minnesota Vikings. Moss had had a series of personal problems while in college, took them to another level.
Warren Sapp tested positive for marijuana and dropped into the lap of Tampa Bay.
