The Bird’s have a history of trading up and down the draft and that strategy most likely will continue. They’ll be in position to select the players they want where they want.
In 2010, the Eagles held workouts and/or visited 39 prospects and drafted 4 of them. This year I believe they’ll land 6 players they closely examined.
The players I believe Reid will draft are…..
1. Curtis Brown: Brown is not as physical as Jimmy Smith, but he still has good size. The Eagles likely value both corners the same and will trade down in order draft Brown in the 2nd along with acquiring and additional pick.
2. Benjamin Ijalana: Let’s see…..Good in pass protection; Versatile; 4 year starter….I believe this will be the Eagles next right guard.
3. Brandon Fusco: Even if Jamaal Jackson stays healthy, the Eagles are probably going to replace him soon. It just won’t be Mike McGlynn long-term. Look for Fusco to be drafted early on Day 3.
4. Alex Green: It’s not that the Eagles don’t like big running backs. There are few that fit their style of offense. No matter what the size of the back is, he has to be able to contribute in the passing game (catching and blocking). Green would fit this need.
5. Ross Homan: The Eagles likely believe they have their starting linebacker unit with Stewart Bradley, Jamar Chaney and Moise Fokou. They still need depth/special teams contributor and Homan could be a decent Day 3 acquisition.
6. Tyrod Taylor: After Michael Vick’s 2010 success, Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg probably believe they can turn any mobile QB with a decent arm into a quality signal caller. Taylor should be available in round 6.
Haran, how do u know who they will draft? I guess this is fun for some but a waste of time to me… they end up going in another direct as soon as anyone thinks they have a pulse on what they will do… tmr night we will all know what the eagles want
I have a feeling we will draft a Safety – to replace Mikell.
I hope your wrong G-Cobb. That draft sounds like a few reaches at every position. What is the reason why we cant get atleast 1 highly rated player at atleast 1 position? Give me the best guard, tackle , CB, DE at 23. I would think we can get all them players along with a Jimmy Smith or a Gabe Carimi at 23. Why would I give up a highly rated player to drop back for an extra pick. The Eagles draft philosophy needs to change.
To J Hart,
Easy on Haran, a fun part of this Site and being a Sports Fan is getting Fans Predictions,thoughts and comments about the Rosters,Drafts,Free-agency and Coaches,Players, Strategies, etc,etc .. Why do many of you continue to make the statements that no one knows what will happen in the future and that it’s a waste of time in doing so..
Why bother getting out of bed if you think like this all the time… C’Mon Man
This isn’t the entire draft. These the people I think the Eagles will pick out of the guys they worked out.
@J Hart….. Not knowing is what makes the predictions fun.
that draft would suck!
Curtis Browns is a 4th round player… he was unproductive in college and overrated! Just because he has size (5-11 190) doesnt mean he is talented.
I hate that pick, especially in round #2…
nothing against you Haran, just do not like the talent above….Fusco is going to struggle from Slipper Rock to the NFL… Homan is a 6th-7th round special teams player that I am ok with…. the Eagles need to package picks and move up for the best players and not rely on mediocrity in the middle rounds.
@Paulman, as evident from just about every eagles article that is on this site you post your mock drafts for all to see so I know I may have struck a cord… but again when I hear guys say the birds will get this guy or that guy I say how do you know that? Which is a logical question. If one was to say “these are the guys I hope the birds draft” that’s different. All this stuff like the birds will draft this guy n that guy nonsense is a waste of time. Who are you todd mcshay? Mel kiper? U Cmon man
This would be a pretty boring site if all we did was wait on news to happen and then bitch about it.. I admit, I like to forecast and predict more than the average poster, but as a passionate and a somewhat informed fan, I like to state my opinions on how our favorite teams are doing and how maybe they could do some things different and better by upgrading personnel,changing schemes,or by whatever…
If you think about it… Coach AR and the Eagles Front Office have had a good solid run with the Eagles over the last 10 years but something has to change a bit to get over the hump and to go all out for a Super Bowl Victory. maybe the addition of excellent,experienced Coaches along the OL/DE/Secondary will be the difference, maybe some better Drafting will be the diffference, maybe better Schemes and and more Balanced approach to the Offense will be the Difference, chances are, it will be a combination of all these things that will help get the Eagles over the Top and I am here as a fan to let other fans know, what I think can help improve their chances..
This is a funny draft with all the qb talk. The smart move for the Eagles is to trade pick 23 for a teams first next year and a 2 or 3 this year. The reality is teams may give up way too much for these questionable quarterbacks that will quickly lead their new teams to 2-4 win seasons if allowed to start. The Eagles would then have that top pick next year. Easier said than done from a fans perspective, we want to win this year. This being said I want to pick Jimmy Smith at 23 and hope we can get value for Kolb in picks and/or current players. Hey, I’m a fan that wants to cheer for a good teams with my kids next fall.
Gut feeling tells me the Eagles move into the top 15 and nab Pouncey and possibly trade Kolb and draft Carmini and maybe J.Smith.
I really want Benjamin Ijalana or the 26 year old from Baylor with the second round pick. Great value if one is still there. Teams can’t use first rounders on guards unless he’s a stud. Pouncy is very good, but his brother will get him drafted above his talent level.
Let’s hope the NFL has to go by 2010 rules and the Eagles can trade Kolb on draft night. I think they would load up on second rounders and picks next year as Paulman noted several times.
Jphalines, I’m hearing thru espn that the nfl may have to go back to 10′ rules but with a new rookie wage scale but it hasn’t been determined yet… that would be music to the eagles ears since they always wanna trade out of the 1st round so they won’t have to pay big bucks for 1st round talent… this is another reason why our team is where we want it to be bc we have guys in the front office that would rather draft special teamers then good players..
Also the giants are another team that drafts very well… think about there last superbowl run every rookie played and contributed a lot even started
jhart and others – I don’t think it’s fully accurate to say that the only reason the Eagles (and some other teams) prefer to trade down sometimes is to avoid paying big $. That is CERTAINLY a factor – but to say that’s the only or biggest reason is wrong in my book – it also gets you MORE picks. If a team thinks that the talent level in picks 18-50 (just as an example) is relatively the same, then trading back can give you 3 picks in that range or 2, insterad of 1. That’s not a $ thing, it IS a VALUE thing, but to say that it’s only about avoiding paying astronomical rookie contracts, I just don’t agree with that.
If that were true, and the Eagles were adverse to spending big money on rookies in round 1, then what about trading UP for Maclin and Graham, picking bunk that high…etc….
Those points suggest that it’s actually MORE about getting more picks (the Pats do the same thing) than avoiding paying $.
Stereoptyeps and lazy negadelphia aside, look at those facts…
schiller – Here’s what I would like to happen for Eagles and to max my watching the draft tomorrow night.
Titans/Minn/49 trade round 1 pick to Eagles for Kolb
Then Eagles trade back several times with that pick to end up with 2 second rounders and a 1 for next year. Pick a guard and defensice player.
Still keep #23 and pick Jimmy Smith.
That’s 3 guys in the top 64. I would even trade up into the second or third to end up with 5 picks in the top 100 picks.
Trade the other picks to load up for next year. The compensatory picks can not be traded so there’s 2 more guys. That 7-9 drafted players. Is there enough roster spots?
What about adding a few quality guys in free agency.
Schiller, what’s the point of getting more picks when your gonna blow the picks on special teamers? They blow a lot of picks which is evident by what continues to happen to this team in the playoffs… but schiller check out all of the rookies contracts the eagles have them sign, alota money upfront then not much afterward, that’s why djax for the past two yrs has been wanting a new contract, after the 1st yr the eagles screw you bottom line… they don’t make them sign the contract but wat else are they to do? Hold out and incur fine after fine? Cmon man, I can’t believe your even defending these guys they been doing this for yrs
I lkie it Jphalines
Draft 4-5 Solid players out of the Top 125 Selections
(OL/DL/LB//TE/RB) and Add 2-3 Free Agents (at CB & S) and address the Kicker Position with a compensatory pick
j hart – Do you really believe that the Eagles blow more picks than other teams? If so, do some research – it will show you otherwise. Don’t just list bad Eagles picks – that’s not a comparison to other teams. You can’t say ‘what’s the point of getting more picks when your gonna blow them on sters? (well you can and did), but that’s BS. The Eagles have gotten a lot of value out of 2/mid rounders. They traded back and got DJax! They got Celek, Cole, Herramans, McCoy, Kolb, Bradley, Cheney, etc.. .in the 2nd/mid rounds. Those aren’t special teamers (perse).
And for those conracts, a lot of money up front and not much after – that’s not what the Eagles do, that’s what ALL if not 90% of NFL contracts are like. That’s a fact bro – that’s how NFl contracts work – think that’s f’d up… well hmm.. let’s see if there’s a concensus that the NFL contracting system is messed up….hmm….what would indicate that… a lock out? labor dispute? ….sound familiar?
j, I ain’t defending the Eagles, I’m defending reason.
Schiller, as of late the birds have had good drafts but as we can see they’ve missed completely on rounds 1-7 on a number of drafts everyone can see it. It ain’t hard to tell. Out of the players you pick djax mccoy and cole have played great, herramans is pro bowl caliber but still isnt one, and gets injured a lot let’s not kid ourselves… id be fine with there picks if there misses weren’t so bad…
j – that’s true. But that’s also true about every NFL team. That’s true about drafting in the NFL. Have a sense of perspective.
If you were to tell me that most of the Phillies hitters aren’t hitting above .350 that much…. um, that wouldn’t be about the phillies at all, that’s true in the sport. A reality of life, humans, and nature.
A whole sh*t ton of drafting in the NFL is luck, variable, dynamic, and a near cr*p shoot
The draft is a crap shoot. The Patriots are a dynasty because they got lucky with the 199th pick (Tom Brady) of the draft. New Orleans won by Culpepper picking Miami over NO, both teams valued Culpepper higher after actually playing in the NFL. Green Bay has one of the top quarterbacks after 80% of the league let him go. The weather men and drafting experts have similiar accuracy rates, lots of unknowns to consider.
Schiller, explain to me why the giants, steelers,ravens,packers,patriots,falcons, bucs draft so well? Don’t tell me bc some picked in the top ten bc most pick in the 20s, but when we pick in the top ten to 15 we end up screwing up the pick, (ex. were still waiting for bunkley, patterson is avg and the list goes on… why is it that the steelers always get production out of there picks even when they pick in the 20 or wherever? Tell me schiller I wanna hear this
well put jp, only I’d amend the sentence ‘The Patriots are a dynasty becuase they got lucky with the 199th pick (Tom Brady) of the draft” to include, “and sustained systematic cheating”.
I’m not joking.
Not at all.
Whatsoever
Not to change the subject
What the hell is going on with R Oswalt.. Left team for personal reasons..
with not known return date.. Anyone know whats going on here ..
Call off the dogs about R Oswalt,
Apparently his home town area was hit hard with recent Tornado activitiy and Oswalt went back hom to check on Wife and Family,, There were 4 reported deaths and major property damage to homes close to his area… Hope all is ok with his family and property…
Thanks Paul, none of us have access to major media. Good thing we have you.
Luckily, I still have some old girlfriends down in Mississippi, Schiller who I can count on as good/reliable “Sources”.. They have been keeping me up to date about the Brett Farve Story, the Morgan Freeman Scandals, longer than I really wanted to know and now even the Gov Haley Barbour scandals and kickbacks..
The Steeler do a great job of replacing talent through the draft. I rank the Steelers, Baltimore and Colts as the top drafters. The Eagles don’t stay competive without drafting well, no matter how much we say no Super Bowl wins equates to failure.