May 01, 2015
Keith Srakocic/AP
Pittsburgh offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings slipped out of the first round.
The first round of the 2015 NFL Draft is over and done with, so we look ahead to round two. Below are the 15 best available Eagles targets heading into day two of the draft:
• Jake Fisher, OT/OG, Oregon: It was a mild surprise that Fisher was not drafted in the first round. He is an athletic offensive lineman with experience at LT and RT, but will likely play right tackle in the pros. It is also believed that he could play at RG for the Eagles in the short term to replace Todd Herremans, with the intention of eventually kicking him out to RT and moving Lane Johnson over to replace Jason Peters at LT. This is most likely trade-up option for the Eagles, in my opinion.
• T.J. Clemmings, OT/OG, Pittsburgh: Clemmings was another player projected to be drafted in the first round. Like Fisher, he could play immediately at RG and eventually kick out to RT. However, he is a different flavor than Fisher. While Fisher wins with technique and athleticism, Clemmings is a guy who can move defensive linemen off the line of scrimmage against their own will. The Eagles lack that.
• Randy Gregory, OLB, Nebraska: Gregory was viewed at times as a top 5 kind of player, but has character concerns. The Eagles will have to get past the fact that he failed a drug test at the Combine, which is more of a "stupidity" issue than a drug addiction one. It wouldn't surprise me if Gregory isn't on the Eagles board at all, but if he is they could get outstanding value for him in the second round. As a player, Gregory is very thin, but an athletic freak. He was compared to Dion Jordan, in a bad way, but he could be an intriguing talent as a 3-4 OLB in Bill Davis' scheme.
• Eli Harold, OLB: Harold wasn't on my initial 65-man big board because I didn't view him as a player who would get out of the first round. However, if he were to slip all the way to 52, he would have to be an intriguing option for the Eagles.
• Quinten Rollins, CB/S, Miami Ohio: Rollins is a playmaker. During the week of practices at the Senior Bowl, he showed a knack for locating the ball in the air and making plays on it, something Philly fans rarely saw from Eagles starting corners in 2014. In the Senior Bowl game itself, he made a very nice over the shoulder interception. Rollins was a star basketball player at Miami (OH) for four years, and didn't play football until his senior year, when he had seven interceptions. He didn't test well at the Combine, which could force a move to safety at the next level, where Rollins should adjust. He has absolutely no issue with blasting receivers and running backs in the mouth.
• Eric Rowe, CB/S, Utah: I don't anticipate Rowe making it to 52, but if he did, that would be good value. Rowe started at CB for Utah this season after playing his first three seasons at safety. If the Eagles see Rowe as a CB at the next level, he has the long frame at 6’1, 205 and physical nature against the run that they have prioritized. If they view him as a safety in the NFL, he has versatility to cover receivers, which enables them to stay in their base defense against three WR sets. Rowe did not stand out at the Senior Bowl, but he tested very well at the Combine.
• Preston Smith, DE, Mississippi State: This would be an unsexy pick in the second round, but an effective one. Smith is an extremely versatile player who can stand up and play the predator position in a 3-4 front, as well as at DE. At Mississippi State, the Bulldogs also lined him up at NT on obvious passing downs. Smith would give the Eagles some depth at multiple positions, and could eventually be a player that never comes off the field, while helping allow the Eagles to disguise what they're doing defensively.
• Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Edge rusher, UCLA: Odighizuwa was the 8th ranked high school recruit in the nation in 2010, and the Eagles have a history of drafting those guys. (Nelson Agholor was the the 18 high school recruit in 2012). Odighizuwa is an athletic pass rusher, and pass rushers are premium players. I don't anticipate Odighizuwa to last to 52, but he could be an option if he's there.
• Ali Marpet, OG/C, Hobart: Marpet comes from a Division III school, and in Chip Kelly's first two years in Philly, the Eagles have exclusively drafted players from big Division I schools. However, Marpet showed at the Senior Bowl that he belonged, and then some, which Marpet attributed to refined technique not normally associated with smaller schools. He also seemed like a high character kid who will interview well. He is highly athletic, in the same mold as Jason Kelce and Evan Mathis.
• Donovan Smith, OT/OG, Penn State: Smith is huge at 6'6, 338 with long arms and big hands, but he had extraordinary broad jump, vertical jump, and 40 yard dash performances at the Combine for a guy his size. Smith absolutely has some intriguing explosion.
• Danielle Hunter, OLB, LSU: Hunter is drawing comparisons for his size, athleticism, and lack of college production (in terms of sacks) to the Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul. Hunter is 6'5, and he ran a freaking 4.57 40, but he only had 1.5 sacks in 2014.
• Benardrick McKinney, ILB/OLB, Mississippi State: McKinney has outstanding size at 6'4, 246, and some versatility in that he could also potentially be used as an outside linebacker in a 3-4. He would probably be a sure-fire top 15-20 pick 15-20 years ago. However, there are questions of how well he can play in space, which is where linebackers can be exposed in today's pass-happy NFL.
• Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State: Obviously, the Eagles drafted a wide receiver in the first round, but if Strong were available in round two, could they pass on him? That would be a lot of resources put toward the wide receiver position in two years: A 1, two 2's, and 3. Still, Strong was very productive in his two seasons at Arizona State, catching a combined 162 passes for 2287 yards and 17 TDs. He is big (6'2, 217), strong, a bigtime leaper, and he wins contested catches. The question on Strong is a wrist injury that teams will have to be comfortable with before they draft him. I think that hurts his value, but he'd be that big target in the Eagles offense who could replace Riley Cooper.
• Jordan Phillips, NT, Oklahoma: Phillips is a large man, at 6'5, 329. Last summer, Billy Davis talked about the rarity of finding impact nose tackles, via Tim McManus of Birds 24/7. The Eagles have a good young player at NT in Bennie Logan, but they do not have a behemoth run stuffer for those ever-important short yardage situations.
• Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor: After having swung and missed on Marcus Mariota, I wonder if the Eagles might be interested in a poor man's version of him. Petty has good size, good mobility, and a decent enough arm to be considered a legitimate early round quarterback prospect at the NFL level. One thing that will scare away some teams is that he operated mainly out of the shotgun in a spread offense for the entirety of his career at Baylor. But again, that may not be as much of a negative in the eyes of Chip Kelly, who uses many of the same spread concepts as Baylor. Over his college career, Petty has threw 61 TDs and just 10 INTs.
La'el Collins, OT/OG, LSU: Collins was considered by some to be a top 15 pick, but teams don't seem to want to touch him with a 10-foot pole until details of a murder investigation involving Collins (he is not a suspect) are known. I happen to be a huge fan of Collins, the player. He's a nasty run blocker who can move defensive linemen against their will, which again, the Eagles lack. If the Eagles are able to conduct their own investigation, maybe they'll feel confortable drafting him at some point? We'll see.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
