April 09, 2016
Over the last three years, the Eagles' media and fan base began to get a good grasp of what Chip Kelly preferred in his draft prospects. For example, at certain positions, there was an emphasis on certain body types or playing styles, like taller defensive ends, bigger, physical corners, and wide receivers with high production in college.
And then there were general parameters, like the selection of players from schools in big conferences, and of course, the extreme focus on "high character" players.
With a new regime in place, the game of detective begins anew as we try to figure out what Doug Pederson, Howie Roseman, and Co. prefer in their players. So far this offseason, for example, based on the players the Eagles have brought in for pre-draft visits, it seems fairly clear that they are targeting receivers with speed.
Looking at the list of Eagles pre-draft visits so far, another commonality is players with character issues. Of the Eagles' 16 reported pre-draft visits, three have serious, well-known character concerns:
• Rashard Robinson, CB, LSU: Robinson was suspended indefinitely from the team in November of 2014, and was arrested in July of 2015. He missed the entire 2015 season because of off-the-field incidents.
• Demarcus Robinson, WR, Florida: Robinson was suspended four times by two different coaches during his career at Florida.
• Daryl Worley, CB, West Virginia: Worley missed a bowl game for academic reasons, and has an off-the-field incident in which he was accused of assaulting a female.
When the Eagles brought in a prospect for a pre-draft visit under Kelly, they had serious interest. They didn't play smokescreen games in that regard like a number of other teams do. It is unknown how the Eagles under Pederson will use their 30 allotted visits. In other words, just because they brought in three players with character concerns doesn't mean they'll become the Cincinnati Bengals overnight.
To be clear, we're simply noting that the Eagles have brought in character concern guys for a deeper look at them. The old regime likely would not have done that with the three players above. We're also not saying that either approach is better than the other.
On the one hand, you don't want to be cutting skilled players like DeSean Jackson because the head coach doesn't like him. On the other hand, you don't want to be signing an embarrassment like Greg Hardy, like the Dallas Cowboys did a year ago. Both extremes can blow up in your face.
The trick is finding the right balance of talent vs character.
