September 30, 2023
During the college football season each year, as long as you're watching the games, we point out five players each week to keep an eye on who make logical sense for the Philadelphia Eagles in the following year's draft.
At 6'6, 215, Gentry is a very tall, very skinny oddity at linebacker who transferred to USC from Arizona State after the 2021 season. In his first season at USC, he had 71 tackles, 2 sacks, an INT, 2 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles in 11 games.
Eric Gentry has heart, man. Hate to see him leave the game with an injury.
— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) October 16, 2022
pic.twitter.com/XGmmByk5ld
Gentry will have to put on more weight to be a viable player in the NFL, but he has some intriguing traits.
Horn is an explosive, shifty slot receiver with some ability as a returner. He transferred to Colorado from USF.
In his first 4 games at Colorado, Horn has 27 catches for 243 yards and 2 TDs. Late round guy.
Quez Watkins and Olamide Zaccheaus are both in contract years.
Bullard is a slot corner / safety hybrid who tallied 46 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, and 2 INTs (both in the National Championship Game) in 2022. He's a hitter with athleticism:
Bullard makes plays and then lets you know about it. His swagger gives me some Chauncey Gardner-Johnson vibes.
He also lit up Marvin Harrison Jr. in the playoff game.
Avonte Maddox has a scheduled $6.85 million cap hit in 2024. The Eagles almost certainly won't keep him at that number. Regardless of whether Maddox is back in 2024 or not, the Eagles need more players who can play in the slot, and Bullard would give them some safety versatility on top of that.
Maybe at the end of the college football season, I'll make a list of the 10 or so players profiled in this series who I think best fit the Eagles in terms of need, scheme, and play mentality. Bullard will be on that list.
Barton has been Duke's starting LT since 2021, and he started five games at C as a freshman in 2020. It's perhaps not a stretch to think that he could play all five positions along the offensive line.
The book on Barton is that he is a very fundamentally sound lineman, but he also has ideal quickness to pull in the run game and get out in front of screens. What is most obvious about Barton's game, however, is that he is a nasty finisher. For example:
couple of fun clips of Graham Barton (#62) with the loooonnnggg pull from the backside showcasing his movement ability.
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) July 17, 2023
runs into some muck in the first clip, but good to see him keep his balance and reestablish his path before delivering the pancake. pic.twitter.com/yx0wtwyla2
Or:
Who’s this Graham Barton LT for Duke?! Guys looks legit
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) April 8, 2023
I’ve now noted ‘62 Duke’ while watching other guys 3x…. Ok let’s watch him pic.twitter.com/3akpioGu3D
With two Hall of Famers poised to retire soon, the Eagles could use a versatile lineman like Barton who would give them options.
McKinstry is thought of by most draft analysts as the CB1 of the 2024 class. CB1s typically have length and athleticism, and McKinstry is no different. He is also an excellent tackler, and has obvious ball skills, as evidenced by his 15 PBUs in 2022. A look:
As the likely CB1, McKinstry seemingly won't be within the Eagles' reach. But you never know. I wouldn't have envisioned the Eagles being able to draft Jalen Carter this time last year, even with the Saints pick.
The Eagles can use more corners in the pipeline with Darius Slay and James Bradberry aging, even if they already have some promising young prospects.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
