December 24, 2016
It's college bowl season, and as long as you're taking in some college football action today (and the rest of this week), here are some players who could make some sense for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 NFL Draft.
To note, the Eagles currently have eight draft picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, listed here.
On Christmas Eve, people all around the country and the world will nestle up in front of the fireplace and watch Middle Tennessee State football, obviously. The best prospect in this game will is MTSU CB Jeremy Cutrer.
Cutrer has great length at, 6'1, with long arms. However, he is extraordinarily skinny, which is understandable considering he was once homeless and has a crazy (but inspiring) backstory. He has tried to add weight at MTSU, and will likely continue to in the pros.
Cutrer gets his hands on a lot of passes, but is a bit of an ankle diver as a tackler. Here's his game last year against Alabama.
Over the last two seasons, Cutrer has six interceptions and 23 pass breakups. He has good ball skills, and does a nice job anticipating routes. He could be a late round option for the Eagles at CB.
Landry is tied with Florida State's Demarcus Walker (previously profiled here) for the NCAA lead in sacks, with 15. He has 20.5 total tackles for loss and a ridiculous seven forced fumbles. In 2015, Landry had 60 tackles (14.5 for loss), 4.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles. That would be 10 forced fumbles over the last two seasons. That's not flukey. Landry is very good at popping the ball out for big plays.
Here's his game last season against Florida State. Watch how disruptive he is:
As we noted a month ago, Connor Barwin will count for $8,350,000 against the cap in 2017, $7,750,000 of which the Eagles can save if they cut or trade him. If indeed they decide to move on from Barwin, the Eagles will need to add to their edge rusher stable (which should probably be a priority anyway, even at times when it's a position of strength).
Bolles has become one of my favorite prospects to watch in this draft class, for his tenacity and demeanor. In watching his games, I have literally laughed out loud at how far through the whistle he'll play, and how far he'll drive defenders down the field on run plays. He's probably the best run-blocking offensive tackle in this class.
Bolles is very athletic and has the tools to become an equally good pass protector, but his game needs a little refinement there, as his over-aggressiveness can work against his at times. As a prospect, however, it's a lot easier to get a guy to dial it back a bit than to try to make him more aggressive.
Here's a good breakdown of Bolles' game by Hans Olsen:
Bolles had a rough childhood, but seems to have worked through it. The biggest knock on Bolles could be his age. He's only a junior and he's already 24 years old. He'll turn 25 in May. In other words, if you draft him in the first round, there's a good chance he won't get his second contract until the offseason he'll turn 30.
On the season, Dimick is third in the nation with 14.5 sacks, including a five-sack performance against Arizona State. He also has 21 total tackles for loss and six batted passes. While his sack total is impressive, Dimick is more of a hustle type than a guy projected to put up big numbers in the pros. Still, Dimick is a good run defender from his DE spot, with a good motor. Here's a breakdown of him:
Utah is an underrated producer of NFL players. Since 2009, there have been 14 Utah defenders selected in the NFL Draft. Assuming safety Marcus Williams and DT Lowell Lotulelei declare for the draft this year, there will be three more, including Dimick.
The Eagles will need more depth at DE, assuming they move on from Connor Barwin this offseason. Dimick would make some sense in the middle to late rounds.
Aaaaaand one last Utah guy. Loulelei is the brother of Carolina Panthers DT Star Lotulelei, who was the 14th-overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. While he is not as good as his brother and won't be drafted nearly as highly, Lotulelei is a very strong, effective run-stopping defensive tackle.
Over his three years at Utah, Lotulelei has 8.5 sacks, so he's not exactly an impact player in the passing game, although he does a decent enough job pushing the pocket so edge rushers can make plays.
Two-down run stuffers have become devalued in the NFL to some degree, but with Bennie Logan slated to become a free agent this upcoming offseason, combined with the fact that two of the Eagles' division rivals -- the Cowboys and Redskins -- have dominant run blocking offensive lines, a run stuffing defensive tackle could interest the Eagles.
Some have Lotulelei rated as a first-round pick. I don't see that at all. However, if Logan leaves for another team and Lotulelei is still there in the third round, he would certainly make sense for the Eagles.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
Like Jimmy on Facebook.