December 29, 2016
Steve Cannon/AP
Florida State OT Roderick Johnson (77) helped open up holes for RB Dalvin Cook.
It's college bowl season, and as long as you're taking in some college football action this holiday season, here are some players who could make some sense for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 NFL Draft. To note, because there are a bunch of good bowl games Thursday and Friday night, this is a special rare mid-week edition.
To note, the Eagles currently have eight draft picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, listed here.
In each of Mack's three seasons at USF, he has had at least 1,000 yards rushing. In 2016, Mack rushed for an impressive 7.1 yards per carry.
| Marlon Mack | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2014 | 202 | 1041 | 5.2 | 9 |
| 2015 | 210 | 1381 | 6.6 | 8 |
| 2016 | 161 | 1137 | 7.1 | 15 |
| TOTAL | 573 | 3559 | 6.2 | 32 |
Here's a highlight reel. Note the number of long runs Mack has.
Over his three-year career, Mack has 63 receptions, which is enough to show that he can contribute in the passing game. With the Eagles likely to move on from Ryan Mathews this offseason, running back is an obvious need. Mack could be a later-round option.
Over his career at Tennessee, Kamara was a complementary back with receiving ability out of the backfield, and also the team's main punt returner. Though he is just a junior and could perhaps benefit from a bigger role with the Volunteers in 2017, it was reported (although not necessarily by the best source) that Kamara is likely to declare for the 2017 NFL Draft.
Kamara doesn't have much of a body of work as a rusher:
| Alvin Kamara | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2015 | 107 | 698 | 6.5 | 7 |
| 2016 | 96 | 565 | 5.9 | 9 |
| TOTAL | 203 | 1263 | 6.2 | 16 |
However, he showed that he is a good receiver out of the backfield:
| Alvin Kamara | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2015 | 34 | 291 | 8.6 | 3 |
| 2016 | 33 | 346 | 10.5 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 67 | 637 | 9.5 | 7 |
Kamara is a hard runner with good speed (although not elite breakaway speed), with good hands, and tackle-breaking ability. A highlight reel:
Darren Sproles has said that 2017 will likely be his last season. Kamara can be a player who does many of the same things as Sproles. He could be a late-round option for the Eagles.
In his time as the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills, as well as his stint as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, Jim Schwartz has employed some rather large defensive ends. For example:
| Player | Years | Height | Weight |
| Devin Taylor | 2013 | 6'7 | 266 |
| Kevin Carter | 2001-2004 | 6'6 | 305 |
| Mario Williams | 2014 | 6'6 | 300 |
| Dave Ball | 2008 | 6'6 | 275 |
| Jason Jones | 2008 | 6'5 | 272 |
| Ezekiel Ansah | 2013 | 6'5 | 271 |
| Lawrence Jackson | 2010-2012 | 6'5 | 261 |
| Willie Young | 2010-2013 | 6'5 | 251 |
| Kyle Vanden Bosch | 2005-2008 (Titans), 2010-2012 (Lions) | 6'4 | 278 |
| Antwan Odom | 2004-2007 | 6'4 | 277 |
| Jevon Kearse | 2001-2003, 2008 | 6'4 | 265 |
Michigan's Taco Charlton would be another big body at 6'5, 272. While he doesn't have eye-popping numbers on the season (9 sacks), Charlton had a monster performance in one of the biggest regular-season games in college football this season, when he had nine tackles and 2.5 sacks against Ohio State.
In our stay or go series, we noted that DE Connor Barwin will likely not be back in 2017. Charlton could be a player on the Eagles' radar, should he still be there in the second round.
Doug Pederson loves him some versatile offensive linemen, and with good reason. In 2016, Pederson's offense suffered an assortment of injuries to his offensive line, plus a suspension to Lane Johnson. As a result, the Eagles were forced to shuffle their offensive line, often playing linemen like Allen Barbre, Isaac Seumalo, and Matt Tobin at multiple positions.
At Michigan, Magnuson was slated to be the Wolverine's left tackle, but that never happened. Instead, he started at guard and right tackle during his college career, while getting reps at left tackle in practice. He is also thought to have the requisite intelligence to play center. Magnuson even played a little tight end, changing his jersey number for a short time to No. 81. He was used mainly as an extra blocker at TE, similarly to the way the Eagles used Tobin and Seumalo in jumbo sets this season.
Magnuson could be a player of interest in the middle rounds who provides good depth at multiple positions, with his ceiling being a starter at RT.
Johnson is an athletic offensive tackle with good size who has been the Seminoles' starting left tackle since the second half of his true freshman season in 2014. Heading into the 2016 season, Johnson was regarded at a potential top 20 pick, but his stock has fallen some, as many have noticed Johnson's iffy mechanics. If he were to fall to the second round, he could be good value for the Eagles.
While it is assumed that Lane Johnson will flip from RT to LT whenever Jason Peters retires, there could be some logic in just filling in a capable player at LT through the draft.
In 2016, Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland did a terrific job shuffling the Birds' offensive line, keeping the offense reasonably afloat despite a number of injuries/suspensions. If the Eagles are willing to be patient and let Stoutland fix his deficiencies, Roderick Johnson, who will still only be 21 years of age until next November, could be the eventual replacement for Peters at LT instead. That would allow Lane Johnson to continue to simply be the best RT in the NFL.
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