February 07, 2017

Ranking the Eagles' draft classes since 1999, Part I

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Over the next three days, we'll be ranking the Eagles' draft classes going back to 1999, or Andy Reid's first year with the team. Today we'll start with the worst, counting down from 18 to 13.

18) 2011

Warning: Do not look directly at this draft class, or your eyeballs may commit suicide.

Round	Player	Position	Pro Bowls	Years as primary starter
1	Danny Watkins	OG	0	1
2	Jaiquawn Jarrett	S	0	0
3	Curtis Marsh	CB	0	0
4	Casey Matthews	LB	0	1
4	Alex Henery	K	0	0
5	Dion Lewis	RB	0	0
5	Julian Vandervelde	OG	0	0
6	Jason Kelce	C	2	5
6	Brian Rolle	LB	0	1
7	Greg Lloyd	LB	0	0
7	Stanley Havili	FB	0	1
TOTAL	11 picks		2	9

This was easily the worst draft class of the last 18 years, and it wasn't even close. If I could have ranked it lower, I would have. The first five picks, in particular, were incomprehensibly bad:

1) Danny Watkins: This was perhaps the dumbest pick in two decades. Watkins was already 26-years old when the Eagles drafted him (he turned 27 during his rookie season) on a team at the time that was legendary for letting players walk once they got into their 30's.

For context, Tyron Smith was taken in the same draft class. Smith is younger, as in right now, than Danny Watkins was when the Eagles took him. He was also transitioning to guard, a non-impact position that he didn't even play in college.

2) Jaiquawn Jarrett: At the time, the Eagles had two glaring needs, guard and safety. They reached massively for each in the first two rounds, as both Watkins and Jarrett are already out of the NFL. This was the lockout year, meaning that the draft came before free agency. Ideally, you would try to fill your glaring holes in free agency, then add the best available players in the draft. The Eagles took the reverse tact. They reached for need in the draft, then signed all the "best" players in free agency, and the results were disastrous.

3) Curtis Marsh: Marsh was a developmental pick. He didn't develop. I remember when the Eagles and Patriots had joint practices before the 2014 season, and Tom Brady attacked Marsh unmercifully both during practice and in the ensuing preseason game. It was one of the rare times I actually felt bad for a player. Well, not so much that I did this during the preseason game:

Once again... Curtis toasted Marshmallow... pic.twitter.com/OZGTCh6B9z
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) August 16, 2014

4) Casey Matthews: Matthews just wasn't a very gifted football player athletically, and to this day, has the worst measurable spider chart I've ever seen from a draft prospect. The below chart shows Matthews' measurables vs. all inside linebackers competing at the NFL Combine since 1999:

What does that chart show? It shows that Matthews was short, light, weak, and slow, with T-Rex arms and Burger King hands. But he was a great dinner conversationalist, or so Juan Castillo imagined.

5) Alex Henery: My goodness. Eagles fans should thank God that Cody Parkey replaced Henery prior to the 2014 season. In fairness, to this day, my Henery-Parkey gif remains my favorite contribution to the Universe:

All told, the Eagles had 11 picks. They did take Dion Lewis and Jason Kelce, which were good picks, although Kelce is likely to be released this offseason and they traded Lewis for Emmanuel Acho.

17) 2014

Ah, 2014, one of the ambiguous "Was it a Chip pick or a Howie pick" years...

Round	Player	Position	Pro Bowls	Years as primary starter
1	Marcus Smith	OLB	0	0
2	Jordan Matthews	WR	0	3
3	Josh Huff	WR	0	0
4	Jaylen Watkins	CB/S	0	0
5	Taylor Hart	DE	0	0
5	Ed Reynolds	S	0	0
7	Beau Allen	DT	0	0
TOTAL	7 picks		0	3

Marcus Smith has 23 career tackles and four sacks. Otherwise, the 2014 draft yielded one quasi-starter in slot receiver Jordan Matthews, who has become the go-to receiver for the Eagles out of sheer necessity. Otherwise, the Eagles have already cut four of the above players, although Jaylen Watkins and Taylor Hart eventually migrated back the team later. And Josh Huff, of course, was arrested for DUI, possession of a handgun, possession of a magazine filled with hollow-point bullets, and possession of marijuana, while driving over the Walt Whitman Bridge.

Jimmy Kempski/for PhillyVoice

16) 2015

This one, however, was all Chip.

Round	Player	Position	Pro Bowls	Years as primary starter
1	Nelson Agholor	WR	0	2
2	Eric Rowe	CB	0	0
3	Jordan Hicks	LB	0	1
6	JaCorey Shepherd	CB	0	0
6	Randall Evans	CB	0	0
7	Brian Mihalik	DE	0	0
TOTAL	6 players		0	3

The 2015 class, along with the 2001 class, were the smallest, with only six players drafted. In this case, not even two years later, only two players remain from this class. Jordan Hicks is a stud in the making, which is the only redeeming positive from this group. Meanwhile, Nelson Agholor is already a bust that the team would probably like to move on from, but can't.

15) 2003

The Eagles' 2003 undrafted free agents were far better than their actual draft picks.

Round	Player	Position	Pro Bowls	Years as primary starter
1	Jerome McDougle	DE	0	0
2	L.J. Smith	TE	0	4
3	Billy McMullen	WR	0	0
4	Jamaal Green	DE	0	0
6	Jeremy Bridges	OG	0	3
7	Norman LeJuene	S	0	0
TOTAL	6 players		0	7

Gross. Jerome McDougle got shot, L.J. Smith was soft, and the rest of this group did nothing for the Eagles.

This draft class would have been ranked lower, if not for one of the more impressive undrafted free agent hauls you'll ever see. That offseason, the Eagles were able to add Quintin Mikell, Jamaal Jackson, Greg Lewis, Sam Rayburn, Rod Hood, and Reno Mahe as UDFAs.

14) 2004

The 2004 class had two good players who had careers that ended up being too short, and then nothing else.

Round	Player	Position	Pro Bowls	Years as primary starter
1	Shawn Andrews	OG	2 (1 All-Pro)	3
3	Matt Ware	CB	0	0
4	J.R. Reed	S	0	0
4	Trey Darilek	OG	0	0
5	Thomas Tapeh	FB	0	2
6	Andy Hall	QB	0	0
6	Dexter Wynn	CB	0	0
7	Adrien Clarke	OG	0	1
7	Bruce Perry	RB	0	0
7	Dominic Furio	C	0	0
TOTAL	10 players		2 (1 All-Pro)	6

At one time, there was an argument that Shawn Andrews was the best guard in football. However, injuries and depression derailed his career. And then there was the forgotten J.R. Reed, who really looked like he might become a good player his rookie season, but then he suffered nerve damage when he injured himself jumping a fence during the 2005 offseason. Because, of course he did.

13) 2007

Donovan McNabb would have rated this as the worst Eagles draft.

Round	Player	Position	Pro Bowls	Years as primary starter
2	Kevin Kolb	QB	0	1
2	Victor Abiamiri	DE	0	0
3	Stewart Bradley	LB	0	2
3	Tony Hunt	RB	0	0
5	C.J. Gaddis	S	0	0
5	Brent Celek	TE	0	7
6	Rashad Barksdale	CB	0	0
7	Nate Ilaoa	FB	0	0
TOTAL	8 players		0	10

In 2007, the Eagles were able to land a long-term starter in Brent Celek, a rare good late-round pick. Stewart Bradley also showed some serious potential before he tore his ACL during "Flight Night." And then there was Kolb, who got concussed in his first game as the team's unquestioned starting quarterback in 2010, losing his job to Michael Vick and never getting it back. At least the Eagles were able to flip Kolb for a quasi-starting corner (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) and a second-round pick.

But on the whole, as you can see... bleh.

Next up: 12 to 7

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