April 02, 2017
Here's your Sunday reminder that in four weeks from now, the 2017 NFL Draft will be over.
In the meantime, we've put together some Eagles links from around the web, with topics ranging from future Eagles, to former Eagles, to the newest Eagles, and even a former future Eagle.
That's not a typo.
As the 2017 NFL Draft approaches, it’s that time of year when the NFL bloggers here at SB Nation get together to do a mock draft. The setup is simple, each writer plays GM for his team and makes the pick. There are no trades. The draft goes two rounds deep…
The Philadelphia Eagles' first round pick for this year at No. 14 is now posted on SB Nation. As you can see, I chose ... Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster. Here's my explanation:
… Put simply, Foster is a beast. The prospect of adding him to a linebacking corps that already features a young, explosive playmaker in Jordan Hicks and a good starter in Nigel Bradham is very exciting. Foster could fit in as a 4-3 WILL, which is perfect for the Eagles with Mychal Kendricks likely to be traded this offseason. He’d give the Eagles defense another intimidator… [bleedinggreennation.com]
Jeff McLane | The Philadelphia Inquirer
If Douglas is truly crafting the draft board and the Eagles choose the best available players, then there is really little for Roseman to do other than call in the selections. But drafts hardly unfold without surprises. Roseman has rarely sat for three days without making several showy trades.
Standing pat isn't always a recipe for success, but built-from-the-draft-up franchises like the Steelers and Packers have gone entire drafts over the last decade without moving up or down. Can Roseman trust the process and leave Douglas' board alone? [philly.com]
About two months before he arrived at the Eagles facilities for Friday's news conference, Long was with the Patriots, preparing to take the field against the Falcons in Super Bowl 51. That's when he began watching tape of the Philadelphia's victory over Atlanta, one in which the Birds held the NFC champs to their season-low point total.
"I spent a lot of time watching Philly's defense, because they were obviously very talented and played Atlanta great, and it jumped off the screen at you," Long said. "In free agency, once it started, I was like, 'Yeah, I do remember watching those guys, and, man, that would be cool to be a part of something like that.'" [pennlive.com]
Long should be able to carve out a pretty significant role in Philly, especially under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who likes to rotate his defensive ends. A starting job opened when the Eagles opted to release Connor Barwin, who signed with the Rams in mid-March. Long will be competing with the likes of Vinny Curry to lock that job down.
Interestingly enough, Barwin helped convince Long that the Eagles were the right fit.
"When Connor was asking me about L.A. -- I never played in L.A., but I know the organization -- I was like, 'Well, I'll give you some information if you give me some information.' Because being a free agent, you're really flying blind a lot of times," Long said. "Connor helped me a lot to learn about the city. He had nothing but awesome things to say about the city, the organization, the coaches, the players ... so that's a real great thing to have." [espn.com]
Robinson met with reporters at the team’s facility on Friday for the first time since signing. He didn’t have anything too revealing to offer, but he did mention Malcolm Jenkins factored into his decision. Robinson and Jenkins were teammates on the New Orleans Saints from 2010-2013…
“I talked with Malcolm Jenkins, you know, who I’m close to. I know what type of player he is and what type of locker room he’s trying to build. I think, as far as the other teams, with me knowing him, that kind of made the decision for me.” [bleedinggreennation.com]
Unless the Eagles find an unheralded who impresses during the summer, look for another fullback-less year in Philadelphia.
“It’s something that obviously, my history, even as a player in the West Coast system, we’ve always had that position, we’ve always had that player,” Pederson said. “You’ve always been able to get in the I-formation and run downhill. The game has changed so much now, that position, we can use a tight end. You saw last season we used a defensive tackle, Beau [Allen] was in that position a little bit. The game has changed. If you’re not adjusting to, say, the times, those positions can sometimes be filled by other role players.“ [philly.com]
“The key to the Sam Bradford trade was how the contract was structured. We basically bought a draft choice here, when you think about it,” Lurie said at the NFL's annual meeting in Phoenix this week…
Instead of placing a tag on Bradford or limiting the contract to one year, the Eagles gave Bradford a two-year contract last offseason with $22 million guaranteed. They had not secured the rights to Carson Wentz at the time, but were aggressively pursuing that angle and were going to draft a quarterback regardless.
While it would have been cleaner to limit the commitment to Bradford to one year, Lurie noted that the team would have “no asset value” at season’s end if they went that route. Once the picture came into focus, the idea was to play Bradford (they expected him to perform well, which would have further driven up his worth), ship him out at season’s end and have Wentz ready to step in Year 2. Then the Teddy Bridgewater injury happened, creating a pressing need for Minnesota at QB and speeding up the timeline. [espn.com]
Once upon a time, many thought the Eagles would draft Jordan with their No. 4 overall pick in the 2013. Jordan had played under then-Eagles coach Chip Kelly, after all. But the Dolphins traded up to the No. 3 spot in order to prevent that from happening. As a result, the Eagles selected Lane Johnson. Johnson’s obviously had issues with suspensions, but there’s no question he’s been a much better pick than Jordan. The Eagles really dodged a bullet there.
But that wasn’t the only point in time where Jordan almost became an Eagle. There were reportedly multiple times during Kelly’s tenure that the Eagles tried to acquire him. [bleedinggreennation.com]
[Full disclosure, I included this one just so I had a reason to share this tweet.]
Finally reunited with Chip Kelly. https://t.co/JI2ACEXNtS
— Brennen 🥃 (@moviesontherox) March 31, 2017
Savage.
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