7 minutes ago, wussbasket said:

Very good article on the types of players that hit free agency

So, in a nutshell, if you want a top RT you need to draft him 70% of the time or get lucky and hit on an exception.

Jordan Hicks never got enough credit for being good. It's crazy.

Was away for the weekend so catching up

On 4/7/2024 at 8:36 AM, Diehardfan said:

They both make big wrestlers seem small

Yeah. Kelce was considered small for his position but out of context in wrestling ring, he looks a big dude. Which makes Lane an even bigger dude.  The picture going around of Kelce and the Rock made the Rock look small.

22 hours ago, TEW said:

There are two Mailata type prospects in this draft:

2) Travis Clayton - 6’7” 300 pounds with 35 inch arms and a 4.8 forty. He’s a former British rugby player, boxer and played tennis in his youth, so presumably he is a good athlete with professional level work ethic. Only 22 years old which helps. He’s going through the NFL international player pathway like Jordan. I can’t seem to find any information on which teams have scouted him though.

I think both of these guys have a shot to get drafted, especially Manu. It seems like every team in the NFL has taken an in person look at him, and he’s played football so the learning curve shouldn’t be as steep. Clayton would be a multi-year project as he adds weight to a leaner frame and learns the game, but certainly the tools seem to be there.

This lad could be a late ish round  they take a flyer on.  Has the physical profile and has someone in the org he can relate from a WTF is going on perspective. Would likely thrive at Stoutland U.

Thinking contrarily around the OT positions...  Could they move Mailiata to RT in the long term?  I am not wanting it, but he was moved there so that Dillard could suck at LT.  Also, be interesting to see what Lane has said about retiring and when.  He looks in great shape, seems motivated and happy.  Makes selecting a RT more of a greyer one.  But if the right OG is  there, that could be the pick,

8 minutes ago, RLC said:

Jordan Hicks never got enough credit for being good. It's crazy.

Disagree with this. I think most always recognized he was a good player, but his time here was often spent injured. 

39 minutes ago, EagleJoe8 said:

Disagree with this. I think most always recognized he was a good player, but his time here was often spent injured. 

Agreed

23 minutes ago, garingovt2000 said:

I know Barton played LT in college, but he's likely a guard or center in the NFL.  I wouldn't want to draft IOL high in this draft; I'd prefer a player with better guard/tackle flexibility.  

The weather is finally turning to Spring. 

The smell of draft takes is in the air.

1 hour ago, RLC said:

Jordan Hicks never got enough credit for being good. It's crazy.

Hicks was always very good.  He was injured too much here to be fully appreciated.

10 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

The weather is finally turning to Spring. 

The smell of draft takes is in the air.

The Eagles never have the same talent evaluation of prospects that I do, so the smell of my draft takes is pretty much like passing by an open sewer.

3 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

The Eagles never have the same talent evaluation of prospects that I do, so the smell of my draft takes is pretty much like passing by an open sewer.

I don't watch enough college ball to even bother to evaluate on my own.  I accept the consensus evaluation of the guys that do it for a living, acknowledging that the teams themselves have more information on the players (interviews, private workouts, discussions with college coaches, etc.).

1 hour ago, UK Eagle said:

Was away for the weekend so catching up

Yeah. Kelce was considered small for his position but out of context in wrestling ring, he looks a big dude. Which makes Lane an even bigger dude.  The picture going around of Kelce and the Rock made the Rock look small.

This lad could be a late ish round  they take a flyer on.  Has the physical profile and has someone in the org he can relate from a WTF is going on perspective. Would likely thrive at Stoutland U.

Thinking contrarily around the OT positions...  Could they move Mailiata to RT in the long term?  I am not wanting it, but he was moved there so that Dillard could suck at LT.  Also, be interesting to see what Lane has said about retiring and when.  He looks in great shape, seems motivated and happy.  Makes selecting a RT more of a greyer one.  But if the right OG is  there, that could be the pick,

I always wanted the future to be Dillard at LT with Mailata at RT.  But Lane kept it going longer and better than I expected and Dillard ended up sucking.

Many may dismiss your suggestion, but it’s worth a thought experiment.

Mailata is not an all world pass protector.  He’s more of a prototypical RT.  

1 hour ago, garingovt2000 said:

There are some problems with the math on Steen’s RAS.  It’s inflated by his height which is arguably a disadvantage.  He didn’t even run and all his other stuff is averaging under 9.  That 9.92 feels meaningless.

2 hours ago, brkmsn said:

A lot of people didn't appreciate TJ Edwards until he left. The same people are seemingly unwilling to give Dean the same chance.

It sometimes takes a few seasons for a player to fully develop. 

TJ Edwards was solid but unspectacular, I agree he got more hate than he should have but he wasn't a special talent. But easily would have made the defense better last year, sometimes solid is all you need to keep from being a disaster 

3 hours ago, bpac55 said:

A few nuggets from Reubs latest 10 Observations (which he did 20) and he brought up some things we've all been going back and forth on lately. Howie's terrible at drafting the back 7 and he's also really crapped the bed in the 3rd round, a round that should be producing starters. Howie needs to be better.

5. Dave Zangaro and I were having some fun putting together a Howie Roseman all-time draft team on a recent Eagle Eye podcast, and some positions were really strong – offensive line is loaded; Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert at tight end; Nick Foles, Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts at quarterback; Fletcher Cox and Jalen Carter at defensive tackle; Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat at edge. Other positions? Not so much At linebacker, the best you can come up with is Mychal Kendricks and Nate Gerry. At safety it’s Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen. At outside corner it’s Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas. And if you’re going three wides, who are you going to pick other than DeVonta Smith? It’s gotta be Jordan Matthews and Riley Cooper or Quez Watkins. Howie has become a tremendous general manager, but there are some definite holes in his game when it comes to drafting. I mean, Nate Gerry? 

12. Over the last 20 years, the Eagles have drafted Billy McMullen, Matt Ware, Ryan Moats, Chris Gocong, Tony Hunt, Stewart Bradley, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, Curtis Marsh, Josh Huff and Davion Taylor in the third round. The only regular starters the Eagles have found with their 19 3^rd-round picks over the last two decades are Bennie Logan, Jordan Hicks and Isaac Seumalo. Only one of the Eagles’ 3^rd-round picks over the last 20 years has made a Pro Bowl, and that’s Nick Foles in 2013.  The Eagles’ last defensive Pro Bowl drafted in the third round is Jeremiah Trotter, drafted 26 years ago. The Eagles’ last 18 3^rd-round picks have started a combined 305 games, an average of 16.1 games per pick. One – 2008 pick Bryan Smith – never got on the field for the Eagles.

On #12… 3 starters from 19 picks is AVERAGE. The numbers vary depending on what years you look at, but most evaluations have the percentage of third round picks who become starters at between 16 and 25%. And a lot of that depends on how you define starter (for a year, 3 years, the majority of their career, etc.). 

Frankly, I think fans are wildly optimistic in their expectations. Only 40% of first round picks become starters. Literally, your first round pick is more likely to be a bust than a starter. And the odds drop exponentially from there.

18 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

I don't watch enough college ball to even bother to evaluate on my own.  I accept the consensus evaluation of the guys that do it for a living, acknowledging that the teams themselves have more information on the players (interviews, private workouts, discussions with college coaches, etc.).

If it's not offensive line, I have no clue. When it comes to offensive line, I embody the description of an old mentor: often in error but never in doubt.

23 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

I don't watch enough college ball to even bother to evaluate on my own.  I accept the consensus evaluation of the guys that do it for a living, acknowledging that the teams themselves have more information on the players (interviews, private workouts, discussions with college coaches, etc.).

Boring, but more likely to be correct. 

You hate to see it.

 

 

 

13 hours ago, Sack that QB said:

Sheil loves Nate Wiggins. Said he thinks his tape showed an elite cover corner. He said when breaking down his games WRs just couldn't shake him. He said people told him "Wait til you study him in run support, you'll start to see his flaws" but Sheil said he doesn't care, give me a guy who can blanket WRs and figure out the other stuff later.

Wiggins is the one guy I haven't seen a lot of, of the CBs in this draft. Sounds like he's not just a straight line speed guy and can actually cover really well.

I think the knock on Wiggins is in part his size.  He's under 200 lbs.  I watched him play a few times this season.  He had a really good game against UNC.  I found this breakdown of him on Youtube.  I like this guy because he talks a lot about technique and just plays the film.  

 

2 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

So, in a nutshell, if you want a top RT you need to draft him 70% of the time or get lucky and hit on an exception.

We see the Eagles constantly draft Edge, OT, DT, WR, and QB, because those top tier players almost never make it to FA. They are fine waiting a bit later in the draft for IOL, LB, S, RB, and TE. One position the Eagles draft that doesn't line up with the data is CB, but we've seen the Eagles approach this in signing FAs or trades like Darby, Slay, Bradberry with some success.

2 hours ago, Alphagrand said:

Jordan Hicks is a hell of a lot better than Nate Gerry

They consider that Chips pick for the exercise since he was the 2015 draft class. 

3 minutes ago, wussbasket said:

We see the Eagles constantly draft Edge, OT, DT, WR, and QB, because those top tier players almost never make it to FA. They are fine waiting a bit later in the draft for IOL, LB, S, RB, and TE. One position the Eagles draft that doesn't line up with the data is CB, but we've seen the Eagles approach this in signing FAs or trades like Darby, Slay, Bradberry with some success.

The Eagles are good at recognizing arbitrage opportunities. 

The salary gap between a solid player on a rookie contract and a FA at a premium position is significant.  At least $20M a year. 

Whereas free agents at non-premium positions are maybe only $10M above the same on a rookie deal.

 

49 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

You hate to see it.

 

 

 

No doubt he's looking for the brink trucks to line up

2 hours ago, garingovt2000 said:

The problem with RAS is that the score assumes height is tied to athletic performance regardless of position.  It seems like for OG and C there's likely a height curve where being taller than a certain heiight places you at a disadvantage for the position.