EMB Blog: 2024 Offseason

[UK Eagle]

20 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

 

He’s intriguing to think of as a LB given his size and history as a safety.  

But we all know how the Eagles (and the rest of the NFL, really) value off ball LB.  If you want to invest in the position in round 3, you can get someone who is pretty close to the top of their draft year rankings without taking a complete flier on a small school guy and asking him to change positions for the 2nd time in 2 years and reducing everything to complete projection.

For off ball LB, that feels like a filer you take in round 5.  

But…ignoring the round, I think he could be a really interesting SAM.  It’s going to take at least 1-2 years to get him there though.

Agree,  There is definite potential there for SAM.  Having been at Cornell, you assume he's got the brains to go with the athleticism, but it's still a projection.  TC reports will be the lead to his prospects

19 minutes ago, RLC said:

Josh Sweat, while in RD4, is the same approach. Get the highly athletic pass-rusher with questions (Sweat- health, Hunt- level of competition) and see if it hits.

The 3rd round is the one the team struggles with.  You can mitigate by taking lower, as  they did with Hunt.  Sweat will always be a great value because that knee helped him fall down the boards

[Iggles_Phan]

4 minutes ago, RLC said:

Jobe, Ricks and Ringo were all better than Bradberry last year. Those 3 didn't sink the defense.

Having an atrocious slot CB and no LB outside of Cunningham killed us. Teams just attacked the middle of the field relentlessly and we had no answer.

You set a high bar, sir.  

[HazletonEagle]

6 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

  Barwin led the Eagles in sacks in 2014 when he was named 2nd team All-Pro.  He had 14.5 sacks that year.   He also had a double digit sack year with the Texans (11.5)

 

That said... if Hunt even approaches what we got from Connor Barwin, then this is a home run pick.  Barwin was never a hand in the dirt guy... never really a DE... and another Cincinnati guy.

 

We really need to dip back in to that U of Cincinnati pool.  So much success there in the past, especially in the later rounds.

I forgot he had that many sacks. Still, thats the part of Hunts game what will take some developing. He is all speed, and basically no pass rush moves. Makes sense considering his inexperience as a pass rusher. But he is as versatile and athletic as Barwin with those kind of coverage skills. Its the best comp there is, and the reason why I love Hunt so much. 

[HazletonEagle]

3 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Just give @HazletonEagle a call and have him give you a play by play commentary.  Put him on speaker phone.

I will unfortunately only be able to give commentary on a high school double header baseball game. Im going right there from my kids youth soccer games. Leaving right now. 

[wussbasket]

If Tyrice Knight is still available, I would take him over Trotter Jr. Same size and everything, except he can actually play.

[austinfan]

Hunt wasn't a "reach," Brugler had him at #88 in his mock after the 1st rd, he wasn't some unknown that just showed up on draft day.

A gamble yes, but most of those "sure" starters in the 3rd rd end up as depth players.

Once you get past the top 40, odds drop significantly, past the top 100, roll the dice.

If they can land a couple guys like Ringo and Ojomo last season today, I'll be very happy.

[we_gotta_believe]

13 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Im talking base offensive sets which are coming back more and more. You are seeing more teams start to run the ball more and run more 12 and 21 personal as well to take advantage of the smaller LBs/Edge rushers that defensives are throwing out there.

I haven't really seen that. Are there are sites that track this over time? I'd be curious if there truly is a notable shift across the league or if it's just noise caused by a small handful of teams.

[paco]

8 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Just give @HazletonEagle a call and have him give you a play by play commentary.  Put him on speaker phone.

I didn't realize Hazelton, PA had phone service yet.

[RLC]

WR and RB in RD4. Get contributors and profit. 

[we_gotta_believe]

14 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

  Barwin led the Eagles in sacks in 2014 when he was named 2nd team All-Pro.  He had 14.5 sacks that year.   He also had a double digit sack year with the Texans (11.5)

 

That said... if Hunt even approaches what we got from Connor Barwin, then this is a home run pick.  Barwin was never a hand in the dirt guy... never really a DE... and another Cincinnati guy.

 

We really need to dip back in to that U of Cincinnati pool.  So much success there in the past, especially in the later rounds.

Yeah the barwin comps are wildly optimistic. We can make ourselves feel better about the pick without the need for hyperbole.

[eagle45]

It will be interesting to follow the development and plans of Ringo, Brown, and Blankenship.  Of those 3, Ringo is…by far…the biggest talent.  Blankenship is…by far…the most playable as-is.  I guess we can throw Rodgers in there too.

Slay will be out of the picture very soon.  Mitchell will be starting outside.  DeJean will be starting somewhere.  CJGJ will be starting at S.  That leaves 2 high snap roles/positions open for Ringo/Brown/Blankenship/Rodgers with two on the outside looking in.

I bet week 1 will be Mitchell/Slay outside with Maddox in the slot and a CJGJ/Blankenship safety.  The real question is week 1 2025.  

[ManuManu]

24 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

My gripe with Hunt isn't the player himself, it's that the Eagles haven't shown they know how to develop anyone on the defensive side of the ball. Davion Taylor was this speed demon LB. Kyron Johnson was an athletic freak. Patrick Johnson had great pass rush skills. Tarron Jackson came from a small school but was supposed to be a good DE to develop. They traded for Genard Avery who they couldn't develop anymore. 

If the Eagles showed me they had any ability to develop players, a player like Hunt should be making us drool. Instead, it looks like a wasted pick when you had 3 players from UM go within the next 20 picks who are all going to contribute in a big way. Zinter is a starting RG in the NFL. Corum is RB1 from day 1. Roman Wilson is a speed demon from the slot. MarShawn Lloyd, Jermaine Burton and Luke McCaffery are all contributing on this team immediately and filling holes on the roster. 

I hope Hunt comes in here and reaches his potential, but the Eagles track record with project players not named Jordan Mailata is just terrible. 

We have a different coaching staff now. What does any of that matter?

[bpac55]

Just now, ManuManu said:

We have a different coaching staff now. What does any of that matter?

OLB/Edge coach is still Jeremiah Washburn. He's been for years. 

[Iggles_Phan]

1 minute ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Yeah the barwin comps are wildly optimistic. We can make ourselves feel better about the pick without the need for hyperbole.

The Draft is the season for ridiculous hyperbole.   Remember when people thought that Ryan Leaf was at the same level of a QB prospect as Peyton Manning?   Good times.  People can convince themselves of so many things during the draft process... from the Combine up through the UDFA scramble.  People talk about some of the UDFAs as if they are getting future HoF players.  And they lose their minds when their preferred guys sign elsewhere.

That is not to minimize the importance of the UDFA process... the Eagles have gotten some very nice contributors during that part of the 'draft'.  But, generally, they aren't future HoF candidates.

[ManuManu]

2 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

OLB/Edge coach is still Jeremiah Washburn. He's been for years. 

He’s going into his third year as edge/OLB coach. 

[eagle45]

Slay, Mitchell, DeJean, Blankenship, CJGJ, Ringo, Maddox…roster locks.

Brown…roster lock, but even if he’s ready they may stash him on PUP or something due to numbers.

Rodgers, Hall…probably making it, but not locks.

That’s 10 DBs.  That’s all most teams usually keep.

That leaves Bradberry, Jobe, and Ricks all on the outside.

[RLC]

Eagles turned Josh Sweat into a real EDGE. That's a legitimate story of player development. 

[Iggles_Phan]

5 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

We have a different coaching staff now. What does any of that matter?

The scars remain.   We are all suffering from PTSD of Eagles' failures past.

[austinfan]

5 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

I haven't really seen that. Are there are sites that track this over time? I'd be curious if there truly is a notable shift across the league or if it's just noise caused by a small handful of teams.

https://www.nfeloapp.com/nfl-power-ratings/nfl-team-tendencies/

 

[we_gotta_believe]

2 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

The Draft is the season for ridiculous hyperbole.   Remember when people thought that Ryan Leaf was at the same level of a QB prospect as Peyton Manning?   Good times.  People can convince themselves of so many things during the draft process... from the Combine up through the UDFA scramble.  People talk about some of the UDFAs as if they are getting future HoF players.  And they lose their minds when their preferred guys sign elsewhere.

That is not to minimize the importance of the UDFA process... the Eagles have gotten some very nice contributors during that part of the 'draft'.  But, generally, they aren't future HoF candidates.

Bingo, with the modern media coverage of the entire process and all the data available to the average fan, from every snap of a player on YouTube, to combine and pro day measurables, to rumors of impressions from private workouts and interviews, etc, we can fall prey into thinking that the development of these prospects is still anything other than a crap shoot at the end of the day.

[austinfan]

4 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

He’s going into his third year as edge/OLB coach. 

Two years ago, a great pass rush, last season, not so much.

Think the problem wasn't coaching, but a sieve of a secondary that let QBs get rid of the ball within 2.5 seconds.

[we_gotta_believe]

1 minute ago, austinfan said:

https://www.nfeloapp.com/nfl-power-ratings/nfl-team-tendencies/

 

Has all the data but not formatted in an easy way to visualize league-wide trends over the last decade or so. Still very good to have for reference, thanks for sharing.

[judunno]

45 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

No one mentioning Trotter Jr. in possible pick ups for today? So many down on him cause of the smaller frame like Dean? I personally rather have him over Cedric Grey 

Anytime I see someone say small frame like Dean I know people are stuck in time. The 49ers LBs are pretty much Dean's size. The LB that everyone wanted in FA Queen is Dean's size. If you see those comments just know they are lazy and out of touch.

[eagle45]

You all know you want to see them draft WR Jamari Thrash.

[Iggles_Phan]

1 minute ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Has all the data but not formatted in an easy way to visualize league-wide trends over the last decade or so. Still very good to have for reference, thanks for sharing.

Break out those database mining skills.