Watching Wilson…his game revolves around his incredible catch radius.  He’s not actually physical and doesn’t really out muscle guys.

Thats why he dropped.  It’s a fine line between a matchup nightmare and a player who can’t separate from a DB but also can’t toss them around, which is a useless player.  

Even if he stays at WR, which I think will end up in minimal impact, he’s going to have to hit the weight room so he can at least outmuscle DBs early in routes (and for YAC) rather than rely on exclusively plucking and reaching for throws away from coverage.  

While I want to see him at TE, he’s going to have to put on enormous muscle, weight, and physicality to survive there.  So that’s an even longer runway to productivity with a lower floor.

The upside is there, but something about his game needs to fundamentally change for him to actually end up a dynamic player in the NFL.

1 minute ago, eagle45 said:

Watching Wilson…his game revolves around his incredible catch radius.  He’s not actually physical and doesn’t really out muscle guys.

Thats why he dropped.  It’s a fine line between a matchup nightmare and a player who can’t separate from a DB but also can’t toss them around, which is a useless player.  

Even if he stays at WR, which I think will end up in minimal impact, he’s going to have to hit the weight room so he can at least outmuscle DBs early in routes (and for YAC) rather than rely on exclusively plucking and reaching for throws away from coverage.  

While I want to see him at TE, he’s going to have to put on enormous muscle, weight, and physicality to survive there.  So that’s an even longer runway to productivity with a lower floor.

The upside is there, but something about his game needs to fundamentally change for him to actually end up a dynamic player in the NFL.

He feels like the 1, surely wasted pick in this draft class. 

1 minute ago, HazletonEagle said:

He feels like the 1, surely wasted pick in this draft class. 

Yeah I feel that way too which means he'll probably light it up at camp

 

 

1 minute ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

 

There are numerous examples of elite athlete busts and marginal athlete all pros…and vice versa.  But THE EAGLES consistently do better for themselves when they chase elite athletes over the higher motor marginal ones.

2 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

 

well ok. Nasty Nate candidate? Can it be awarded to a vet?

Sorry if already posted...

 

Just now, HazletonEagle said:

well ok. Nasty Nate candidate? Can it be awarded to a vet?

He'd have to make it past rookie camp where they have very little coverage these days.  Can't get an ESP tracker there

3 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

There are numerous examples of elite athlete busts and marginal athlete all pros…and vice versa.  But THE EAGLES consistently do better for themselves when they chase elite athletes over the higher motor marginal ones.

Howie said that's what they go for at the end of the draft. Wilson being an example.  Lottery tickets essentially. Trotter was the exception of course

1 minute ago, pgcd3 said:

 

Nothing will come of this, but I find the Eagles interest to be…interesting.

My biggest non-Jalen Hurts fear about the team moving forward is the collective speed on offense (yeah, yeah, E45 and speed).  Brown and Smith are outstanding WRs, arguably the best duo we’ve seen here.  But neither is much of a burner.  Much like we saw after the 2017 SB, I do worry that the collective speed on offense may slowly regress until this is a team that defenses feel comfortable squeezing closer to the line.  This certainly isn’t a faster than average offense, unless you start evaluating the RBs, which is already proving the point if you have to do that.   I don’t want to see this offense end up confined to the LOS.

They always seem to want to have one burner on offense, but we’ve fallen back into that trap of having the burner being a seldom targeted, unreliable, low-investment player.  It was Quez and now Campbell inherits that mantle.  Throwing John Ross against that wall in a tryout shows they think they need that element in the offense and still have not managed to solidify it.

2 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

Howie said that's what they go for at the end of the draft. Wilson being an example.  Lottery tickets essentially. Trotter was the exception of course

Position matters too.  Off ball LB is a read and react position.  They did semi well with Kendricks, a majorly explosive athlete, but he was always stiff, not very instinctive, and the coaches across multiple regimes never wanted to commit to him.  Big athletes like Taylor and Bradley were swings and misses.  

You don’t need the big athletes there.

I think Trotter is the right fit.

Really was masterful

 

Just getting this out of the way now

5 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

Really was masterful

 

That's an elite GM doing elite GM things. 

Looking at the OL, and I think we have nine roster locks at this point.

OT (3) - Mailata, L. Johnson, F. Johnson (or FA tackle yet to be signed … Becton?)

OG (4) - Dickerson, Steen, Hennessey, Keegan

C (2) - Jurgens, McMahon

That leaves LeRaven Clark, Darrian Kinnard, others on the outside looking in. Maybe we can find a 10th spot, but none of these guys is exciting enough for them to force it. 

I really really REALLY hope Trotter works out. Such a good story. Such a good family. 

Im weighing in on the Covey discussion and oddly taking Random Regular's side.

We had such a bad WR corps last year, and bad offensive coaching. I put very little stock in the fact that an idiot like Brian Johnson wouldnt put him on the field.

Considering Kellen Moore's offense, and Covey's skill set, I have already been feeling that this year could be Covey's chance to break in to the WR rotation. I already assumed he would split reps with Campbell in certain packages, or down and distance situations.

Now, there is even more competition with Ainias Smith in the fold. So who knows.

But Covey was a talented college WR, and his ability out in space is an exciting match for Moore's offense. 

I think its foolish not to let this one play itself out in camp and just write Covey off right now.

 

I also think theres a chance he makes the team on his punt return ability. The eagles are loyal, often to a fault. And he is one of the top punt returners in the league. They dont easily just supplant him in that role because they drafted a bunch of returners.

I think DeJean is likely not used in the return game because there are enough other options. PR is pretty likely due to stay with Covey due to 1. his elite status in the league, and 2. loyalty.

KR is a wide open competition between Shipley, Ainias Smith, Paris Campbell, and Isaiah Rodgers. And John Ross??

3 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Looking at the OL, and I think we have nine roster locks at this point.

OT (3) - Mailata, L. Johnson, F. Johnson (or FA tackle yet to be signed … Becton?)

OG (4) - Dickerson, Steen, Hennessey, Keegan

C (2) - Jurgens, McMahon

That leaves LeRaven Clark, Darrian Kinnard, others on the outside looking in. Maybe we can find a 10th spot, but none of these guys is exciting enough for them to force it. 

I don't think McMahon is a lock. Kinnard is actually an interesting prospect. We'll see

10 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

That's an elite GM doing elite GM things. 

I missed it yesterday,  but the picks for next year are a big deal.

2 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

I really really REALLY hope Trotter works out. Such a good story. Such a good family. 

I think he might find himself with a long career as a backup.

We just cant have 2 undersized, and slow LBs playing on the field at the same time.

He may be backup to Dean (and looks like he would get plenty of opportunity to play in that role). 

But I think Devin White is going to be the other starter due to athleticism/range. You live with his bad stuff to get his splash plays.

I think Hunt will work his way on to the field occasionally in coverage situations. And Baun may work his way on to the field in pass rush situations. 

Punt returns are stressful for players.  Big hits, big pressure…Desean Jackson is a guy who had the league moving in slow motion for him early on, so it was no problem.  It was a real problem for Maclin, Reagor, and others.  I’d prefer to keep DeJean away from PR and get him to focus on being a great DB, where he already might have multiple positions thrown at him.

Rodgers, IIRC, has been a KR, not a PR.  The Eagles don’t even value KR.  They’d put Jordan Davis there for all they care.  Now that Covey has earned their trust at PR, I don’t think they’ll be in a rush to pry it away.  

10 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

That's an elite GM doing elite GM things. 

I beg to differ. I look at all the guys that got away but were right there to be had. Suamataia, Roman Wilson, Mccormick, Wingo. Add Eric All to that list. The draft could have been an all-timer but it most certainly was not. Zinter too. Keegan is good but Zinter is better.

1 minute ago, HazletonEagle said:

I think he might find himself with a long career as a backup.

We just cant have 2 undersized, and slow LBs playing on the field at the same time.

He may be backup to Dean (and looks like he would get plenty of opportunity to play in that role). 

But I think Devin White is going to be the other starter due to athleticism/range. You live with his bad stuff to get his splash plays.

I think Hunt will work his way on to the field occasionally in coverage situations. And Baun may work his way on to the field in pass rush situations. 

I think the biggest thing working in his favor is instincts. I know it's a bit of a lazy comparison but I'm hoping he has a TJ Edwards type career arc. I think it's possible and like I said I'm really rooting for him

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Punt returns are stressful for players.  Big hits, big pressure…Desean Jackson is a guy who had the league moving in slow motion for him early on, so it was no problem.  It was a real problem for Maclin, Reagor, and others.  I’d prefer to keep DeJean away from PR and get him to focus on being a great DB, where he already might have multiple positions thrown at him.

Rodgers, IIRC, has been a KR, not a PR.  The Eagles don’t even value KR.  They’d put Jordan Davis there for all they care.  Now that Covey has earned their trust at PR, I don’t think they’ll be in a rush to pry it away.  

dont forget about the new kick return rule. I think the eagles clearly valued KR this year. They have a whole bunch of really good options now. Rodgers is probably the best one. He averaged like 27 yards in the NFL. Shipley may be the next best. He averaged about 26 in college.