1 minute ago, vikas83 said:

One of the things I keep reading about Mukuba is that he is excellent, almost flawless, in zone coverage and works well in space. Feel like that fits perfectly here, and frankly seems like an upgrade from CJGJ, who tended to be out of position at times.

Thank you.

I am not diminishing what CJGJ did well, like run fits, attitude, etc. But he was the weakest link in coverage last season. Mukuba should definitely be an upgrade there.

13 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Howie in February...

"I think I would just ask our fans to just have patience throughout the offseason,” Roseman said. "The offseason doesn’t stop in free agency. The offseason doesn’t stop when the draft hits. The offseason, really for us, the talent acquisition season lasts up until the trade deadline. … We got a long way to go here to continue to add talent and continue to make decisions and I’m excited for that.

We know we’re not going to be able to keep everyone. Certainly, we’d like to keep everyone. But at the end of the day, we’re going to have to make some decisions this year, next year, every year going forward to try to balance who are the guys we want to make every effort to keep, who are the guys we’d really like to keep but may have some better opportunities out there.”

What do you think now, two months later?

That we still need a TE…

All in all cant be mad. Rolling with Steen and Ringo were acceptable risks all along

1 minute ago, austinfan said:

Howie being "Bip Pimpin"

Always dealin'

Never rest.

2 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Michael Mayer is still on the table too. Not a thrilling option but could be a cheap one year stop gap.

At this point it feels like Goedert has won the staring contest. No one wants to trade anything of value for his contract and pay him $15.5mm for one year (or give him a big extension). With cash of $15.5mm and a cap number of $11.76mm, you're adding ~$3.75mm of dead money which isn't nuts. So I think we end up keeping him at this point -- maybe you offer to fully guarantee ~$12mm this year, he cuts $3.5mm, add a dummy year next year that forces a post June 1 cut designation next offseason. But otherwise, I think they just keep him instead of cutting him post June 1.

8 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

There was no one after Taylor that would have changed that much and none of the top tight ends were possible in rd 1 or 2 and you weren’t taking Taylor over Campbell

I disagree. TEs are one of the positions where you can get value in the later rounds. The Eagles have done that quite a bit over the years. Brent Celek was a great TE here for years as a 5th (or was it 6th) round pick. Before that Chad Lewis was a great TE here as a UDFA. And if you look across the league, 3rd rounders, 4th rounders, all the way to UDFAs have historically been good... and some higher drafted TEs have washed out. TE is one of the few positions left where you don't have to find your guy early, but you can develop a guy later in the draft.

3 hours ago, RememberTheKoy said:

Makes bringing Goedert back more difficult.

I am not sure why that would make it harder to keep him next season. No team is going to want to trade for him and pay him that kind of money. It may make it easier for the Eagles to reach a sort of Josh Sweat with him. He then could leave after next season and have a better FA market. He knows the Eagles won't pay him that kind of extension.

4 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Mukuba should definitely be an upgrade there.

Eventually, sure, but in his rookie season? I'm not as sure that's a foregone conclusion.

22 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

He got bigger when he got to the NFL. Mukuba will have to as well. He also needs to work on using his arms and not just throwing his body at the runner.

Different style. Dawk was thicker, and he played in an era when safeties played closer to the LOS. Ed Reed was more of a true FS, Dawk was more a force of nature.

Fangio plays a lot of deep safety formations, and depends on the front seven to stop the run (which is why Davis is underrated).

Mukuba is a perfect fit next to Blankenship (or another physical safety) b/c his cover skills and smarts allows Fangio to attack with the other safety at times, knowing he has a true FS doing CYA.

Every year some physical stud gets over hyped at safety (he's 220 and runs a 4.35) and never lives up to it b/c safety, like center, is a highly cerebral position, all the athleticism in the world won't help if you can't see the play unfold.

If Mukuba is doing his job, fans are going to grossly underrate him b/c he'll be invisible most of the time, in the right place and the QB never even attempts the throw.

12 minutes ago, austinfan said:

This is why BPA really doesn't work out of the top 20 or so, after that, fit matters as much as talent.

This kid is too small to come down to the box on a regular basis, so he won't fit some schemes.

But for any team that plays two deep safeties or a cover 1 with a true FS, he's fine - has enough speed to cover the field and the instincts to utilize that speed effectively.

It's not like he can't tackle, but you don't want to get him beat up taking on 220 lb RBs on a regular basis.

If he has a lean from 190 lbs is probably his limit because you don't want to impact his long speed or burst.

BPA doesn't exist in a vaccuum. BPA implies Best Player Available for what you do. And that's why we see teams like the Steelers historically, or the Ravens even now, always seeming to find 'their' players all the time. Certain players just 'fit' what they do and so they are the 'BPA' for them in that moment. Personally, I wasn't shocked at all when Starks fell to the Ravens, and they snapped him up in Round 1. And I wasn't shocked at all when Jack Sawyer's name was called for Pittsburgh. Certain players just seem destined to go to certain teams due to their 'fit', making them the BPA for that team.

4 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I disagree. TEs are one of the positions where you can get value in the later rounds. The Eagles have done that quite a bit over the years. Brent Celek was a great TE here for years as a 5th (or was it 6th) round pick. Before that Chad Lewis was a great TE here as a UDFA. And if you look across the league, 3rd rounders, 4th rounders, all the way to UDFAs have historically been good... and some higher drafted TEs have washed out. TE is one of the few positions left where you don't have to find your guy early, but you can develop a guy later in the draft.

As long as the Eagles have Barkley, Brown and Smith, the TE isn't going to catch 100 balls.

So the Eagles need more of a true TE who can run and pass block, and catch 50 balls a year, mostly underneath or down the seam.

They don't need an elite receiving TE, and those are the ones that go early.

10 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

One of the things I keep reading about Mukuba is that he is excellent, almost flawless, in zone coverage and works well in space. Feel like that fits perfectly here, and frankly seems like an upgrade from CJGJ, who tended to be out of position at times.

Playing secondary for Fangio requires a very high football IQ, because his coverages are extremely complicated, and its one of the reasons that many of us expected a slow start defensively last season. But, by the end of the year, they were humming along beautifully. And its one of the reasons that DeJean is so valuable in the slot. The further out you go in Fangio's defense, the less complicated it is. The more to the inside you are, the more complicated it becomes. More reads, more pass offs, more potential opportunities to blow the coverage. Outside... you pretty much just have to worry about what guy is farthest outside and stick with him. There are different wrinkles along the way, but that's the abridged version.

6 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Eventually, sure, but in his rookie season? I'm not as sure that's a foregone conclusion.

Correct. There's going to be a learning curve. The good news is that he seems to be a student of the game, and has extensive experience at some big time schools playing zone, so he's not starting from square 1. But, I expect he'll be better in November and December than September and October. And he'll be better in Year 2 than Year 1.

4 minutes ago, austinfan said:

As long as the Eagles have Barkley, Brown and Smith, the TE isn't going to catch 100 balls.

So the Eagles need more of a true TE who can run and pass block, and catch 50 balls a year, mostly underneath or down the seam.

They don't need an elite receiving TE, and those are the ones that go early.

Agreed. And generally speaking, those aren't really worth it most of the time.

37 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

He got bigger when he got to the NFL. Mukuba will have to as well. He also needs to work on using his arms and not just throwing his body at the runner.

For sure. He needs to add about 5-8 pounds of muscle to help him a great deal. There’s just not a lot of meat on his bones to continue throwing his shoulder at everything. He needs to wrap and drive through ball carriers.

10 hours ago, Diehardfan said:

I think that's about right, but over by a game.

@LeanMeanGM might get nervous I'm optimistic, though. Maybe I should say under by a lot

Winning a Super Bowl and drafting a LB in the first round has made you soft.

26 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I disagree. TEs are one of the positions where you can get value in the later rounds. The Eagles have done that quite a bit over the years. Brent Celek was a great TE here for years as a 5th (or was it 6th) round pick. Before that Chad Lewis was a great TE here as a UDFA. And if you look across the league, 3rd rounders, 4th rounders, all the way to UDFAs have historically been good... and some higher drafted TEs have washed out. TE is one of the few positions left where you don't have to find your guy early, but you can develop a guy later in the draft.

Sure eventually in a best case scenario. None would be expected to walk in year 1 and replace Goedert.

1 hour ago, we_gotta_believe said:

theres another Devonta Smith that plays for Bama?

They got a Justin Jefferson too, helluva WR group playing on their D.

1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

I think he has narrow shoulders and chest and isn’t particularly muscular by safety standards. I’m probably his biggest fan but have to acknowledge his play style with his current frame is a concern. The team that said he was good value believes he can get to 190-195 without issue. I do think that is a must for him, and he can add that to his frame.

The weight issue is overblown. Word is he was at 190 at his pro day. I would love for Howie to sign all the draft choices before the rookie camp. Get these kids in the S and T training and participating in Phase 1. But note also that Q is an inch taller and 193 and no one calls him small. McCollum is 6’3” and 195 and he isn’t "small”. Ricks is 6’2” and 188.

Just now, pgcd3 said:

Sure eventually in a best case scenario. None would be expected to walk in year 1 and replace Goedert.

I am not sure what replacing Goedert means. He only played in 10 games last season and had just over 5 targets a game.

The main issue with Goedert, beyond the health, is that the incremental cost of paying him can't really be justified in any way. His cap number this year is $11.76mm, and the other TEs on the roster are around ~$1.5mm. So let's say you're spending an extra $10mm of cap space on him versus the alternative. Well, without DG last year, we went 6-1 (only loss to Washington when Hurts was knocked out). The argument for Goedert is that he is a better blocker than Calcaterra, which he definitely is, but here are Barkley's rushing totals without him: 176 at Giants, 108 at Cincy, 159 home Jax, 124 home Carolina, 65 home Pitt, 150 at Washington and 167 home Dallas. He averaged almost 136 yards per game without DG playing.

There has to be a better use of that $10mm than paying a TE. I still think they keep him for 2025 because no trade materialized, then they let him go and roll with cheap options at TE.

2 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

The weight issue is overblown. Word is he was at 190 at his pro day. I would love for Howie to sign all the draft choices before the rookie camp. Get these kids in the S and T training and participating in Phase 1. But note also that Q is an inch taller and 193 and no one calls him small. McCollum is 6’3” and 195 and he isn’t "small”. Ricks is 6’2” and 188.

I think the rookies will all be participating in rookie camp as part of the CBA that gives them protections under the NFLPA.

45 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

At this point it feels like Goedert has won the staring contest. No one wants to trade anything of value for his contract and pay him $15.5mm for one year (or give him a big extension). With cash of $15.5mm and a cap number of $11.76mm, you're adding ~$3.75mm of dead money which isn't nuts. So I think we end up keeping him at this point -- maybe you offer to fully guarantee ~$12mm this year, he cuts $3.5mm, add a dummy year next year that forces a post June 1 cut designation next offseason. But otherwise, I think they just keep him instead of cutting him post June 1.

I think the staring match continues. Goedert is looking for an extension and probably so is Howie but for different reasons, Goedert to maximize what may be a final contract and Howie to flatten some of Goedert’s cost (and to retain his services, should it prove worthwhile, in other words a deal that makes Goedert’s future retention an Eagles decision). The cross purposes may get resolved at some point.

52 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I am not sure why that would make it harder to keep him next season. No team is going to want to trade for him and pay him that kind of money. It may make it easier for the Eagles to reach a sort of Josh Sweat with him. He then could leave after next season and have a better FA market. He knows the Eagles won't pay him that kind of extension.

49ers are done. They got all of their stars banged up and they will be a shell of themselves for the upcoming seasons. Not a team folks should be paying attention to IMO.