EMB Blog: 2021 Offseason

[greend]

10 hours ago, bpac55 said:

Continuing watching some highlights.

What is Travis Fulgham?  I mean the guy dominated for 4 weeks.  He showed ridiculous body control, hand catches and strength to push CB around.  Was his decline 100% due to Alshon coming back?  Did he dip back into bad habits?  Man, if he's anything close to what he showed when starting that could be a great thing.

 

Hate to say it but I think he was a flash in the pan

[ManuManu]

5 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

FWIW Dane Brugler is on record saying if Hurts was in this draft class he’d be behind the top 5 and Davis Mills 

I really don’t see that as a surprise or a knock on Hurts. He wasn’t a well regarded prospect.

Neither here nor there, but I’ll use the post as a jumping off point... Many teams have have a board with maybe 150 players with draftable grades. In round 1, they may only have 18 players with a first-round grade. For round 2, maybe 20. By the time you end up in late round 2 you might not be able to draft a player with a round 2 grade, so on and so forth. Of course when you’re the Eagles, you pay no attention to that, and they pass over higher ranked players to draft a backup QB.  

[greend]

10 hours ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

You know Lurie is having a cram session with his puppets as we speak.   

is that what you kids call it now days?

[Original Sin]

Big fan of Mills , and have been saying he could go rd 1 early 2nd

i don’t see him going to bears in rd 1 as a recent mock showed . He needs to go where he can sit minimal 1 year , nice piece on him below 

https://markbullock.substack.com/p/nfl-draft-profile-qb-davis-mills?r=fd8sn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy

[greend]

 

Now the fun is trading around. At least for me. Certain teams are here are "easy marks" and some aren't.

[ManuManu]

 

[bpac55]

Trying to compare the WR class is difficult.  So many of them are in the same size/athletic testing range.    

* ages are when the season begins, not current.

 

Tier 2 borderline round 1/early round 2 WR.   

Rashod Bateman (age 21)                6'      190        4.39       10' 1" broad jump       36" vertical      6.95s 3 cone     4.35s shuttle

Elijah Moore (age 21)                        5'9"   178        4.32       10' broad jump            36" vertical      6.67s 3 cone    4s shuttle

Rondale Moore (age 21)                   5'7"   180        4.32       10'5" broad jump        42.5" vertical    6.68s 3 cone    4.41s shuttle

Terrace Marshall (age 21)                 6'2"    205       4.4         10'5" broad jump        39" vertical       

Kadarius Toney (age 22)                   5'11" 194        4.41        11'4" broad jump       41" vertical        6.88s 3 cone    4.23s shuttle

 

Tier 3 WR.  Could go late 2nd/early 3rd.

Dyami Brown (age 21)                      6'      189          4.45        10'6" broad jump       35.5" vertical    6.85s 3 cone    4.35s shuttle

Amari Rodgers (age 22)                   5'9"   212          4.52        10' broad jump          33" vertical        7.07s 3 cone    4.31s shuttle

Simi Fehoko (age 21)                        6'4"  222           4.44        10' broad jump          34.5" vertical     6.78s 3 cone    4.26s shuttle

D'Wayne Eskridge (age 24)              5'8"   190           4.4          10'3" broad jump      35" vertical         6.95s 3 cone    4.27s shuttle

[ManuManu]

 

[bpac55]

8 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

YIKES.  I thought he would at least hit 170.  Not good for him. 

[RememberTheKoy]

I don't get people's desire to trade up at all. 

[rambo]

14 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

YIKES.  I thought he would at least hit 170.  Not good for him. 

Yeah.  He said he was 170, I figured his playing weight would be 165.  Not sure if it wouldn't be even lighter now.  He can ball and did survive a long time in the SEC with volume catches but going up against NFL CBs and Safeties for 17 weeks is a different animal.  Definitely raises concerns.

[RememberTheKoy]

16 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

YIKES.  I thought he would at least hit 170.  Not good for him. 

 

I don't understand this thought process. His size was never an issue in college when he was playing in the bear conference going into the college playoffs playing the best teams going up against future NFL talent. Never was his size an issue.  High volume receiver and it was never an issue or even a hint of an issue. 

 

Why is it suddenly going to be an issue in the NFL? 

[NCTANK]

26 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

Stinkston says, "hold my beer”.

[ManuManu]

 

[Iggles_Phan]

9 hours ago, TEW said:

The FO is actually really, really good at moving around in the draft to grind value. And as much as you all may whine about the draft results, we’ve consistently been one of top teams in the NFL for two decades now with very few, and very short lived, rebuilding periods.

Grinding to find value, yes - mostly.  Though there are quite a few examples of that being completely inaccurate.   But they have struggled mightily to find talent in the draft.  And ultimately, when it comes to the draft, it is far more important to find talent than value.   

 

And yes, they have had a run of success in terms of wins and losses better than many other franchises.  However, the front office still suffers from hubris and uses that to justify the stupid decisions they make.  And when the brass comes out and claims 'gold standard', then they should be held to the standard that they put upon themselves, and frankly, they have NOT lived up to that.  Lurie made that asinine comment just as the Patriots went on a 2 decade path of dominance like this league has never really seen before.  Meanwhile, the Eagles churned through 3 (now 4) different coaches, 6 (now 7) different QBs, but... somehow only 1 GM.  I suppose you could argue 2, with the hiatus that Howie was sent on for that 1, or maybe 2 years. with Chip.   The Eagles got the elusive Super Bowl... but not through the draft, and not through the type of actions that we have witnessed since the Super Bowl.   So, you'll have to forgive folks who see the asinine from the franchise and call it out.   Every franchise makes mistakes, but not every franchise makes mistakes and then will turn around and tell you that the mistakes were either not their fault, or those mistakes were not actually mistakes.   That's hubris.

[bpac55]

2 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

 

I don't understand this thought process. His size was never an issue in college when he was playing in the bear conference going into the college playoffs playing the best teams going up against future NFL talent. Never was his size an issue.  High volume receiver and it was never an issue or even a hint of an issue. 

 

Why is it suddenly going to be an issue in the NFL? 

As good as the SEC is and I love watching SEC football, the NFL is a different beast.  With Smith, there's no room to grow on his frame.  He's 166 and that's that.  He doesn't have the elite speed of DJack, who was 2" shorter and 10 lbs heavier so even he is more compact and built than Smith.

Smith seems like a good guy, I've got nothing against him.  He went out and put up an incredible 2020 season and a very good Alabama career.  That size just scares me away.  Todd Pinkston had 15 pounds on him and he was a stick!  Now the argument there is Pinkston never got hurt but he also only played 5 years in the NFL.  Also not comparing their skillset, just the weight.

There isn't another player in the NFL that you can compare his build to.  He's just a rail.

The Saints had a guy, TommyLee Lewis, who was a return specialist.  He was 5-7, 168.  That 5" difference again makes him much more compact than a guy 6' 166

Same with Taylor Gabriel who just retired.  He was 5-8 167. Again a significant height/compact body difference.   

Marquise Brown is 5-8 181.  4" and 15 pound difference and he blazed a 4.32 40.

I hope he succeeds.  I just don't like that size one bit.

[LeanMeanGM]

DeVonta Smith on game days 

[Desertbirds]

7 hours ago, austinfan said:

You mean Dillard?

They were not prepared when they drafted Dillard. 

[John_C]

44 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

YIKES.  I thought he would at least hit 170.  Not good for him. 

And yet, I would take that guy all day long.  I guess we will see how he ends up.  I've seen some of the criticism besides the weight, like he wins because he is "a great route runner" in the way that that can be used as a detriment... i.e. winning with "technique" and not because of superior athleticism.

Reminds me a lot of last year when Justin Jefferson was a "slot receiver" only, concerns about his speed, etc.

It's such BS.  Sometimes a guy might not 100% fit a certain mold but they are great players.  

I think Smith has the frame to add a few pounds to help his durability.  I bet he is an instant impact type player for whoever gets him.  If he somehow fell to 12, that would be an absolute coup for the Birds IMO.

[bpac55]

7 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Wow.  Collins needs to shed some of that weight.  I like him.  But 270 is huge.  That means he could battle weight in the future.  255 he’s a beast at LB.  270 he’s a lineman.  He needs to stay at or below 255 or will breakdown early in his career.  Maybe that allows for him to slide into the 2nd.  He’ll be great for a few years in the NFL and then drop off the cliff.  

Nightmares of Levon Kirkland chasing the Buccaneers are replaying in my head.  270 sounds massive for a linebacker but honestly, look at his frame and it looks like he could carry 11 extra pounds easily.  

Kirkland was 6-1 268.  Collins is 6-4 and looked really lean for 255 at his Pro Day.  Some of these guys just have incredible lean muscle mass.  

 

Look at Jabril Cox.  He was 6-3 233 at the LSU Pro Day.  He looks like he's 215 but the scale doesn't lie.

[Desertbirds]

I wonder if Collins is transforming into a DE.

[Iggles_Phan]

11 minutes ago, Desertbirds said:

They were not prepared when they drafted Dillard. 

Yup.  He slipped, but they didn't have their homework done about why.   You cannot justify selecting any player in Round 1 that you've not researched extensively.  It's just too big an investment to not be prepared.

[Iggles_Phan]

3 minutes ago, Desertbirds said:

I wonder if Collins is transforming into a DE.

3-4 OLB possibly as well.

[bpac55]

3 minutes ago, John_C said:

And yet, I would take that guy all day long.  I guess we will see how he ends up.  I've seen some of the criticism besides the weight, like he wins because he is "a great route runner" in the way that that can be used as a detriment... i.e. winning with "technique" and not because of superior athleticism.

Reminds me a lot of last year when Justin Jefferson was a "slot receiver" only, concerns about his speed, etc.

It's such BS.  Sometimes a guy might not 100% fit a certain mold but they are great players.  

I think Smith has the frame to add a few pounds to help his durability.  I bet he is an instant impact type player for whoever gets him.  If he somehow fell to 12, that would be an absolute coup for the Birds IMO.

We'll disagree there.  I'm avoiding him.

I do think the arguments from others that you mentioned are silly.  Complaining that a guy wins because he's a great route runner is like saying an offensive lineman wins his trench battles because he has great technique.  

I think you need more than great route running to win in the NFL  I don't see this guy ever hitting 170.  Again, I hope he's successful (as long as NYG don't grab him).  I just don't want the Eagles anywhere near him. 

I posted all of the tier 2/3 guys a few posts up who I think will be just as good in the NFL as Smith.   I'd much rather have Rashod Bateman, Elijah Moore or Terrace Marshall in the 2nd.

[austinfan]

22 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

The Eagles got the elusive Super Bowl... but not through the draft, and not through the type of actions that we have witnessed since the Super Bowl.   So, you'll have to forgive folks who see the asinine from the franchise and call it out.   Every franchise makes mistakes, but not every franchise makes mistakes and then will turn around and tell you that the mistakes were either not their fault, or those mistakes were not actually mistakes.   That's hubris.

SB team:

QB Wentz #2-2016, Foles #88-2012

WR Agholor #20-2015

TE Ertz #35-2013

LT Vaitai #165-2016

C Kelce #191-2011

RT Lane #4-2013

DE Curry #59-2012

DT Cox #12-2012

DE Graham #10-2010

LB Kendricks #46-2012

LB Hicks #84-2015

CB Mills #233-2016

TE Celek #162-2007

CB Douglas #99-2017

Key reserves:

DT Allen #224-2014

RB Smallwood #153-2016

LB Walker #251-2016

G Seumalo #79-2016

DE Barnett #14-2017