1 minute ago, austinfan said:

This draft is similar to many of Howie's pre-SB drafts.

And the emphasis on lines is very Eagles, going back to AR, on O-line, heavily influenced by Mudd and Stoutland.

The emphasis on speed last year was mostly after pick #100, Taylor, Hightower, Watkins, Bradley, but even then, Wallace, Driscoll and Toohill were "traditional" Eagle picks.

This year was a shift back to the "core" Eagles philosophy, which was always heavy on intangibles (work ethic, motor).

The real difference was resisting the temptation to draft for need and take the BPA. Hopefully, that becomes a core philosophy.

I think that reflects both rebuilding, and a staff more comfortable with rookies and projects - not just the players you draft, but the players you have to plug in when you don't draft for need.

I would have preferred a few less "tweeners". I want guys with dedicated positions coming out of the draft, but maybe the new defensive philosophy and scheme is to be more fluid with multiple looks.

 

1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

Favorite pick: Smith. Didn’t like the trade up but I love the player. 

Best value: Williams. I love drafting athletic freaks on the defensive line. If his arms were longer he might have been a first rounder. Imagine stunts between him and Sweat. That will be fun. In truth the pick should be Gainwell because he seemed to go a round or 2 later than expected.

UDFA. Stoll. I’m a Nebraska grad, and he’s been a solid player and fine blocker. I fully expect him to push for a spot on the 53 as our TE3. 

Find someone that loves you like Manu loves UDFA TE's

32 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

I don’t know how anyone can come out of this draft with a more favorable opinion of Howie from before.   

I don't think I can judge him on this draft yet except to say he didn't seem to f' up too much.  I mean they didn't panic at any pick and over-reach.  They made 2 good trades (from 6 to 12, and the one for the 5th round pick next year).  Still this is like the bare minimum you would expect from a competent GM.  I am uncertain about how this team will at all look going into next season.  

15 hours ago, blindside said:

But real talk, if we can get up into the top 5, we have a chance at a top CB next year, or QB if we need one, and then address CB with one of our next potentially two first rounders. I don’t hate it, in theory. I couldn’t care less about winning this year, I just want to figure out QB.

We really need for that Colts pick to be a first. I won't even be greedy and say a top 25 pick, just needs to be a first and not a second. 
Thats gives us 3 firsts, I'm probably in the minority but I'm not cashing in all 3 of them. One should be traded for additional picks. I feel this team needs another 2 probably 3 more quality drafts with numerous day 1 and day 2 selections. Pull a Dolphins move and use one chip, at least, for a nice bounty over the course of multiple years to keep the draft furnace running red hot.

3 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

Honestly you typically get more blindly positive people than negative.  Obviously none of it means anything until we see the guys play

I think there are 3 kinds of fans.

Overly optimistic- No matter what the Eagles do, it doesn't matter because the Eagles are the best and Dallas sucks.

Overly pessimistic- The true Negadelphian, doom and gloom no matter what.

Realistic- Fans who sit back and look at the big picture.  Might come off as negative sometimes but when things aren't great that's just reality.  

 

The draft can really accentuate who we are as fans.  We talk draft prospects for months, do countless mock drafts and fall in love with prospects. We literally build the Eagles team WE want. When you see other teams take guys you really wanted the Eagles to take and then see the Eagles take guys you never would have thought of drafting it can set off a wide variety of emotions. 

The Eagles didn't draft a single player this weekend who I loved watching on Saturdays, watched tons of highlights coming away with the thought that I want this guy, had them take in a mock draft or say that's a guy I want.  There were numerous times that there were players on the board who fit needs and holes and were guys I loved and hoped the Eagles would take.  When this happens, it's really easy to develop a negative mindset.  I'm guilty of that, I think a lot of us are.  However, now that we can dissect the Eagles draft we have a lot of positives to look at, along with a lot of questions yet too.

My thoughts on the outlook fans have.

7 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

their drafts were meh this yr

Chargers and Denver killed it imho

Maybe, time will tell.

But the Ravens and Steelers have had a number of "Meh" drafts over the years.  This article from 2014 was even discussing a "Meh" draft the Ravens had back then.  It happens to all organizations, even the best ones.

But what I find impressive is the consistency they demonstrate year after year.   They don't try and rewrite their strategy after a poor / bad draft.  They just keep grinding from the same playbook and approach because they believe that it will work more times than not.

3 minutes ago, aptosbird said:

I would have preferred a few less "tweeners". I want guys with dedicated positions coming out of the draft, but maybe the new defensive philosophy and scheme is to be more fluid with multiple looks.

I was fine with the Stevens pick. He's a highly athletic player switching from Safety to OLB.  He should at least be a ST contributor.  My least favorite pick was the NT out of USC.  

23 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

I hope we sign Nelson at CB, and then imo all can be forgiven. Otherwise we have to count on Zech being starter quality right away and thats just very unlikely. 

However, the pick that I will have my eye on the most is this DE > LB convert. I think he doesnt even make the team. In comparison I am going to watch Shaka Tony. My ideal role for him was as a 3rd down pass rusher, and a JOKER on other downs. It seems, with Ostman in the past, Gerard Avery, and now this guy, we have that JOKER role in mind. IMO, Toney was the perfect late round prospect to make that conversion. I realize this DE we drafted already played some droppign in to coverage. But hes still a DE convert. And Toney is a far faaar better athlete. I really would prefer to see him in this role. Ill be comparing them and if Toney becomes a player Ill be very critical of that. 

I think Zech is a project.  They will either sign someone or start Avonte.  

6 minutes ago, aptosbird said:

I would have preferred a few less "tweeners". I want guys with dedicated positions coming out of the draft, but maybe the new defensive philosophy and scheme is to be more fluid with multiple looks.

It's not just the Eagles, the rise is the number of mobile QBs may change the role of DEs, for example.

Against a stationary QB, you want explosive DEs who can turn the corner and get to the QB.

Against a mobile QB, you may want bigger DEs who can seal the corner and bull rush OTs, and keep the QB from rolling out, especially toward his right (except for LH QBs) and force him to throw from the pocket, and have DTs that can penetrate and make him uncomfortable (consistent pressure is better than sporadic sacks).

Let's have some fun in here today...

Favorite draft pick? DeVonta Smith - no brainer. get Miami's first next yr AND screw the Giants. all around win

Best value? Gainwell - again easy pick. starting caliber dual threat RB in the fifth? yes please

Favoriete UDF? Grimes - should have been drafted

1 minute ago, Rhinoddd50 said:

Maybe, time will tell.

But the Ravens and Steelers have had a number of "Meh" drafts over the years.  This article from 2014 was even discussing a "Meh" draft the Ravens had back then.  It happens to all organizations, even the best ones.

But what I find impressive is the consistency they demonstrate year after year.   They don't try and rewrite their strategy after a bad draft.  They just keep grinding from the same playbook and approach because they believe that it will work more times than not.

This is why I am excited for the Eagles with the new staff. Devonta was a sexy pick, but everything else was just solid coachable football players...now the fun begins and we get to see just how good the coaches are at teaching...I am always excited around a rebuild. The Eagles get to learn a lot about themselves.

4 minutes ago, Rhinoddd50 said:

Maybe, time will tell.

But the Ravens and Steelers have had a number of "Meh" drafts over the years.  This article from 2014 was even discussing a "Meh" draft the Ravens had back then.  It happens to all organizations, even the best ones.

But what I find impressive is the consistency they demonstrate year after year.   They don't try and rewrite their strategy after a poor / bad draft.  They just keep grinding from the same playbook and approach because they believe that it will work more times than not.

i think that playbook is easier when you are consistently making the playoffs and drafting later. less pressure to win and less chances for high bust picks.

2 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I was fine with the Stevens pick. He's a highly athletic player switching from Safety to OLB.  He should at least be a ST contributor.  My least favorite pick was the NT out of USC.  

I think he competes with Raequan Williams for the 4th DT/backup NT spot. He's shorter, stouter and a big more athletic, but if either has to start, we're in a world of hurt.

10 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

This is frustrating

Caplan: When you look at the situation it was time to trade him and the Eagles tried. There was one team that told me that they just could not make the money work, they were OK with whatever the Eagles were offering. It's just they couldn't make the money work. Zach's making over 8 million bucks and as I said in our last show, that's what his contract says. He shouldn't take a pay cut. He's a veteran, but right now he's on the roster and we'll see, as you said, even if he's on the roster, they need a third guy and if he's not on the roster they're really in trouble. Really in trouble.”

 

1 minute ago, bpac55 said:

This is frustrating

Caplan: When you look at the situation it was time to trade him and the Eagles tried. There was one team that told me that they just could not make the money work, they were OK with whatever the Eagles were offering. It's just they couldn't make the money work. Zach's making over 8 million bucks and as I said in our last show, that's what his contract says. He shouldn't take a pay cut. He's a veteran, but right now he's on the roster and we'll see, as you said, even if he's on the roster, they need a third guy and if he's not on the roster they're really in trouble. Really in trouble.”

 

I think Caplan is trying to cover himself since he definitively said Ertz would be traded by the time the draft was done.

9 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I was fine with the Stevens pick. He's a highly athletic player switching from Safety to OLB.  He should at least be a ST contributor.  My least favorite pick was the NT out of USC.  

What’s your issue with the USC DT? By all accounts he was great value. 

6 minutes ago, Rhinoddd50 said:

Maybe, time will tell.

But the Ravens and Steelers have had a number of "Meh" drafts over the years.  This article from 2014 was even discussing a "Meh" draft the Ravens had back then.  It happens to all organizations, even the best ones.

But what I find impressive is the consistency they demonstrate year after year.   They don't try and rewrite their strategy after a poor / bad draft.  They just keep grinding from the same playbook and approach because they believe that it will work more times than not.

I think AR set our philosophy, then he went south with his son's death, and Lowie lost their way with Chip and Doug. Chip was an egomaniac and Doug wasn't much of an administrator.

One reason I think they chose Sirianni is Lurie saw many of the qualities he liked in AR, the "binder," etc. People harp on Siri's bad image, but ignore the good job he did in putting a coaching staff together, which tells me he's been preparing to be a HC (i.e., had worked out his list of people he wants, including options B & C).

And I think we saw that with this draft, from all reports the scouts and coaches were on the same page, Howie had confidence in his draft board, probably because all the arguments had been hashed out ahead of time.

Now the question I have is whether Lowie had their doubts about Wentz, not just as a player but as a leader, before the 2020 draft. Because Hurts may or may not be the future QB, but he has the intangibles to set the tone for a young team (and has shown he'll gracefully accept a demotion if he's beat out, after fighting tooth and nail to keep his job). Add Smith and Dickerson and you have the kind of core players that help you integrate a lot of young players.

 

4 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

What’s your issue with the USC DT? By all accounts he was great value. 

I worry about his back injury - big guys and bad backs are not a good combination.

 

I don’t really see Williams as a tweener. I see him as versatile. His value is as a 3 tech, where he can provide juice as a pass rusher. He can kick outside on run downs. We’re hoping he’s Malik Jackson when he was a Bronco. 

As for tweeners like Stevens and Johnson. It was really late in a weak draft. At that point you’re looking for traits and special teams ability. I’m not going to complain much at all about guys that late. There’s a 90 percent chance they don’t see a second contract in the NFL. 

1 minute ago, Desertbirds said:

I worried about his back injury - big guys and bad backs are not a good combination.

 

It’s round 6. If we get four years of serviceable play out of him as a rotational DT we did pretty well. 

10 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

This is frustrating

Caplan: When you look at the situation it was time to trade him and the Eagles tried. There was one team that told me that they just could not make the money work, they were OK with whatever the Eagles were offering. It's just they couldn't make the money work. Zach's making over 8 million bucks and as I said in our last show, that's what his contract says. He shouldn't take a pay cut. He's a veteran, but right now he's on the roster and we'll see, as you said, even if he's on the roster, they need a third guy and if he's not on the roster they're really in trouble. Really in trouble.”

 

I don't really understand this since we should be able to make the money work by converting some of Ertz's salary into a roster bonus due before the trade.  Sure we're tight against the cap but we can make it work in order to get better compensation.

8 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

Let's have some fun in here today...

Favorite draft pick? DeVonta Smith - no brainer. get Miami's first next yr AND screw the Giants. all around win

Best value? Gainwell - again easy pick. starting caliber dual threat RB in the fifth? yes please

Favoriete UDF? Grimes - should have been drafted

 

Favorite - Hard to complain with Devonta Smith being the best pick.  He's already got some chemistry with Hurts and we need a competitor like him on the field to fire this team up.

Let's dig into the late picks.  Gainwell is a great pick by the FO, guy will definitely get time on the field this year.

Sleeper Future Fan Favorite - Zech McPhearson.  Right after being drafted he pulled his Shady jersey out of the drawer and put it on.  This guy is happy to be here.

Late pick most likely to succeed - JaCoby Stevens.  LSU 6th round pick DB.  Shades of Jalen Mills already.  This guy is supposed to be great in the locker room and is a very good coachable kid.  He's a project, but I'd give him a chance to start at some point this season.

I kind of hope we don't add a CB.  Next year is all about development and securing a high draft pick for me.  A top 5 pick puts us there for a QB if we need it or a top DE or CB.  We need a few units that we can absolutely count on to be destroyed.

Anyone know if there is a list of the unsigned players who were not drafted ??