Mock Offseason -- The Daboll Edition

[hoosierdaddy]

Taking a swing at what our offseason could look like if we land Brian Daboll as our next head coach. (which is looking less and less likely if they Daboll to LA Chargers rumors are true)

Why Daboll? 

He's well-known as a player's coach, has done a masterful job with Josh Allen (i.e. hopefully he can do the same with Wentz), and we all know Lurie is going with an offense-led HC.

Current Eagles in question:

• Build around Wentz
• Trade Ertz for a 5th rounder
• Bring back Barnett, Ridgeway, LeBlanc & Dick Rod
• Let Curry and McLeod walk and cut DJax, but keep them on the back burner as potential vet minimum signings later in the offseason if they don't latch on anywhere else
• Everyone else in question or with an expiring contract -- GONE (I won't list them here, but you'll see they're not listed below)

Free Agency (I'm not going to get into cap implications because frankly, I don't understand it. I'm just going to assume we can't really break the bank for any big names and will need to be strategic with who we sign)

• OG: Jon Feliciano -- free agent #1 from Buffalo. Daboll brings in a guy he knows to provide some much-needed depth along the offensive line.
• TE: Tyler Kroft -- free agent #2 from Buffalo. Daboll brings in a veteran TE he knows to compliment Goedert
• CB: Artie Burns -- honestly this is more about the type than the actual name. Just think a stop-gap veteran CB who can potentially lineup opposite Slay for a year while we try to find something better either in the draft or next year's free agency (or in Jacquette, which I'm not holding my breath on)

Draft

• Round 1: Kwity Paye -- DE, Michigan. Assuming it's 4 QBs and Sewell off the board, this boiled down to Paye or DeVonta Smith for me. In the end, let's remember it's Howie making the decisions -- which swayed me to Paye for two reasons. #1 -- Howie has shown a propensity to draft linemen in the first round. Last year was a rare exception. #2 -- I don't think Howie wants to be known as the GM who went WR in the first round two years in a row (and took one in the second the year before that). In the end, while Howie disgusts me, I'd be very excited to add Paye to the team as I think he'd be a great addition to our DE rotation and an outstanding replacement for Brandon Graham over the long-term.
• Round 2: Daviyon Nixon-- DT, Iowa. We're going to have a new DC next year, but with the personnel we have on defense I think it's safe to assume that whoever is in that role will continue to use the gap-attacking style that suits Cox and Hargrave so well (our new DC will need to overhaul the scheme in the defensive backfield, but the d-line scheme should be left alone). With that in mind, the Eagles take a perfect scheme fit in Nixon. Cox is still productive but he isn't getting any younger. And we always seem to rely on Ridgeway to be a contributor in our DT rotation, which he is until he gets his annual season-ending injury after a few games. So, plugging a young stud like Nixon into our rotation will be a welcome addition, and we've added some serious young talent to our D-line in the first two rounds of this draft.
• Round 3: Richie Grant -- SF, UCF. And we go defense for our third pick in a row -- adding a player with talent and something that most of our other DBs lack....ball skills. He's a best fit at free safety, but has the versatility to play all around the defensive backfield. 
• Round 5a: Sadarius Hutcherson -- OG, South Carolina. Extremely powerful but still a little raw. Let's start to restock the o-line with some prospects.
• Round 5b: Khalil Herbert -- RB, Virginia Tech. A dude who could step in as a legitimate #2 RB in our rotation. An under-the-radar need as Sanders is great, but tends to get nicked up and miss a few games each season. Herbert is a patient runner who follows his blocks well and has a great burst when he makes his decision to hit the hole. Watch some of his Youtube highlights, he's a lot of fun and a good straight-ahead runner.
• Round 5c (Ertz trade): Dante Stills -- DT, West Virginia. Let's continue to add to the DT depth
• Round 6a: Ambry Thomas -- CB, Michigan. Another Wolverine defender. He's physical and good a press coverage. Let's start to add some young talent at CB since the previous regime was unwilling or unable to properly develop guys like Douglas and Jones.
• Round 6b: Frank Darby -- WR, Arizona St. A tough player who runs solid routes. Feels like a nice compliment to the stable of young speed WRs we have in the mix right now.
• Round 7a: Tarron Jackson -- DE, Coastal Carolina. Why not add another young pass rusher to the mix?
• Round 7b: Trevon Grimes -- WR, Florida. Similar to play style to what we thought JJAW may be coming out of college. Has a chance to be better than JJAW (yeah, that's saying a lot!) and we take him five rounds later.

If the draft plays out like this, I think we pick up the phone and bring McLeod back on a one-year vet minimum deal, and we bring back DJax on a CHEAP one-year deal -- simply to have a veteran presence in the WR room. Also, we have enough youngsters that if/when DJax goes down with injury, we'll be able to manage.

This draft doesn't address all of our needs (no draft will, we have so many holes to fill). Most notably we're still pretty untalented at WR and we're old and untalented at CB, and our offensive line still feels old (but talented). And our LB group is still bad -- not embarrassing anymore because Gerry will be gone -- but it's still bad. We can begin to address those needs next year with our next top-10 pick.

**Note URFA = Undrafted Rookie Free Agent

QB: Wentz, Hurts, Sudfeld/URFA (3)

RB: Sanders, Herbert, Scott (3)

TE: Goedert, Kroft, Rodgers (3)

WR: Reagor, DJax, Ward, Fulgham Hightower/Watkins/Darby/Grimes (2 of the last 4 make the final roster) (6)

OT: Johnson, Dillard, Mailata, Driscoll (4)

OG: Brooks, Seumalo, Feliciano, Hutcherson (4)

OC: Kelce, Herbig (2)

-----

DE: Graham, Barnett, Sweat, Paye, Jackson (5)

DT: Cox, Hargrave, Nixon, Ridgeway, Stills (5)

LB: Singleton, Edwards, Taylor, Bradley, URFA (5)

SF: McLeod, Epps, Grant, Wallace (4)

CB: Slay, Burns, Maddox, LeBlanc, Jacquett, Thomas (6)

ST: Lovato, Cam, Elliott (please start making your 28-yard FGs) (3)

[Mrkingofspades]

I wouldn’t put it past Howie to draft a Small Forward 😎

[ibleedgreen1990]

Love the coaching hire. Can’t lie though man I honestly don’t like the draft at all.

[Rob331]

Not so sure we're on the same page my friend.

McCleod can't walk - he's under contract and he can't be cut - he's injured. AND - he'll never sign for the minimum. 

if we lose McLeod, that's 3 safeties - McLeod, Mills, and Ford. Where did Wallace come from in your roster?

We lose 2 linebacker in free agency, don't draft any, and go into the season with only 4? Maybe this needs a little more thought. 

We don't add a wide receiver who has starting potential? Aaaahhhhh!!!

Really like the Ambry Thomas pick - I'm tired of short corners who run in the 4.5's. Thomas' 6'0" 4.49 is a great H-S combo for the 5th round. 

That being said - Some new and interesting names on the draft, so thanks.  

[Right4thePicking]

Did they trade 2 3rds to move up to pick 5and a half?

[RUEagle]

If we drafted Paye with Davonta Smith sitting there at 6 fans might burn down the Novacare Complex