I feel like we hit this debate every year. Of course if the Eagles have a LB graded highly I’m sure we will draft one. Here is the bigger question though do we think the Eagles have a LB graded highly in the 1st round over other positions????

History tends to say we shouldn’t expect a LB in round 1 not saying it is the right call just would not get my hopes up

My guess if I was gambling would be DL,OL and WR. CB might sneak in. But DL and OL are our comfort picks inside-out draft philosophy. WR is just a strong class 

3 minutes ago, GreenbleedinNC said:

That's why there is free agency, to get the players you know you can't develop yourself(we suck at LB and DB development)

Don’t think we suck at developing LB and DB we just rarely spent resources at the spots. 
 

LB- Kendrick’s was a good player for us and Hicks was a good player those are really the only high value picks we have spent. Even Taylor was flashing last season until injury. TJ edwards UDFA has become a respectable starter and Singleton a limited LB has been serviceable.

DB- similar spot as LB really not much invest at the spot to develop outside of 2017. Maddox has come along nicely even more so now that he is playing slot. Epps and Wallace have been solid guys for what UDFA and day 3 player.

Then you can look at WR we have spent how many picks last 3 years at WR and really only have two guys to show for it. 

3 hours ago, stine said:

  Joe, you don't know what these players will be in 5-10 years. If you have a LB graded equally as a WR and know there are no LB's later worth drafting, you take the WR? Yep, that makes loads of sense.... It is fairly obvious that we are not solving all of our problems this draft. But you need to try and resolve where you can if the chance is there. Olave or Lloyd are both available. Both are graded as solid starters. Eagles should take Lloyd as no LB worth grabbing is available later. I am not saying their board states this nor if they will. I am just stating what they should do if their board was set up as such.

 

Idk the specific players.  I will take a look the week of the draft.   I'm not big on this " grade" system.   IMO the board is the whole thing, and you go into it with your answers already there if 2 guys are available.     The rest of the position in one particular draft isn't a factor for me.   I have 2 guys, one will be with my team the next 4 years or longer,the other won't.  I hope they don't decide one way or the other because round 5 has better prospects at one position vs the other one.

50 minutes ago, joemas6 said:

Idk the specific players.  I will take a look the week of the draft.   I'm not big on this " grade" system.   IMO the board is the whole thing, and you go into it with your answers already there if 2 guys are available.     The rest of the position in one particular draft isn't a factor for me.   I have 2 guys, one will be with my team the next 4 years or longer,the other won't.  I hope they don't decide one way or the other because round 5 has better prospects at one position vs the other one.

 No NFL Team's board consist of more than 125 players. If they have no need for a QB they certainly are not going to have any on their board. Same goes for any other position. If any player has medical issues or Is suspect character issues they may be omitted too. Just stating the facts Joe. Now the Eagles have needs at almost every position so their board will be much different than most teams and probably near the top end as far as quantity.....

2 hours ago, Bleedinggreen93 said:

Don’t think we suck at developing LB and DB we just rarely spent resources at the spots. 
 

LB- Kendrick’s was a good player for us and Hicks was a good player those are really the only high value picks we have spent. Even Taylor was flashing last season until injury. TJ edwards UDFA has become a respectable starter and Singleton a limited LB has been serviceable.

DB- similar spot as LB really not much invest at the spot to develop outside of 2017. Maddox has come along nicely even more so now that he is playing slot. Epps and Wallace have been solid guys for what UDFA and day 3 player.

Then you can look at WR we have spent how many picks last 3 years at WR and really only have two guys to show for it. 

I have no clue what the Eagles are targeting BG. They most likely do not have their final board made up yet and it will probably be modified once they sign specific free agents. Too bad they don't have the money to spend this year. Cooper would fit in nicely with Smith. It would give the WR's a Veteran presence......

  I am sure they won't draft a LB in round 1, but I feel they should at least consider it if the right player was available. It doesn't matter what we feel tho.... HR lives in his own world....

10 minutes ago, stine said:

 No NFL Team's board consist of more than 125 players. If they have no need for a QB they certainly are not going to have any on their board. Same goes for any other position. If any player has medical issues or Is suspect character issues they may be omitted too. Just stating the facts Joe. Now the Eagles have needs at almost every position so their board will be much different than most teams and probably near the top end as far as quantity.....

Idk what you are getting at here... was I supposed to be disagreeing with any of what you said?      My point was, I hope they don't use a tiebreaker between two players, simply because one position is deeper than the other.  At that point,what if you don't draft the other position later?   Then what?    And what if you would prefer another guy in round 2, 3 or 4, but you select the position you passed up in round 1,simply just because you passed it up in the first place?   

Too much rocket science for me... I like the idea of... " I'll take Jones over Smith because I like Jones better" ..not because behind Smith there could be Johnson, Taylor or Brown. 

26 minutes ago, stine said:

have no clue what the Eagles are targeting BG. They most likely do not have their final board made up yet and it will probably be modified once they sign specific free agents.

Doubtful your board should not change because of your free agent signings. If we can get a good young LB in FA great wouldn’t stop me from drafting a LB in round 1 if he was our top guy. 
 

Same with WR I want Juju in FA stated it numerous times but wouldn’t stop me from drafting a WR high 

34 minutes ago, stine said:

No NFL Team's board consist of more than 125 players. If they have no need for a QB they certainly are not going to have any on their board. Same goes for any other position

I don’t think this is accurate if you have a guy graded as a 1st or 2nd round talent and he falls into day 3 I don’t care what position he is you take him.

your board should consistent of the top 100-125 players regardless of position that just my mindset…. Maybe you have a different board for ST guys but otherwise 

1 hour ago, Bleedinggreen93 said:

I don’t think this is accurate if you have a guy graded as a 1st or 2nd round talent and he falls into day 3 I don’t care what position he is you take him.

your board should consistent of the top 100-125 players regardless of position that just my mindset…. Maybe you have a different board for ST guys but otherwise 

  Well, The Eagles may not have players ranked like the top100 on these Prospect rankings we all look at. In fact, I read that No NFL team ever has 32 first round players graded. The most ever was 30 and the least amount was 16. That is why you see some teams trying to trade out of round 1 or some teams trying to trade back into pick 32 if there is a player still there they have ranked as a 1st round grade.

  I also read some teams have a reduced board of only 65-95 players. Those can be tricky if you have no one left in that round to pick and cannot trade back. They gave me an example of one year Denver did that and ended up reaching for a player in the 2nd round, which most teams did not have graded higher than a 7th rounder. Some didn't have him graded at all. Turned out he placed a total of 10 games in 2 seasons before getting cut. It was a TE I believe...

 

  Anyway, The team normally takes the best player available. But in cases where they grade out equally, all take the player which is needed more...

  

7 hours ago, stine said:

Anyway, The team normally takes the best player available. But in cases where they grade out equally, all take the player which is needed more...

  

Stine,

Your post was very informative.  And this last part simplifies things where I like it.

Grades...I'm not worried about which round players are graded...  32 of them will get drafted in the first round.   So regardless if 30 or 16 of them are ranked as first rounders, a team still has to take somebody when they are on the clock.

Having 65 or 95 players on a board where there are like 230 picks is silly to me.  You gotta make your picks, each time you must take one guy out of whoever is available.  I feel you should already have rankings each time.  

That is what I mean by a board... simply having a guy higher on your list than everyone else.  

13 hours ago, Bleedinggreen93 said:

Doubtful your board should not change because of your free agent signings. If we can get a good young LB in FA great wouldn’t stop me from drafting a LB in round 1 if he was our top guy. 
 

Same with WR I want Juju in FA stated it numerous times but wouldn’t stop me from drafting a WR high 

Of coarse FA can effect your draft choices. If you sign JuJu you aren’t taking a slot WR early. Having Goedert just signed if we picked up a quality TE in FA it wouldn’t be wise to draft a TE early. If Kelce retires and we sign a big FA C then I’m not drafting a C high. I’m really not high on drafting a guy high that will struggle to play because of the depth chart.

12 hours ago, stine said:

  Well, The Eagles may not have players ranked like the top100 on these Prospect rankings we all look at. In fact, I read that No NFL team ever has 32 first round players graded. The most ever was 30 and the least amount was 16. That is why you see some teams trying to trade out of round 1 or some teams trying to trade back into pick 32 if there is a player still there they have ranked as a 1st round grade.

  I also read some teams have a reduced board of only 65-95 players. Those can be tricky if you have no one left in that round to pick and cannot trade back. They gave me an example of one year Denver did that and ended up reaching for a player in the 2nd round, which most teams did not have graded higher than a 7th rounder. Some didn't have him graded at all. Turned out he placed a total of 10 games in 2 seasons before getting cut. It was a TE I believe...

 

  Anyway, The team normally takes the best player available. But in cases where they grade out equally, all take the player which is needed more...

  

I think there are many factors to consider. Figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each draft class is a big part of the puzzle. Then you try to position yourself accordingly.

It’s interesting how differing opinions are about the performances at the combine. Reading one guy ripping into a performance during drills while another praised it.

On 3/6/2022 at 12:50 PM, GreenbleedinNC said:

FWIW(I know, nothing) here is my first stab at a mock   1-15 Ojabo-edge-Mich, 1-16-Jordan Davis-DT-Georgia(since we have no shot at Gardner,I do what I can to get this guy on my team), 1-19-Chris Olave-WR OSU(all three of these are definitely "Howie picks")  2-51-Derrion Kendrick-CB-Georgia   3-83-Brian Asamoah-OLB-Oklahoma  4-122- Nick Cross-S- Maryland 5-153- Dylan Parham-C/G-Memphis   5-161-Abram Smith-RB-Baylor 5-165-Justin Shaffer-G-Georgia 6-Jack Coan-QB-ND(nice camp arm with potential IMO)

If we can't get Davis,then whomever the best DT is. LB in 3 would be about where we take one. I did this mock knowing (or guessing) what Howie would do. Regardless of the players you like I am satisfied with the position order I chose if it all works out this way. It's really a fine draft to get much needed players and many will be there at the needed positions. I would prefer to get Allen Robinson as a FA WR./ he will cost less than Juju and he won;'t have a big head. Hurts would be a QB upgrade for him and he was usually the lone WR in Chicago. With Smith he has the chance to get open more and I feel he is underrated due to the poor QB's he had to play with and I feel he has the drive to prove he is a better WR than his efforts in Chicago show,so I like the fact he may have a little chip on his shoulder and BTW taking Robinson would NOT stop me from drafting a round 1 WR. Quez and Reagor are expendable in my view,so adding Robinson and another top draft pick improves the room

23 hours ago, Bleedinggreen93 said:

Don’t think we suck at developing LB and DB we just rarely spent resources at the spots. 
 

LB- Kendrick’s was a good player for us and Hicks was a good player those are really the only high value picks we have spent. Even Taylor was flashing last season until injury. TJ edwards UDFA has become a respectable starter and Singleton a limited LB has been serviceable.

DB- similar spot as LB really not much invest at the spot to develop outside of 2017. Maddox has come along nicely even more so now that he is playing slot. Epps and Wallace have been solid guys for what UDFA and day 3 player.

Then you can look at WR we have spent how many picks last 3 years at WR and really only have two guys to show for it. 

I suppose I could agree,but I feel it's coaching and draft issues. SO we really have no idea if we suck at those spots until we select one high and we just DON'T do it historically. So we get suck draftees and expect miracles. Every year we say "this is the year Howie will break tradition",and every year we are disappointed. Remember for years we gave Schwartz crap to work with and we're still doing it. Jones was our "big DB pick" How did that go? We have all complained about lack of LB's for years. Maybe they are "adequate" but we are far away from having SB quality there. Same with DB's. We had to FA Slay or we would be even worse than we are,so you aren't convincing me we can develop from within. "Solid" is nice,but with todays WR's solid is not good enough. Tell me the 2 guys that will be shut down corners when Slay is gone(I'll wait) I see noone being developed to take over(more future FA's).If we aren't going to draft these people,then you have to rely on your development coaches and I just don't see it happening. IDK 2 guys out of 3 years at WR seems pretty good to me. I wish those 2 were JJ and Smith however. We can rectify that error in this draft and we should since we have 3 round 1 picks. We can make it 3WR's/4 if we take the right guy and that's not a terrible record IMO. Howie needs to ignore the shiny objects other that the 1 WR we need. He likes lineman thus the mock I did. Round 1 I need 3 difference makers(whatever the position) Round 2 needs to be a starter with upside. Round 3 needs to be a solid player who can start or become the starter through the year.Round 4 needs to be a guy who may be behind but can grow into the starting spot maybe the following year. The rest are BU's with potential,but who will probably never start. I will be anxios to see how this staff in year 2 brings along the previously drafted players and what they do with these high draft picks. The top 3 better be impact players and not jut "solid". For me that remains to be seen and we'd better not ruin them

FL, you are laying blame of not developing corners on coaches that had nothing to do with that. Gannon is supposed to be a Secondary specialist. So get him some guys to develop. He seemed to get good play out of Slay(that some had thought was on decline). Got the best out of Maddox. So get him some quality to develop. 

 we traded for Slay

Wyatt is in contention at DT I believe. Strong season. Strong Senior bowl. Strong Combine. Has to put him in the mix.

8 hours ago, cunninghamtheman said:

I think there are many factors to consider. Figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each draft class is a big part of the puzzle. Then you try to position yourself accordingly.

I disagree with that part about figuring out the strength and weaknesses of the draft class.

For example, I liked the guard Nelson... but people could argue there was depth like the guy the Giants got in round 2 that year....so with that strategy, you take Barkley.    

For me....it doesn't matter what the other teams do afterwards.  You take your guy each time.  

Was the WR class better with Reager or with Devonte Adams?    Reager was selected earlier within a " deeper" WR class.  

Just take your guy... the player you want without worrying about all the other crap.

The more factors that get used other than... this guy is better than that guy.... the more the chances of messing up the pick. 

What about Aaron Rodgers... people guaranteed he was done in Green Bay.  

Also it reflects the way QB $$ is going.   Lol with the idea of signing the legit 15th best QB for cheap in a couple of years.    QB money going up... the next move for the Eagles should be to draft the next guy.

33 minutes ago, joemas6 said:

What about Aaron Rodgers... people guaranteed he was done in Green Bay.  

Also it reflects the way QB $$ is going.   Lol with the idea of signing the legit 15th best QB for cheap in a couple of years.    QB money going up... the next move for the Eagles should be to draft the next guy.

Everybody called me crazy when I spoke about how quickly the price was going to get to 50 mil about five years ago.

1 hour ago, cunninghamtheman said:

FL, you are laying blame of not developing corners on coaches that had nothing to do with that. Gannon is supposed to be a Secondary specialist. So get him some guys to develop. He seemed to get good play out of Slay(that some had thought was on decline). Got the best out of Maddox. So get him some quality to develop. 

That's on Howie not me lol

44 minutes ago, joemas6 said:

I disagree with that part about figuring out the strength and weaknesses of the draft class.

For example, I liked the guard Nelson... but people could argue there was depth like the guy the Giants got in round 2 that year....so with that strategy, you take Barkley.    

For me....it doesn't matter what the other teams do afterwards.  You take your guy each time.  

Was the WR class better with Reager or with Devonte Adams?    Reager was selected earlier within a " deeper" WR class.  

Just take your guy... the player you want without worrying about all the other crap.

I’d say how they took Reagor ….WAS them just taking their guy. I believed we should have traded back because of all the depth at WR. I believed we could have added picks and still got Reagor, Pittman, Aiyuk, Higgins…..

44 minutes ago, joemas6 said:

The more factors that get used other than... this guy is better than that guy.... the more the chances of messing up the pick. 

I will be crossing my fingers on day 1. I have no hair because I pulled it all out with the Reagor pick. Howie needs to nail 4 picks in a row. I must admit he does well in the later rounds,but we need to him do well in the EARLY rounds(Smith was a no brainer so not giving credit there lol)

3 minutes ago, GreenbleedinNC said:

That's on Howie not me lol

It’s in drafting quality and then coaches developing. You can blame Rosie on his part. But you can’t blame Gannon….yet.