Now that the Draft is over and I have had some time to analyze the picks, I think that the Eagles draft staff did an OK job. Overall I would give them a "B" for their performance this weekend; that being said, there are defiantly some areas where I am not in agreement with their choices. They did not pick up a big standout WR like many of us have been hoping for, what they did do was to pick up a breakout slot receiver that can certainly help in the return game and might help a little on the offense. I don't think that the addition of a small slot type receiver, no mater how fast, is really what the team needs, but we will have to see how that works out. Now lets go over the draft one pick at a time.
In the first round the Eagles had the number 19 spot but traded back to the 12th pick of the second round from Carolina which they also traded to Minnesota, so they didn't have an actual pick until the 16th pick of the second round (no. 47 overall).
With the 47th overall pick they took Trevor Laws, a 6'1" 304lbs defensive tackle out of Notre
Dame. This pick makes very little since to me, as Laws likely would have not gone this high. But his motor and his ability to read plays will be a good addition for Philly, though not for most of the other teams looking for DTs and so would have still been there later when the Eagles should have taken him. I would have used this spot to get that big WR. Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelley and a couple of other good ones were still available, or they could have gone ahead and taken DeSean Jackson here instead of 2 overall picks later, at 49.
The 49th overall pick was maybe the best pick that the Eagles made in this draft, they took
DeSean Jackson a 6'0" 178lbs Wide Receiver out of California. Jackson is a WR in the mold of Carolina's Steve Smith though a little small, he is a shifty receiver, who gives the Eagles their most explosive weapon since Terrell Owens, as well as a potentially great punt returner. If they had taken one of the other WRs with their earlier pick he would have still been here and they could have still gotten him. So even though I like this pick, because they didn't take a big Jackson or a big receiver at 47 they end up with a small slot receiver and still don't have a big outside receiving threat.
The next pick was one of the picks they picked up in the earlier trade with Carolina, the 10th pick
of the 4th round, number 109 overall, here the Eagles picked up that offensive tackle so many of the analysts had them picking in the 1st round. Mike McGlynn is a 6'5" 318lbs Tackle out of Pittsburg. He is a very physical player that raised some eyebrows at the Senior Bowl playing guard. He had 42 starts at Pittsburg and was a really good pick this late in a draft where offensive linemen were at a premium.
The 131st overall pick in the draft was the Eagles next pick, they chose, Jack Ikegwuonu, a 5'11"
194lbs Corner out of Wisconsin. Ikegwuonu shows a great deal of promise though we probably won't get to see him this year. He is recovering from a torn ACL but before his injury showed his skills by shutting down receivers such as James Hardy in the Big Ten Conference. Although how a player will recover from an ACL injury is never certain everyone believes he will be just as good as before. Time will only tell.
The Eagles didn't have any picks in the 5th round so their next pick was number 184 overall in
the 6th round. Here they took Mike Gibson, a 6'4" 305lbs offensive tackle out of California. Although he played tackle in college he will probably best be utilized as a guard in the NFL, and is a hard worker.
The next pick was one of the picks that the Eagles got from Cleveland in that earlier trade, which
they traded back to Cleveland for a two picks in next years draft. After that was pick number 200 overall in which Philly took Joe Mays, a 5'11" 245lbs linebacker out of North Dakota State. Mays will probably be a special teams player and is likely to be a very good coverage player.
Two picks later at number 203 overall and the next to last pick for the Eagles, they took Andy
Studebaker, a 6'3" 251lbs hybrid linebacker/defensive end out of Wheaton. He has decent size and good speed, as well as being strong. He is Probably going to be another special teamer at this point.
The Eagles last pick comes to them from Seattle in a trade and is number 230 overall. They
chose King Dunlap a 6'9" 310lbs offensive tackle out of Auburn, Dunlap had a terrible senior year. After his junior season, he was potentially a second-round pick, but his lackluster senior campaign really damaged his draft stock.
Finally in a trade they acquired a first round pick next year as well as RB Lorenzo Booker from
Miami. Booker is 5'10" 191lbs, from Florida State; he had 28 carries last year for 125 yds, averaging 4.5 yds per carry.
In the first round the Eagles had the number 19 spot but traded back to the 12th pick of the second round from Carolina which they also traded to Minnesota, so they didn't have an actual pick until the 16th pick of the second round (no. 47 overall).
With the 47th overall pick they took Trevor Laws, a 6'1" 304lbs defensive tackle out of Notre
Dame. This pick makes very little since to me, as Laws likely would have not gone this high. But his motor and his ability to read plays will be a good addition for Philly, though not for most of the other teams looking for DTs and so would have still been there later when the Eagles should have taken him. I would have used this spot to get that big WR. Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelley and a couple of other good ones were still available, or they could have gone ahead and taken DeSean Jackson here instead of 2 overall picks later, at 49.The 49th overall pick was maybe the best pick that the Eagles made in this draft, they took
DeSean Jackson a 6'0" 178lbs Wide Receiver out of California. Jackson is a WR in the mold of Carolina's Steve Smith though a little small, he is a shifty receiver, who gives the Eagles their most explosive weapon since Terrell Owens, as well as a potentially great punt returner. If they had taken one of the other WRs with their earlier pick he would have still been here and they could have still gotten him. So even though I like this pick, because they didn't take a big Jackson or a big receiver at 47 they end up with a small slot receiver and still don't have a big outside receiving threat. Their next pick was on Sunday, the 17th pick of the 3rd round, number 80 overall, They took
Brian Smith a 6'2" 228lbs Outside Linebacker from McNeese State. This pick also doesn't make since, Smith is undersized, and the Eagles already have more linebackers than they really need. This is where I would have taken Trevor Laws, I have no doubt that he still would have been available and as I have already said they could have greatly upgraded their offense. However, we will have to see how he works out maybe Coach Reid saw something in him that no one else did.
Brian Smith a 6'2" 228lbs Outside Linebacker from McNeese State. This pick also doesn't make since, Smith is undersized, and the Eagles already have more linebackers than they really need. This is where I would have taken Trevor Laws, I have no doubt that he still would have been available and as I have already said they could have greatly upgraded their offense. However, we will have to see how he works out maybe Coach Reid saw something in him that no one else did. The next pick was one of the picks they picked up in the earlier trade with Carolina, the 10th pick
of the 4th round, number 109 overall, here the Eagles picked up that offensive tackle so many of the analysts had them picking in the 1st round. Mike McGlynn is a 6'5" 318lbs Tackle out of Pittsburg. He is a very physical player that raised some eyebrows at the Senior Bowl playing guard. He had 42 starts at Pittsburg and was a really good pick this late in a draft where offensive linemen were at a premium. Next in the 4th round was the one of the picks they received in the earlier trade with Minnesota,
number 117 overall. Quentin Demps is a 6'0" 208lbs Safety out of the University of Texas-El Paso, who recorded a lot of interceptions (17). He also had 275 tackles in college and ran an extremely impressive 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine. He's a rangy player and could end up a good cover-two safety, and maybe a good replacement for the aging Dawkins. This was an excellent pick for this late in the draft and if he could learn a few things from Dawkins could be one of the best picks the Eagles have made in the last couple of years.
number 117 overall. Quentin Demps is a 6'0" 208lbs Safety out of the University of Texas-El Paso, who recorded a lot of interceptions (17). He also had 275 tackles in college and ran an extremely impressive 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine. He's a rangy player and could end up a good cover-two safety, and maybe a good replacement for the aging Dawkins. This was an excellent pick for this late in the draft and if he could learn a few things from Dawkins could be one of the best picks the Eagles have made in the last couple of years.The 131st overall pick in the draft was the Eagles next pick, they chose, Jack Ikegwuonu, a 5'11"
194lbs Corner out of Wisconsin. Ikegwuonu shows a great deal of promise though we probably won't get to see him this year. He is recovering from a torn ACL but before his injury showed his skills by shutting down receivers such as James Hardy in the Big Ten Conference. Although how a player will recover from an ACL injury is never certain everyone believes he will be just as good as before. Time will only tell. The Eagles didn't have any picks in the 5th round so their next pick was number 184 overall in
the 6th round. Here they took Mike Gibson, a 6'4" 305lbs offensive tackle out of California. Although he played tackle in college he will probably best be utilized as a guard in the NFL, and is a hard worker. The next pick was one of the picks that the Eagles got from Cleveland in that earlier trade, which
they traded back to Cleveland for a two picks in next years draft. After that was pick number 200 overall in which Philly took Joe Mays, a 5'11" 245lbs linebacker out of North Dakota State. Mays will probably be a special teams player and is likely to be a very good coverage player. Two picks later at number 203 overall and the next to last pick for the Eagles, they took Andy
Studebaker, a 6'3" 251lbs hybrid linebacker/defensive end out of Wheaton. He has decent size and good speed, as well as being strong. He is Probably going to be another special teamer at this point. The Eagles last pick comes to them from Seattle in a trade and is number 230 overall. They
chose King Dunlap a 6'9" 310lbs offensive tackle out of Auburn, Dunlap had a terrible senior year. After his junior season, he was potentially a second-round pick, but his lackluster senior campaign really damaged his draft stock. Finally in a trade they acquired a first round pick next year as well as RB Lorenzo Booker from
Miami. Booker is 5'10" 191lbs, from Florida State; he had 28 carries last year for 125 yds, averaging 4.5 yds per carry.As I said back at the beginning I think that the staff did a good job, except for a couple of picks in the second round where I would have gotten an outside receiver to be the number one guy, but other than that I am in agreement with the picks. I think that all of the players picked could potentially become important contributing members of the team. Also the Eagles came away from the draft with some extra picks in next year’s draft.


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