Because I was off the grid for most of the weekend, I considered preparing a set of posts in anticipation of the Eagles first pick on Saturday. Writing double digit profiles with the intention of only using one of them was a logistical nightmare, so I settled on a single entry which targeted Knowshon Moreno and chose my words carefully to account for and add any details in the event of a trade.
Today, I'm happy to have left it at that. The 2009 NFL Draft was the epitome of unpredictable, with practically every mock draft in the world being spoiled by the time the third pick had been made, and the Eagles followed suit. I could have finished 20 different posts, and not a single one would have placed Jeremy Maclin in midnight green.
I suppose maybe that's an indictment on my own coverage of the draft,
but by all accounts, 19 was much further down the board than Maclin had
any right to be. Many mocks placed him in the top 10, but when the
Raiders stunned the league by making Darrius Heyward-Bey the top
receiver selected, it set off a chain reaction that caused him to
slide. The Eagles swooped in and took the best player on the board,
trading up two places to ensure another team could not beat them to the
punch.
What surprised me even more than the pick was coming home on Sunday to find many of you were unhappy with it.
Sure, he's not Anquan Boldin, but there is a reason AB still resides in Arizona. When Dallas blew the doors off the Lions to acquire Roy Williams, they created an unrealistic demand for every club selling a wide receiver. Not many teams (and none so far) are willing to part with a first round pick for a 29-year-old who has an extensive injury history, who isn't a game changer in the sense that he's going to push the secondary back, and who is seeking a long term contract that pays him $10 million per season.
Instead the Eagles moved up and nabbed a 21-year-old who could play opposite of DeSean Jackson for the next decade. It was interesting to see how many people immediately drew comparisons to Jackson, "like it was a bad thing" as one reader pointed out. Yeah, that would be terrible... seriously though, how similar are the two really? They're both speedsters, but Maclin is bigger. 6'0" and 198 lbs. is still smaller than I prefer, but it's average. Add his 182 receptions in just two seasons of college ball, and he appears to be a nice complementary receiver who also happens to have big play capability.
Am I in love with the pick? Not really. The draft is best viewed as the sum of all its parts though, and it wouldn't be fair to judge without seeing the full body of work.
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Confusion would best describe my initial reaction to the Maclin news. Great, we got a wide receiver, BUT WHO IS GOING TO RUN THE FOOTBALL? There weren't many backs in this draft who could step in from day one if the starter went down, and it seemed like there was a good chance they had blown their only opportunity to grab one. So when McCoy turned up in the second round without the Eagles having to move so much as one spot, it suddenly put the first round under an entirely different light.
LeSean McCoy (5'10", 198) wasn't my first or even my second choice, and it's not a given he could play every down right away unless he improved in pass protection. Having said that, if that's the only area he is lacking, the Eagles landed a dangerous weapon at a bargain price, a player who will be able to replicate many of the things Brian Westbrook has been doing for years. It's hard not to be excited that long after he is gone, a version of 36 will still be in the backfield.
By the time day one ended, my confidence in the Eagles plan had been restored.
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Early into day two, not many felt the same way. They traded out of the third round, then did it again. They had no picks in four, having sent theirs to Buffalo in the Peters deal. Tick tock, no moves there either. Then their two highest fives were shipped off for Ellis Hobbs. Did the Eagles really just go over two rounds of the NFL draft without making a selection? Somehow I was not surprised and felt like the situation was under control, but the masses were getting restless...
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However, my calm was under the precondition they would still wind up with a tight end. As the Eagles selections were finally approaching again, only two of the "top" prospects remainied. If they grabbed either James Casey or Cornelius Ingram (6'4", 245), they could almost call it a day and just pick names out of a hat.
The way it ultimately went down, in my mind it only solidified the feeling about this front office, having done this for 11 years running, it really knows what the hell it is doing. With the 152nd pick in the draft, the Texans took Casey, leaving only Ingram for the Birds. Their pick: 153. It was either incredibly lucky, or an ingeniously crafted plan built on the knowledge that he would be available.
If it's such a great addition, why was he still on the board? An injury, which apparently has healed. In '05, he considered quitting the game. Who knows, but he was there and is regarded as one of the premiere athletes at his position in this draft class. I'll take it.
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Success. Obviously you can't, or at least you shouldn't grade a draft before the players ever step on to the field, but if one were to presume every pick was on the numbers, then the Eagles did very well. They added the coveted wide receiver, the much needed runner, and the physically gifted tight end, not to mention a hard hitting, playmaking DB, another receiver, and a bunch of offensive line prospects.
Combine those additions with their acquisitions in free agency to form a clearer picture of what this team will look like in 2009 and where they might be going in the next few years. The O-line is set. The offense has plenty of weapons. The defense is among the best in the league. This draft, strange as it was producing only its three key players, quite possibly is the one which finally sets the table for the Eagles. Or, as one comment put it, if this wasn't the draft for you...
"Will any of you be happy with any pick the Eagles make?"
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/04/ea...
