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Eagles draft news

The draft is just 2 days away and not surprisingly it's dominating the local news.

The courier post says the Eagles will be on the move.

For the Eagles, here's the truth: They have 11 picks in this draft. They may as well have a million. They can't sign 11 players. They couldn't afford 11 players, and 11 players can't make this team. The Eagles will absolutely have to move some of those picks around.

"Can 11 guys make this team? Probably not," Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. "I don't know if we can keep all of them.

"Now, that's easier said than done, getting rid of those picks. You don't want to just give picks away to move up and get a guy who may have been sitting there anyway. So we may get stuck with them, and we'll make 11 picks and go from there."

Les Bowen said the Eagles "need a good return " yuck yuck...

"We're not going into this saying we have to have a returner," general manager Tom Heckert said in a session with reporters earlier this week. "Now, there are some position players we like, at different positions, who also return. Would we like to have a guy that returns? Yeah. But it's not a position where we're going to draft a kid, move him up, just because he returns . . . We think we have some guys on our team that can do it for us." 

Obviously, they aren't going to target returning kicks as their top priority, and make someone who's primarily a return guy their first-round pick, 19th overall. A returner isn't on the field often enough to have that kind of impact, unless he's Devin Hester (who was drafted 57th overall in 2006, by the way). But it would be an absolute shock if the Eagles emerge from the draft without someone who boasts substantial return credentials, in addition, of course, to being a prospect at corner, safety or wideout. 

That could be their first-round pick, if they go for Michigan State wideout Devin Thomas (led the Big Ten in kickoff returns), South Florida corner Mike Jenkins (30.4 yards per kickoff return last year) or Troy corner Leodis McKelvin (eight college return TDs, seven of them punts). They'd almost certainly have to move up quite a bit to get McKelvin. It could be their second- or third-round pick, if they go for someone like Appalachian State's speedy Dexter Jackson (hand-timed 4.27 40 at the combine) or Kansas State's Jordy Nelson (two punt-return TDs last season). 

Finally, Bob Brookover prepares us for the very real possibility that the Eagles will draft another lineman with their first pick.

Tell a football fan his favorite team is about to use its first-round draft pick on an offensive lineman and you'll probably get the same reaction as when you tell your kid it's time to go to the dentist. 

Sure it's painful to watch another team pluck a big-name wide receiver or a stud running back while your squad gets a beefy mauler who is graded by the number of pancakes he registers and how clean he kept his quarterback in college. Like the dentist, however, it's sometimes necessary, and this may just be the right year for the Eagles to use their first pick on one of the big men paid to protect the quarterback. 

Although coach Andy Reid has a reputation for loving offensive linemen, the Eagles have focused on defensive linemen in the first rounds of his drafts. Four of Reid's eight first-round picks have been defensive linemen, including three tackles. 

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Comments

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I’m with the C-P, and it’s why I think the Eagles are going to be reluctant to accept 2008 draft picks for Lito. This team already has a ton of picks to go along with a talented and relatively deep roster (does any team in the NFL have more line depth than the Eagles?).

It will be interesting…

by BFH on Apr 24, 2008 7:59 AM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

The Eagles line depth isn’t as deep as people think. You have one unproven backup at guard in Jean-Gilles. You have one unproven backup at tackle in Justice. The only legitimate backup you have is at center with Nick Cole and he is serviceable at best. The birds MUST take one of these premier tackles in the first round. I agree they can’t use all their picks. What they can do is package some of them to move up and take Brandon Albert or Ryan Clady. Also they can try to get a second first round pick and grab one of the top corners who will still be around in the 20’s. If all else fails they can trade picks this year for picks next year.

by mooremike35 on Apr 24, 2008 8:51 AM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I just don’t understand the logic that says the team NEEDS a tackle. Tra Thomas has shown no indication that he’s retiring soon, and no one is taking his position from him otherwise (barring injury, of course).

So if Runyan retires, are you already giving up on Justice as his replacement? What happens to Justice if the Eagles draft Clady/Williams/Albert this year?

The guy isn’t going to have his career judged on one game against an All-Pro in which his coaching staff did nothing to help him.

By the way, saying a guy is “unproven” doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. A team can’t have Steve Hutchinson and Chris Samuels as backups, you know? Jean-Giles has played well when he’s needed to, and he’s young.

by BFH on Apr 24, 2008 9:06 AM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I’m not sure I agree with you here. Jean-Gilles has shown he can come in and play. Winston may not be a left tackle, but against the Bills – i know, i know – he acquitted himself admirably. If we really are set on moving Andrews out to replace Tra i think the Birds will be taking the best player on the board – even if it’s a running back…

by cavortingEagle on Apr 24, 2008 9:11 AM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Jean Gilles

Was dominant in his start against the Saints. Obviously we don’t know how he’d hold up over a full season, but that was at least an encouraging sign.

by JasonB on Apr 24, 2008 9:23 AM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

This draft is supposed to be fairly deep on the o-line

So my prediction is if the Eagles can’t draft a WR/CB with return skills at #19 they’ll trade their 1st round pick to someone like Cleveland for a 2008 2nd round and a 2009 1st round picks. They’ll then use their extra picks to move around in the 2nd round to draft the guys they want.

The monster at the end of this blog.

by grover on Apr 24, 2008 12:05 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Oh Boy

What, are we going to draft more linemen so Donovan has time to take a nap in the backfield? We need more weapons, not shields. Shield keep you from hit…weapons kill the other guy. I’d love to see at least some of our 16 million picks used on linemen, but McNabb can have all the time in the world just to throw it away because of tough coverage.

by joetimek on Apr 25, 2008 1:32 AM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

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