The 2009 Eagles Draft Class

After the draft, the Eagles were praised as having one of the best drafts in the league. What will follow is an analysis and discussion of the players we drafted, (with a lot of my personal opinion thrown in,) and some thoughts about the types of players we might see our picks developing into.

First, Some Introductory Discussion:

The Eagles drafted eight players this year. We drafted one player in the first round, one in the second, three in the fifth, one in the sixth, and two in the seventh. Of those eight players, six remain with the Eagles today. Of those six, two are on IR, two have turned into consistent starters, one has played fairly consistently, and one has been on the field occasionally.

Positional Drafting:

We drafted 2 WRs, 2 OLmen, (a guard and a tackle,) 1 RB, 1 LB, 1 TE, and 1 DB.

Discussion:

Round 1: Jeremy Maclin - WR (Missouri)

The Eagles moved up in the draft to snag Jeremy after his unexpected slide to the later half of the first round. Can we just all take a moment to thank Al Davis for his never-ending supply of crazy? Jeremy was one of the-top rated WRs in the draft and was expected by most to be a top-ten pick.

I will show my colors immediately: I'm a big fan of Maclin. I think he has a ton of potential and like the way he has gone about his business since his holdout. Maclin is very quietly having an incredibly successful rookie season. I think I'm right in saying (one of you statheads can double-check, if you'd like,) that he trails only Percy Harvin in the entire league in terms of receptions, yards, and TDs for rookie WRs. That's an accomplishment, particularly for the Eagles' offense, which isn't designed to run up WRs' numbers in the manner of the Colts or Pats.

Maclin is, in my opinion, about as good a fit as could be for the X receiver in our offense. He could be a few inches taller but I think that's about it. He's fast, has great body control, good hands, and it's obvious that Donovan trusts him to make the tough catches. Despite his holdout, he seems as though he has character, a drive to improve, and a desire to win. If you watch his long catch-and-run from the Falcons game and his sideline catch against the Redskins, you will see why we have every right to be excited about him.

Something that I feel people forget about Maclin: this kid is fast. Our perspective gets skewed because he's always running around across from a guy who is probably the fastest WR in the NFL. But if you watch his long run from the Falcons game, you will get to watch him burn basically everybody on the field.

DeSean is an absolutely incredible WR. But, the few holes I see in his game are talents Maclin has in spades: body control, really sticky hands, and a prototypical WR frame. It was pointed out to me the other day that Maclin is the exact same size as Reggie friggin' Wayne. (We can hope!) In short, I think that Maclin will grow to be a perfect complement to DeSean, the Yin to his Yang, if you will. As these two WRs continue to grow, I expect us to have one of the very best starting WR tandems in the NFL for years to come.

As far as I can tell, there are two complaints people tend to have about Jeremy: first, that he goes down too easily for his size, and second, that we drafted him when Percy Harvin was still on the board.

Regarding the first point, I'd have to spend a lot of time watching film to analyze it, and I don't have the time right now. I think we can all be fairly confident, though, that with a full offseason of NFL-level conditioning and training that he will improve his ability to break tackles.

As regards the Harvin thing: yes, Harvin has slightly better stats in the receiving game than Maclin. The main reason everybody has been focused on him is because of how explosive he is in the return game and the fact that he's playing with Old Man Wrangler Jeans up here in the cold. (I live in Minneapolis, by the way, and wear my Eagles gear with pride.) The bottom line is that Harvin was a huge character risk. Read Tommy Lawlor's analysis of our draft and you'll get it. He does a better job than I could. Maclin will be great for us and I'm glad we got him.

Round 2: LeSean "Shady" McCoy - RB (Pittsburgh)

Several Draft people called out LeSean as a possible Eagles pick, and here he is. He fits the Westbrook-type mold that has been so successful in our offense: an elusive back with soft hands and enough intelligence to run good routes and learn the blitz pickup. When the Eagles drafted McCoy, it was the highest they had taken a RB in a while. McCoy is clearly being groomed to be Westbrook's successor.

Regardless of what you think of him, we all need to stop a moment and appreciate the monumental size of the role Shady stepped into when Westbrook went down. LeSean is 21 years old. He just got the right to have a beer. He's a rookie. And yet the Eagles turned to him early in the season and told him he would be stepping into the shoes of Brian Westbrook, who is arguably the best RB in the history of our team. Wow. The fact that LeSean has accepted the challenge and has been fairly successful is a testament to his character and commitment. 

What I don't like about LeSean: he's still dancing a little bit too much, and hasn't yet totally learned that he can't out-juke four NFL players, regardless of what team they're on. Sometimes that tendency costs him a few yards. He is learning and getting better at this. Also, he still has some ball-security problems. Again, he's getting better at this, too. However, there are still a couple times in each game when he's running with that ball totally unsecured and I have to close my eyes.

What I do like about LeSean: well, there's a lot to like. He's got good character, good hands, good elusiveness, and good vision. While he might not be the second coming of BWest, (the jury is most emphatically still out on that,) he is a good back with a lot of potential. Another thing that I like about him is his willingness to learn. He knows that Westbrook is about as complete a back as exists in the NFL, and he wants to learn from him. Apparently, the extent to which he follows BWest around asking questions has become something of a standing joke in the locker room. That's a good thing. Also, watch him and BWest during games. Brian is in LeSean's ear constantly. I'm not making that up. He is always coaching the kid up. And that's a good thing too.

LeSean was a great pick and I'm excited to watch him develop into a full-time starting RB. People have also mentioned that his frame has a lot of room for extra muscle and that he's already been bulking up. I'm excited to see him get stronger; I think it will help his N-S running between the tackles, which he still needs to do occasionally.

Side note: does anybody else love that Merrill often calls him LeSean "Shady" McCoy during broadcasts?

Round 5: Cornelius Ingram - TE (Florida)

Ingram was tearing camp to pieces before he went and tore his ACL to pieces again. Every single person we heard from on the team was incredibly excited about his potential; Marty called him a "Matchup Nightmare."

Here's some optimistic logic for you: Antonio Gates was an excellent basketball player. So was Ingram. He and Gates have similar frames and movement. Therefore, Cornelius Ingram is the next Antonio Gates. Obviously, I'm being slightly facetious, but everybody was screaming about this kid's potential before he tore that same ACL again in training camp.

I've heard a lot of rumbling that his first ACL surgery wasn't done properly, and that his rehab program was lacking at Florida. The doctor who did his surgery for the Eagles has said that it went perfectly and that Ingram should be just fine. There was a brief interview with Ingram on PE.com where he said he's doing great and that he is certain he'll be back to his old self soon.

Optimists say: "Well, great! The surgery was done properly this time, he has fantastic rehab staff, he'll come back and be as much of a beast as he was in training camp."

Pessimists say: "He's done. Nobody tears the same ACL twice and comes back. He was a great idea, but now he's a lost cause. Draft another TE."

I don't know where I stand. All I can say is that I hope he comes back as dominant as he was in camp. Did you guys see any of the film of him running routes and catching? I mean, holy frogballs. 

None of us can know what to expect, but if Ingram comes back strong, we will have gained a stellar player who could help tremendously with our redzone woes. Here's hoping.

Round 5: Victor (Macho) Harris - S/CB (Virginia Tech)

Most draft scouts though Macho would be too slow to play corner in the NFL, and as such would move to safety where he could utilize the hitting and ball-hawking skills that made him so highly regarded in college. Due to Quintin Demps' unimpressive training camp, he started several games for the Eagles at FS before the job was taken over by veteran Sean Jones. He has since played as a Nickelback (during Joselio Hanson's suspension) and in three-safety packages.

This is the only guy who could possibly have a harder job than LeSean McCoy. Make no mistake, gentlemen: Macho was drafted to replace Brian Dawkins. Think about that for a second. If you don't feel bad for the kid then you have no soul.

Macho is raw. We've all seen it. When he was playing safety for us he was getting used to covering space instead of a guy, and he was terrified of making a mistake. Matt Mosley was right (which is unusual considering the guy's such a toolbox) when he said that anybody coming in as a rookie, changing positions, and trying to replace Dawkins had every right to panic. The fact is that Macho didn't panic, and didn't make a lot of mistakes. And don't give me that tired argument about Winslow's catch in the endzone. That's a well-thrown ball and a phenomenal catch under good coverage by an All-Pro tight end.

Macho has performed pretty well as a NB, though he had some rough moments against the Redskins. I don't know that he'll be playing CB (except maybe as our Dimeback) once Mmmbopbadubadopbadoobop comes back, but we'll see.

All you need to do to understand Macho's talent is to look at the job he did on Tony Gonzales yesterday. He has a ton of ability, has been inches from a few picks this year, and will continue to develop. The coaches love this guy. He's physical, smart, and ambitious. Sean Jones will be a fine holdover until Macho is ready.

I'm looking forward to seeing Macho develop, and I think he will become a strong football player for the Eagles. We should all remember that there will probably never be another Brian Dawkins and adjust our expectations accordingly.

Round 5: Fenuki Tupou - OL(T) (Oregon)

Tupou was ranked pretty highly among the OL prospects in this draft and Juan Castillo mentioned him a few times early as a hard worker with potential. He seems to have been drafted for depth in the classic Andy Reid style.

I don't know much about this guy apart from the facts that he has awesome hair and an awesome name. He is on IR as "Undisclosed" but we're told it's supposedly a knee injury. Many people seem to think it was one of those phantom injuries that puts a hopeful player that a team likes on IR because they have too much depth at his position. Hmmmmm...

Expect Tupou to challenge King Dunlap for a backup Tackle role next offseason.

Round 6: Brandon Gibson - WR (Washington State)

Gibson was a slot-type receiver with good hands and good body control. He was traded to the St. Louis Rams as part of the package that brought us Will Witherspoon.

Sigh. Here I go pouring one out for the guy I was hoping would be Avant 2.0. We all loved Gibson. The coaches liked Gibson. The other WRs liked Gibson. David Culley adored Gibson. I think that guy wanted him sexually. Not even joking.

Sadly, the Rams also liked Gibson. And we needed Will Witherspoon badly. Sigh again.

We wish Brandon was still here, but wish him all the best in St. Louis, along with that shifty little Amendola guy some of us liked so much.

Round 7: Paul Fanaika - OL(G) (Arizona State)

Paul was signed for depth at Guard. He was placed on the Practice Squad and signed off of it by the Redskins.

Congratulations to Paul for making it to the active roster of another team. Assuming that Stacy Andrews gets healthy and that we keep Nick Cole around, we're likely to be pretty set at Guard with Herremans performing well so far this year. A lot, obviously, depends on whether Shawn Andrews comes back. If he doesn't I could see us drafting another Guard low or getting one in FA.

Round 7: Moise Fokou - LB (Maryland)

Moise is an aggressive, downhill LB in the best tradition of Jeremiah Trotter. He has seen some playing time this year and has had some great plays on Special Teams.

Here's a kid who has been giving us fits, both of joy and fury. What about Fokou provokes such polar reactions from Eagles fans? Well, it's the undeniable truth of the following two facts:

Fact 1: This kid has a real nose for the ball, is versatile, is aggressive, is fast, and hits like four tons of bricks.

Fact 2: It seems like he's getting called for a significant penalty every other play when he's on the field.

Yup, there's a recipe for a lot of dissension and discontent among Birds fans. I, personally, am on Moise's side. I watched some film and I think I see it. I think I understand why the coaches are so high on Fokou. He’s the exact type of player the Eagles love at the LB spot. Yes, he’s committed some stupid penalties. But, he’s a rookie. An aggressive, downhill-style rookie who’s trying to earn playing time for himself. 

Watch the plays that he’s been involved with, both of defense and ST. He flies around the ball. He hits really, really hard. Does he need work? Absolutely. Is he polished and ready to start? Absolutely not. But if you watch him closely you will see why the coaches love his potential so much. And that’s why God created the offseason.

That's All, Folks...

I hope we can all chime in about these players and get some good chatter going about our different perceptions of their performances. I think the 2009 Eagles draft class was a resounding success.

Here's hoping we draft as well next year, and here's hoping that our first round pick comes at number 32!

Go Birds!