Eagles interested in Walter Thurmond III?

Two years ago, the Eagles gambled a fourth-round pick on a cornerback who was once considered first-round material until tearing up his knee while working out for the combine.

Jack Ikegwuonu, the former Wisconsin standout, spent his first season with the Eagles on injured reserve and most of 2009 on the practice squad before he made a brief appearance on the 53-man roster and was released soon after.

Will the Eagles take a similar risk this weekend in the NFL Draft? Last week, they brought Oregon cornerback Walter Thurmond into the NovaCare Complex among a number of defensive back prospects, a league source confirmed.

If the name doesn’t ring a ball, it’s because Thurmond isn’t considered among the top cornerback prospects and probably won’t join Joe Haden, Kyle Wilson, Devin McCourty and Kareem Jackson in hearing his name called in the first two rounds. But, at one point, Thurmond was in their company.

One AFC college scout who covers the West Coast told me Thurmond would have been “the best cornerback in the draft”  -although he later admitted Haden is probably better – if not for shredding his knee while returning a kickoff against Cal in the third game of the season. Thurmond’s ACL, MCL and PCL were each damaged in a season-ending injury that required surgery. (Remember the Daunte Culpepper injury?)

The scout also said his team believes Thurmond will need two years of rehab and recovery before he’s ready to play and took Thurmond’s name off its entire draft board. He thinks Thurmond probably won’t go higher than the sixth round.

“I know everyone is big on Kyle Wilson,” the scout said. “I thought he was better than Kyle Wilson, before he got hurt.”

So, how interested are the Eagles? Well, Thurmond wasn’t born in the area and didn’t attend college locally, so he was one of the 30 prospects the team is permitted to host at its headquarters. That should tell you that their interest is more than just cursory. According to the league source who confirmed Thurmond’s visit, the cornerback only interviewed with the Eagles. He didn’t work out.

The Eagles, who have hosted Tennessee safety Eric Berry, scouted Wilson and dispatched secondary coach Dick Jauron to McCourty’s pro day at Rutgers, have invested plenty of time looking at some of the top defensive backs across the country.  Howie Roseman recently admitted that the team needs to replace traded cornerback Sheldon Brown, and although he suggested that Ellis Hobbs is ready for the job, rest assured that the Eagles will come away from the draft with a few new faces in the secondary.

Source:http://blogs.delawareonline.com/eagles/2010/04/18/risky-business/

I pray we take Walt!!!!!! Once he gets healthy we would be getting a steal. Trust me he wouldn't be another Ikegwuonu.