FanPost

Some Day 3 Prospects the Eagles Should Be Interested In

By now, I think the majority of the BGN constituents have a pretty good handle on the Eagles' options in the first two days of the draft. After that, it gets a little murky. It's difficult to get a good read on those prospects, since there's nowhere near as much readily available information on them. I thought I'd go a little more in depth on some of the faces in the crowd that I think would be uniquely suited to donning the midnight nike green.

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Pointing skills - check

via www.cavalierdaily.com

DE Cam Johnson, 6'3, 268 lbs

When you look at this guy's measurables, it's hard to believe he could be a day 3 pick. Johnson's height, weight, and arm length (33.5") are all right in the wheelhouse for what you want in a 4-3 DE. He's an explosive speed rusher, just the kind of DE who excels lining up out wide in the 9 gap, but is also an exceptional tackler and can chip in on run defense. At UVA, the only way to shut him down was by double teaming him, something that won't be an issue at the NFL level. So why's he dropped? Inconsistent effort... or so the draft sites will tell you.

The draft sites don't tell the full story though, which is that Johnson has Sickle Cell Trait, which hurts his endurance. This isn't an effort issue - Johnson isn't a headcase or anything like that. He's just not an every down player.

So where does that leave him? As a highly skilled rotational DE who fits best in a Wide 9. And what do the Eagles run? A Wide 9 with a heavy rotation. This is a match made in football heaven.

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"Eagle!"

via i.usatoday.net

C David Molk, 6'1, 298 lbs

Here we have another player who fits our line scheme to a T, but on the other side of the ball. The Howard Mudd offensive line stresses mobility, strength, and the intelligence to play in a complex scheme, while shunning brute size. Molk has strength in spades, putting up a remarkable 41 reps on the bench press at the combine - 12 more than any other center, and second highest of the entire combine. And I can tell you from watching him play that Molk is a highly mobile, smart center. He developed this way to overcome his small stature, and it's paid off. He won the 2011 Rimington Trophy as the best center in the nation.

Molk is the ideal backup for Jason Kelce because for all intents and purposes, he is Jason Kelce. Just with a slightly higher ceiling. At the very least he's a highly capable backup, and at best he could take the starting job away from Kelce. I think that's a pretty good return for a guy expected to be a 5th or 6th round pick.

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Fool! Praying won't save you now!

via mit.zenfs.com

MLB Vontaze Burfict, 6'1, 248 lbs

Ha, I had you going for a second there, didn't I! Now, for those of you who didn't immediately close this page upon seeing his picture, let's continue.

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Hey, look, someone who can hit is coming to Philly! Oh, wait... never mind.

via 3.bp.blogspot.com

QB Russell Wilson, 5'11, 204 lbs

I remember when Wilson was an afterthought in this draft class, who I thought the Eagles could nab in the 5th or 6th round. Unfortunately, others have begun to look beyond his modest stature, and are realizing that this is a very talented young quarterback. He'll probably be a 4th round pick now, but I still think he's worth the investment.

Wilson is a highly mobile QB with below average height and a surprisingly strong arm for his build. His 40 and shuttle times were each 2nd best among QBs at the combine, and he placed 5th in the cone drill. This mobility showed on the field, where he averaged 4.3 yards per carry his senior year (and remember, that includes lost yardage due to sacks). His arm is not only strong, but accurate; he completed an astounding 72.8% of his passes his senior year, for over 10 yards per attempt.

Wilson seems like the perfect Andy Reid project, as yet another strong armed, mobile, vertically challenged QB. Given a few years learning from Reid, Mornhinweg, and Vick, I think the hard smart, working Wilson could be a capable starter.

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Ernest would be proud.

via bigtennetworks.files.wordpress.com

WR Junior Hemingway, 6'1, 225 lbs

There are a lot of people on this site who are pretty enamored with the physicality and soft hands of Mohammed Sanu. I should know - I'm one of them. Still, I can acknowledge that the chances are pretty slim that we land Sanu. Let's face it, there are bigger needs for this team than WR, and we'll likely focus on filling those on day 1 and 2.

But all hope is not lost, because there's another player in the same mold available in the 5th or 6th round. Junior Hemingway has a build more like a running back than a WR, and he lacks elite speed. What he does have, though, strength, awareness, and crazy, crazy ball skills. Despite average speed, Hemingway was used heavily as a deep threat at Michigan, where Denard Robinson would heave the ball up for Hemingway to go get. And he did. The more important the situation, the better Hemingway was. He exhibited the kind of clutch play we didn't see from our receivers this year.