FanPost

Offseaon Projection with a mock draft

I'm bored of waiting for the damn draft so I decided to make a post about my opinion on how things have shaped up so far and full mock draft. Bear in mind that it is MY OPINION, it's not set in stone nor will it actually happen, just an expression of how I think things SHOULD GO.

Signings

QB Mark Sanchez - .....I don't have much to say other than it was a good value signing, getting a veteran QB with starting experience to come in and compete for a job. Hell if G.J. Kinne does well enough, I hope they cut Sanchez and give it to him. Fuck you Sanchez, you curly haired non talented butt fumbling bastard...with that said he is now OUR curly haired non talented butt fumbling bastard.

S Malcom Jenkins - I won't say that he comes in IMMEDIATELY as a starter but he definitely fills a need at the Safety position. I am hesitant to call any FA an immediate starter especially after the last few years (Chung, Asomugha, Jerrard Page, and Stacy Andrews). Jenkins definitely gives us a boost at the position and immediately we look better than what we had at this time last year at safety; I can see us pairing him with Allen and them making a cohesive competent duo for the season.

S Chris Margos - Probably coming in to be this years Colt Anderson/Kurt Coleman on special teams. Who knows, kid might have a strong camp and also earn a legitimate role to be a back up.

OLB Bryan Braman - Everyone's favorite madman, good special teams player and seems like that tough, gritty, high character type of guy that we need on this team. Someone who says no helmet, no problem.

CB Nolan Caroll - Definitely can come in and compete for a starting job, at worse Caroll provides depth at the CB position in the event that someone gets injured and he also could contribute on ST. Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher played some ST last year and then had to go back on the field for defense, we should also draft someone else in the first few rounds because it's thin and dearth of talent beyond Caroll (I think just Carmichael is on the roster after him), unless we want more Curtis Marsh.

RB/WR Darren Sproles - I would pencil him in as the slot receiver right now but I think come the start of the season, he will be a role player and contribute throughout the game. I think he definitely can be valuable in the run game to change it up but more used in the passing attack. Sproles is great at turning a 5 yard dump off into a 15-25 yard gain.

Resigning of WR Jeremy Maclin - Pretty good idea to get him back and lock him up for 1 year. I wasn't in favor of a long term deal, fearing that he might re-injure himself and that leaves us holding our dicks looking stupid. Signed to a 1 year deal which allows him to put on beast mode and earn a contract for himself else-where. I highly doubt he gets resigned after this season because we have a few new contracts that are due next offseason for some star players and Maclin might get offered more money and more years somewhere that is thirsty for a WR (Jets (I swear they are never going to land a stud WR..their FREAKIN JYNXED!)).

Resigning of WR Riley Cooper - WOW HE GOT PAID. Cooper is a good fit for this offense and he showed exactly why. Although Cooper lacks breakaway speed, he blocks well, has the ability to leap up and get the ball, has an excellent connection he has with Foles is, and he can catch well (minus that drop in the playoffs). Also he's a team player. After his incident, he made his apologies and kept his head low and went to work and had an excellent season. Good for him.

Resigning P Donnie Jones - No surprise here, his leg is gold.

Resigning S Nate Allen - Personally my favorite signing they've done. There are some mitigating factors that I'd like to point to that more than likely hindered his development: losing a competent safety to assist in his development, recovery of injury, change of defensive coordinators from year to year, and change in position coaches from year to year. Now Allen can feel some confidence after playing well and staying relatively healthy for a season; moving forward he can build off of last year and look forward to having a competent partner next season.

Losses

QB Michael Vick - Honestly I am glad to have had a great individual and a team player that stood through the shit that everyone was throwing his way after prison (some of this fan base included) and he came out and did his thing. I felt like Vick brought leadership to this team and a bit of stability to the overall team cohesion. He had 1 good year and a slew of dynamic plays and I'll never forget him. Awesome guy but he was in decline the past 2 years and everyone knew it.

WR DeSean Jackson - Sad to see you go little man. He was an excellent playmaker and a dynamic WR but he apparently was a bit of an asshole and didn't mesh well with the team spirit. I understand and we'll be moving on to draft someone to fill the role of him, and by that I mean a productive WR. He's not easily replaceable. It's hard to find a guy who can make that play happen for you with the game on the line, 10 seconds left, fumble the ball on a punt return (with 11 grown ass men charging at you trying to make that highlight tackle), weave through them, and score the game winning touchdown for your team. However I do trust the organization and he had to be put out then I guess it is so...I will be burning my DeSean Jackson jersey when he scores his first TD on us.

S Chung, Coleman, and Anderson; DE/DT Clifton Geathers - All were liabilities in the game. Chung had so much promise to come here and beast but he didn't. Coleman never put his athleticism and football knowledge on the same page to make consistent plays and be good. Anderson was an excellent ST player but it's not like either of them made the pro bowl for ST so I understand their reason for getting cut. Geathers was a role player who had potential to do well here but never shined.

The Draft

Ah the best part of the offseason, that and official depth charts getting released so we can gush. We have 6 picks in the draft and I'd really be shocked if we didn't get more in the next few weeks by trading Brandon Graham or someone else or by trading back a few spots in the draft. For purposes of my mock draft I'd like to stay exactly where we are.

Round 1 #22 - Louis Nix III NT - IRISH FREAKIN CHOCOLATE aka the pocket squeezer, aka big goldie (OK I made the last two up). At 6-2 331, Nix is a powerful NT. His stats weren't that great last year as he was playing through an injury and teams began focusing on him and Tuitt more; Nix had 27 tackles, 2 for a loss. While you'd be tempted to take Tuitt here based on the stats, they don't tell the entire story. He can collapse the pocket (seemingly with ease), he commands double teams, and he has the ability to penetrate the OL and stop the run. The thing I like most about him is his ability to rarely, if ever, get pushed off the line. Which is going to happen at the NFL level and he's going to have to work hard to get stronger and use better leverage. He can compete for the starting NT job with Logan; if Nix wins then that gives us more DL depth where Logan will become a role player. He's already proven to be effective so it's a WIN WIN for us. Also helps generate a better pass rush and will put the QB under pressure more consistently. Drew Brees hardly had any pressure in that playoff game.

Round 2 # 54 - Trent Murphy OLB - The Yeti. No I'm not just taking people with awesome college nicknames. At 6-5 250lbs, Murphy is large and in charge with nearly 34 inch arms. He led the country last year in sacks with 15, he's physical re-routing tight ends at the line, good motor to support sack production, tough, smart and hardworking. He's already an experienced stand up rush linebacker so he may be a bit more valuable than Trent Cole in terms of coverage. Essentially I view him as another Connor Barwin, just not as well rounded. Which is good because this will allow us to switch up where the blitz/rush will come from more often. The guy is a technician who doesn't only rely on pure speed and athletic ability to make plays like Dee Ford or Attachou.

Round 3 # 86 - Pierre Desir CB - Small school prospect coming from Lindwood University at 6-1 198lbs, Desir was one of the Combine's top performers in the broad jump and 60 yd shuttle. He ran a 4.59 which is average, he's not a burner nor will he be able to keep up with speedy WR's but he's a playmaker. NFL.com had this to say about him: "In 2009, he played 11 games at CB and recorded 33 tackles, six pass breakups and four seven interceptions to go with two forced fumbles. Had 10 kickoff returns for 294 yards (29.4-yard average). Appeared in 12 games in 2010 and had 33 tackles, four pass breakups and five INTs with 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble while returning 17 kickoffs for 333 yards (19.6). Sat out in 2011, moving his family back home to Missouri and transferring to Division II Lindenwood University. In 2012, tallied 60 tackles, nine pass breakups with nine INTs with 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack in 12 starts." And in 2013 he was the Cliff Harris award winner which is given to the nation's top small school defensive back after recording 33 tackles, eight pass breakups and four INTs with one tackle for loss and one forced fumble. I wanted to go after Jaylen Watkins but I felt like Desir could turn out to be the better pro.

Round 4 # 122 - Devin Street WR - The DeSean Jackson replacement...kidding. Hailing from Street is a tall guy at 6-3 198lbs but he definitely has a thin build. What I like about him is that he ran pretty much every route at Pitt and was the go to receiver for Tom Savage and made him look good. The few knocks on him are that he lacks any elite speed and break away ability and that he's too thin. However he has good hands, and excellent ability to track and catch balls away from his body.

Round 5 # 162 - Kevin Pierre Louis LB - The Boston College product set career-bests as a senior in 2013 with 108 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks and his first career interception, earning All-ACC First Team honors. Haven't seen him play but he's 6-1 232lbs and I figure he can play as a back up ILB behind Kendricks and Ryans and putting in work on ST. He could turn out to be a stud with the right coaching.

Round 7 # 237 - Brock Vereen S - Yup he's the younger brother of Shane Vereen the Patriots RB, bloodline status. Sticking with the BPA I think this guy will be left around. He's 6-0 199lbs and ran a 4.47 40 at the Combine. A S/CB tweener, he played both at Minnesota and did well for himself last year compiling 57 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception. He can battle for a roster spot during training camp and if he makes it, relegate him to a rotational role and ST. BLG had this to say about him "The Eagles like high character players and they don't get much higher than Vereen. The team could look to add a safety early, which would obviously limit the chances for Vereen to join the squad. He is likely a fifth or sixth round pick and may face an uphill battle for playing time in his rookie season. Chip Kelly may like Vereen for several reasons, including his leadership experience, versatility, solid size and speed. His addition to the team would almost certainly depend on the Eagles results in earlier rounds."

I feel as though with these additions we can build a solid defense (definitely not top 5) but better than last year with role players contributing throughout the game and having an impact. I see the offense remaining more or less unchanged. There could be a OL drafted and maybe another RB but I think since we have so few picks that we stick to the basics and don't go crazy trying to stock where we are already stocked.

Thoughts?