Jim Washburn Worked Out Fletcher Cox

Earlier this week, Jordan Raanan conducted a "twitterview" where he took questions from Eagles fans and passed them along to Mississippi St DT Fletcher Cox. Jordan tweeted out Cox's responses, but also filed this story to put everything he learned in one place. Be sure to follow Jordan on twitter @jordanraanan

Through all the smokescreens and lies it's our job in the media to best guesstimate the direction each team is headed in the truly unpredictable mega-catastrophe known as the NFL Draft.

It's a tough job designed to make us look stupid (which by the way, most of us can do rather easily by ourselves) and clueless. We wade through all the information and misinformation looking for the slightest nugget to point us in the right direction.

During our first ever Twitterview on Friday, we found something regarding defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and the Eagles.

The Birds appear to have had a private workout some time in the past few weeks with Cox in Starkville. They sent defensive line coach Jim Washburn to run the former Mississippi State standout through some drills and get a better idea of what makes him tick.

"I talked to coach Wash," said Cox, the current overwhelming favorite for the Eagles in the endless mock drafts at our disposal. "We've talked and he came down and saw me, worked me out a little bit. He just wanted to get to know me, see what kind of person I was."

Sending Washburn in itself says something. The Eagles could have sent a scout or lower level personnel executive. Instead, they sent the well respected coach who seemingly has carte blanch with the Eagles' defensive line.

It makes a lot of sense that Cox piques the Eagles' interest. He almost perfectly fits the defensive tackle mold during the Andy Reid era. Cox is on the lighter side for the position - ideal playing weight 295-300 pounds - and excels at creating push and pressuring the quarterback.

Cox had 14.5 tackles for a loss and 5.0 sacks last season. He also had five blocked kicks at Mississippi State.

It's just what the Eagles usually look for and is ideal for Washburn's Wide-9 system that is built on pressuring the quarterback. In fact, Cox plays similar to last year's free agent acquisition Cullen Jenkins. But as we've learned by watching the Giants win two of the last five Super Bowls, you can never have too many push rushers.

Related: See news about all the rumored prospect visits the Eagles will host this season.