Attitude of Eagles Rookie Class Will Help Team

It's hard to really analyze how a player will help the team when all they are doing is moving into a dorm.

But listening to the Eagles incoming rookie class yesterday, it's clear that the attitude they are going to bring into this Eagles locker room is almost as big as the impact they hope to have on the field.

If there was one thing that stuck out about this Eagles draft class compared to the last few years, it is that this group of players seem hungrier. As he unpacked his bags, second round pick Vinny Curry said he is viewing training camp as the "grind before the glory".

If there was one statement that didn't describe the Eagles attitude last season, that was it.

The Eagles were all about the glory before the grind last year. They didn't hit anybody, looked disinterested at times, played with a confidence they didn't deserve, and expected to win by just showing up. Even in losses they said they were the better team. The Eagles were hungry last season- but expected someone to just feed them.

This class of incoming rookies will change that.

The roles that Curry, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Boykin and Bryce Brown will play on this team is yet to be seen. But if they make it into the locker rooms at the NovaCare Complex, they will bring with them a breath of fresh air the Eagles need.

Speaking yesterday, Brown looked more like a business man than an incoming rookie. He spoke about the importance of blocking, and his willingness to get dirty doing so. Any semblance of the problem child he might have been in college seemed long gone. He sounded and acted like an NFL veteran, not a rookie.

The attitude Curry displayed while speaking to the media for the first time- which he stood and waited 15 minutes to do so- was one of the best a rookie has displayed in some time. Curry said that while he is excited to get back to hitting people, he is more excited to bond with his teammates and pick them up when they are down.

As much as the Eagles need to improve on the field, the improvement they need to make in the locker room is just as big. The locker room, at least when the media was in it, got ugly last season. Players wouldn't talk. Most of the important ones wouldn't even come in during the 45 minutes they are available.

Is it unrealistic to expect a group of rookies to change that? Probably. But speaking with them yesterday, it is clear that the Eagles drafted quality people. Talent can only take you so far in the NFL- you need a desire to be great, and that hunger to keep working. This group of players seem to have that.

Now let's just see if they can play.

Follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks