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Daniel Jeremiah, a former Eagles scout, returned to Lehigh this week as a reporter for NFL.com. He had a lot to say about what he saw, but I took particular interest in his evaluations of some of the Eagles young players.
One of those was Danny Watkins, who the Eagles picked when Jeremiah was still employed by the team. The 2011 first round pick had an up and down rookie season, but "looks like a different player" this year, according to Jeremiah.
"During Thursday's practice, he had several impressive drive blocks in the nine-on-seven run-game period and showed a consistent anchor when he was bull-rushed in the one-on-one pass-rush period. LeSean McCoy enjoyed a lot of success running on the perimeter last season, but Watkins is going to help create a lot of room for him to run on the inside in 2012."
He also says that Mychal Kendricks should contribute "heavily" in his rookie year.
"Kendricks clearly stands out from the rest of the linebacker group. He has very good instincts, can run sideline to sideline and is an explosive tackler. You can close your eyes and figure out when he's the one making contact with ball carriers -- it just sounds different."
Finally, it's hard not to get giddy to hear his evaluation of Fletcher Cox.
The first-rounder out of Mississippi State is not going to be a good NFL player -- that would be selling his ability short. He is going to be a dominant force at defensive tackle. Cox has rare first-step quickness and his hands are very explosive against both the run and pass. He is going to create a pick-your-poison situation for opposing offensive lines; if they slide help to either of the Eagles' talented defensive ends, Cox will be a very disruptive player on the inside.