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Every year, as every media outlet in the nation churns out mock draft after mock draft certain names get stuck with certain teams. Sometimes it's because the guy is an obvious fit, but other times it's for narrative purposes. There has no better example of the latter than Manti Te'o to the Ravens this year.
9 out of 10 mock drafts have that as the final pick of the 1st round and have for months. But a bad combine workout and few other rising LBs are finally starting to break Manti's hegemony over mock drafters and the final pick. In his latest mock draft, SBNation's Dan Kadar has no Manti in round one at all.
For the Eagles, Dan has a familiar name in Central Michigan OT Eric Fisher.
Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense requires the offensive linemen to be athletic and have endurance. Fisher may not be a freaky athlete like Lane Johnson, but he'll be among the most athletic in the NFL straight away. He can play the left side if Jason Peters' injury conveners persist, but he also has some experience on the right side.
Fisher's athleticism would certainly be an asset in Chip Kelly's offense, but where would he play right away? Dan mentions that he has experience at RT and that's certainly an idea that's gaining steam. If the Eagles drafted a guy like Joeckel or Fisher, they could play on the right until Peters is done and in the meantime push Todd Herremans inside to to RG. The idea being that you fill all holes with one shot.
More: Herremans would be open to move to guard.
Of course, that means you've virtually given up on former first round pick Danny Watkins. With a new offensive line coach, a new system and a run first offense that could really match his skills... that may be something the Eagles aren't ready to do.
For full analysis of each pick, check out Mocking the Draft.
Pick | Team | Player |
---|---|---|
1 | Kansas City Chiefs | Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M |
2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Barkevious Mingo, OLB/DE, LSU |
3 | Oakland Raiders | Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida |
4 | Philadelphia Eagles | Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan |
5 | Detroit Lions | Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU |
6 | Cleveland Browns | Dion Jordan, OLB/DE, Oregon |
7 | Arizona Cardinals | Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia |
8 | Buffalo Bills | Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia |
9 | New York Jets | Chance Warmack, G, Alabama |
10 | Tennessee Titans | Johnathan Cooper, OG, North Carolina |
11 | San Diego Chargers | Lane Johnson, LT, Oklahoma |
12 | Miami Dolphins | Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama |
13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State |
14 | Carolina Panthers | Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah |
15 | New Orleans Saints | Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas |
16 | St. Louis Rams | Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee |
17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M |
18 | Dallas Cowboys | Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri |
19 | New York Giants | Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State |
20 | Chicago Bears | Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame |
21 | Cincinnati Bengals | D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama |
22 | St. Louis Rams (from WAS) | Johnathan Cyprien, S, Florida Int'l |
23 | Minnesota Vikings | Keenan Allen, WR, California |
24 | Indianapolis Colts | Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State |
25 | Seattle Seahawks | Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State |
26 | Green Bay Packers | Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State |
27 | Houston Texans | Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia |
28 | Denver Broncos | Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama |
29 | New England Patriots | Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington |
30 | Atlanta Falcons | Datone Jones, DE, UCLA |
31 | San Francisco 49ers | D.J. Swearinger, S, South Carolina |
32 | Baltimore Ravens | Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia |