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Matthew Fairburn of SB Nation's Mocking the Draft has released his latest mock draft and he has the Eagles going with... a defensive player. Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. Here's the pick and the explanation:
22. Philadelphia Eagles - Anthony Barr, Linebacker, UCLA
Anthony Barr is not quite as impressive as his stats indicated. Despite his first step and length, he still lacks some of the natural movement skills required to be a dominant player on the edge. He struggles to make tackles in space and lacks secondary pass rush moves. If anyone will appreciate Barr's speed and fit for the 3-4 defense, however, it could be Chip Kelly. He could use Barr similarly to how he used Dion Jordan at Oregon.
Barr was recently ranked 15th out of BGN's 50 top prospects, 7th on CBSSports.com, 3rd on ESPN (McShay). As you can see, there is quite a significant difference in opinion on Barr. From my observation, it seems national outlets generally have him ranked higher than smaller outlets do.
Pass rusher is certainly a need for the Eagles. Trent Cole got hot to finish the season, but started off slow. Connor Barwin is a jack of all trades at the other starting outside linebacker position, but isn't the most dynamic pass rusher. Barr has the ideal size that Chip Kelly likes at 6'4", 248 lbs, and finished with 10 sacks at UCLA in 2013.
Discuss your feelings on the pick here in the comments.
