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An interesting note from ESPN NFL insider Adam Caplan popped up on Twitter on Thursday. Caplan was merely responding to a question about Brandin Cooks, but it looks like he provided a nice little nugget of information in his answer:
Mike Evans (trade up) and Cook are on their radar. RT @isaiah520: @caplannfl how good is Brandin Cooks and is he a potential #Eagles target?
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 3, 2014
Caplan is definitely plugged in to the Eagles, so this is worth noting. With the Eagles' release of DeSean Jackson, many figure there's a decent chance the team looks to replace him by acquiring a wide receiver early on in the draft. Brandin Cooks is a name that often gets thrown around due to his similarity to Jackson; both are players who lack size but feature blazing speed. Cooks played college football for Oregon State, a rival to the Oregon Ducks. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is obviously familiar with him and it's no surprise to see Cooks pique Philadelphia's interest. Cooks is projected to be a first round pick (Caplan says 20-32 pick range) as it stands and ranks as Mike Mayock's fourth overall receiver.
The other name that Caplan mentions, Mike Evans, is interesting because he will likely be out of reach for the Eagles at pick No. 22. Mel Kiper's latest mock draft has Evans going 7th overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mayock ranks Evans as his second overall receiver. As Caplan notes, the Eagles would have to trade up to acquire Evans. The Eagles have shown interest in the Texas A&M receiver; the team brought him in for a pre-draft visit earlier in the week. Eagles coach Chip Kelly also attended Evans' pro day. But the Eagles simply lack the ample ammo to trade up in the draft due to only having six picks.
Caplan's musing is fun to think about. It just doesn't seem like the Eagles will be looking to move up big in this draft. Moving down to acquire more picks, if anything, seems more ideal. It's also far from a guarantee that the Eagles go with a wide receiver in the first round. As many will be quick to point out, the defense still needs attention.
It's smokescreen season, folks. Be careful out there.