Eagles News: DeMeco Ryans' recovery is going great

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Eagles only mock draft, version 4.0 - PhillyVoice
With power runners like Murray and Mathews in the backfield, it makes sense to add a more physical presence to the interior of the line. That's not to say the Eagles have to change what they do. They still have more than their share of players who can get up to the second level or out in front of backs and receivers in the screen game. But they don't have anyone they can really feel great about running behind in those important drive-extending short yardage situations. Collins can be that for the Eagles, and oh by the way, it's not as if he can't hold his own in the athleticism department. Athletically, at a minimum, he'd be an upgrade over the recently departed Todd Herremans.

Drafting and QBs - Iggles Blitz
This is a weak class of QBs. Even the top duo aren’t in the Andrew Luck class. No one feels like a "we absolutely must have that guy" kind of QB. One thing we have to understand is that not every pick has to be likely to be a 10-year starter. The Eagles have a starter in Sam Bradford. They have a backup in Mark Sanchez. There is room for a number three QB. Matt Barkley has the job now, but I’ll be surprised if he’s here much past the draft. It just hasn’t worked out. GJ Kinne is a fan favorite, but he’s never shown the passing ability needed to be an NFL QB.

Draft Daily: CB Kevin Johnson an Intriguing Option - Birds 24/7
I love this aspect of Johnson's game. There is nothing finesse about him. He takes on contact and has no issue embracing the tackling aspect of playing the position. But there are times when that emotion and physicality can get him into trouble. Johnson was ejected for targeting a pass-catcher against Louisville last season. The following week against Florida State, he delivered this blow.

Eagle Eye: Analyzing The Draft's Tight Ends - PE.com
It’s no secret that the tight end position is changing (or, has changed) in the NFL. Gone are the days where a Kyle Brady out of Penn State would get drafted in the top 10 almost solely because of his abilities as a blocker. Creating favorable matchups in space, especially in the pass game, is more valuable today, and that’s reflected in how tight ends are drafted. The ability to create mismatches against lesser athletes on the defensive side of the ball is all well and good. Everyone wants that from their tight end group. But there are only so many Jimmy Grahams in the world, a player who can play detached from the formation and is rarely asked to block on an every-down basis. Tight ends still need to be able to win at the point of attack as a blocker. Some teams utilize the tight end more in the passing game than others, but you still need to be able to contribute as a blocker if you’re going to be an every-down tight end. If you can’t, you can still be effective, but you become more of a situational player. So for the purpose of today’s piece, we’re going to break this class down into three different subgroups: complete tight ends, Y’s, and F’s.

Mike Mayock's picks at cornerback and safety - Daily News
"Randall is by far the best cover safety in the draft. Because of the way Arizona State plays defense, you can see him play a ton of man-to-man, which is so helpful (in evaluating him). He’s a guy that there’s been a lot of buzz about for the last month or so. He reminds me of Jimmy Ward, who was drafted in the first round last year by San Francisco. But he’s not as physical or as good a tackler as Ward.’’

Eagles Draft Preview: Mychal Kendricks on the move? - The 700 Level
It’s never wise to presume to know what Kelly is thinking in these situations. True, there’s nothing to prevent the Eagles from signing Kendricks to an extension before he reaches free agency next year. Yet generally speaking, only two interior linebackers play a time, and the team’s actions suggest he’s the odd man out moving forward. It's even harder to believe they would invest an early-to-mid draft pick if Kendricks was safe. Why the Eagles would want to trade a 24-year-old budding Pro Bowler isn’t exactly clear, although if Kendricks not in the organization’s plans for whatever reason, it would be wise to get something before he departs.

Ryans: Achilles recovery 'going great,' better than 1st time - CSN Philly
Eagles inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans is making a speedy recovery from the torn Achilles he suffered midway through last season — the second Achilles rupture of his career — and he’s expecting a full return for training camp. Ryans, appearing Thursday on Comcast SportsNet’s Quick Slants, said no setbacks have occurred during his rehabilitation and that his second bout with Achilles repair surgery is faring better than his first one.

Take Away His X Best Carries And He’s Average | Football Perspective
Suppose we sort each running back’s carries in descending order by yards gained. How many carries would we need to take away from DeMarco Murray in order to drop his YPC average to at or below league average? Same question for Charles. For Murray, the answer is just seven (That's actually really good). For LeSean McCoy it was 1.

2015 NFL Draft: Team visits don't mean all that much for prospects | The MMQB
In my mind, the most disingenuous thing about pre-draft coverage is the media interest in individual visits. Unless you’re talking about quarterbacks, it’s essentially clickbait. All three 2014 first-round passers had visited the teams they were eventually drafted by, and Bridgewater saw the Vikings twice. Outside of those three, only 16 of the remaining 29 first-rounders had pre-draft visits with the clubs that chose them.

Poll: Football, not baseball, is the real national pastime - Vox
In a recent poll, football won by a whopping 67 to 28 margin. Basketball has almost overtaken the #2 spot.

The 5 most boom-or-bust players in the 2015 NFL Draft - SB Nation
Holliman makes the list because he’s a one-trick player. Holliman is really, really good at intercepting passes. He led the nation last year with 14 interception, which tied an NCAA record. In regard to his hands, there is no better safety in the draft this year. But after you get past the gaudy interception numbers, you see some issues in his play. Holliman is a skinnier safety and doesn’t play very physical. He’s not a good tackler and will take a bad angle to the ball. If Holliman’s negatives can be coached up, though, he could be a good player because of his ball hawking skills and agility to make a play on the football.

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