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According to Terez Paylor of the The Kansas City Star, the Eagles are scheduled to host Missouri edge rusher Shane Ray for a pre-draft visit.
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The 21-year-old Ray is thought to be one of the better edge players in the 2015 NFL Draft. The redshirt junior measures in at 6-3, 245 pounds. Ray finished his college career with 120 total tackles, 19 sacks, one pass defensed, and five forced fumbles. 14.5 of those sacks came in 2014.
The Eagles could still afford to add a pass rusher despite already having Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham locked in as starters. 2014 first round pick Marcus Smith is an unknown and pass rushers are always valuable.
Opinions vary on Ray. Many draft "experts" have him slated to be a first round pick, and potentially a top 10 pick. Others have concerns, as noted by Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice. Some of the numbers displayed in his spider chart below aren't overly impressive.
In any case, here's his scouting report via NFL.com:
"Strengths - Explosive athlete in every sense. Has elite power for his size and explodes off the line like a coiled spring. Rushes passer with extreme passion and purpose. Has fast, violent hands with advanced understanding of how to use them. Tough and plays with bad intentions on each snap. Uses rip to get under linemen and out-leverage them. Played 4-3 defensive right end in base but rushed from three-technique in some sub-packages. Once he gets to blocker's edge, they struggle to recover and redirect. Rare ability to post inside leg and get his body turned sharply and quickly around it toward quarterback. Excellent change-of-direction talent. Has natural coordination of head fakes, footwork and hand usage in pass rush. Works hard to stand his ground against power. Has power in upper body and hips to punch and dispatch with tight ends against run. Rarely runs past the arc as a rusher and will fight to come back underneath if he gets on the high side. Was able to drop into space with no issues when asked.
Weaknesses - Lacks ideal length as an outside rusher. At times was engulfed and glued to the bigger tackles he faced. Can get too focused on hand fighting if he doesn't win with hands early in pass rush. Will occasionally stunt himself out of a play, opening up running lane. If rushing from inside, must learn to set up teammates when running "T/E" (tackle first, end under) twists. Relies on arm-over inside and slap/rip outside -- needs more variety to pass rush.
Bottom Line - It's hard to find many weaknesses for Ray. He pursues the quarterback and the ball like it's his last snap. An alpha male packaged in an explosive frame, Ray has the traits and skills to be a dominant pass rusher and potential Pro Bowler. He also has the athleticism and strength to play in any defensive front."
Complete list of known Eagles draft visits
OLB Shane Ray, Missouri
WR Rashad Greene, Florida State
OL Terry Poole, San Diego State
WR Jaelen Strong, Arizona State
LB Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State