Eagles News: Nelson Agholor says he's stronger and wiser heading into Year 2

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Agholor's Rise Key To WR Play - PE.com
"I know how to prepare now and how to prepare smarter," Agholor said. "I'm doing things better. I'm physically better than I've ever been. I'm wiser and I'm focused on being a better football player. I'm stronger and I'm eating better and I'm focused on being a perfectionist. It takes some time and experience and confidence. I have all of the above. I'm ready to play my best football."

Eagles rookie defensive end Alex McCalister game review - PhillyVoice
McCalister is 6'6, with 36" arms. He also has very good speed and athleticism. That combination of length and speed alone allowed him to get to the quarterback at Florida. When rushing from the right side of the line (against left tackles), his bread and butter move was to stick his long left arm into the chest of the opposing left tackle, keep him at bay, and use his speed around the edge. Watch how this Kentucky LT can't even reach McCalister, so he has to grab whatever he can. Huge advantage.

Browns VP Sashi Brown admits he was surprised by haul from Eagles in draft trade - Cleveland.com
Sashi Brown admitted Saturday that he was surprised by the bounty of picks he got from the Eagles in the draft trade down from the second pick in the first round to the eighth. "We were pleased with it,'' the Browns' head of football operations said during a state of the team address at Saturday's Fan Fest. "I was a little surprised we got as much as we did, but some hard negotiating and (Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry) was a big help in that, keeping me at bay and not pulling the trigger too soon."

‘You Might Be the Next Freak’ - Birds 24/7
The 243 pounds doesn’t look like much (by NFL standards) spread across his 6-6 frame and 7-2 wingspan. Jim Schwartz has been jokingly calling him a free safety,  a not so subtle hint that the rookie needs to add some mass to play defensive end in the league. The goal is to get up to 255. “I’m 243 right now so a couple more weeks, a couple more pizzas, I’ll be good,” he said with a smile. The build looks familiar to those who have been hanging around the NovaCare for a while. “I’ve been hearing it. As soon as I walked in I heard it. ‘The Freak,’ they kept saying, ‘you might be the next Freak,'” said  McCalister, obviously referencing the 6-4 Jevon Kearse (who ultimately weighed in at around 265). “That’s what I’m definitely trying to be. He had a great career here so I’m definitely trying to follow that up.”

Five Guys - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles OL will be different in 2016. Brandon Brooks will take over at RG. He’s 26 years old and is an imposing 6-5, 343. The LG spot is wide open. Right now the battle is between incumbent Allen Barbre, free agent Stefen Wisniewski, second year player Malcolm Bunche and rookie Isaac Seumalo. You would think the veterans would have a significant advantage. That’s not really the case. Doug Pederson was the offensive coordinator in KC for three years. They started a rookie OL each of those years. One was an OT, one an OG and last year they had a rookie C. When Pederson was in Philly, the Eagles started 6th rounder Jason Kelce at C as a rookie. The best players got on the field. The coaches weren’t looking for the five best resumes. They wanted the five best players.

Domo: Eagles need rookie RBs to produce this season - Daily News
That leaves Mathews, Sproles, Barner and the three rookies. Mathews is talented but has managed to play more than 14 games in a season only once in six pro seasons. The 5-6, 190-pound Sproles and the 5-9, 195-pound Barner figure to be used more as receivers than ballcarriers in Pederson's West Coast hybrid. That means the Eagles need to get some immediate production from one or more of the three rookie running backs. The Eagles are high on the 5-10, 210-pound Smallwood, who led the Big 12 in rushing last season with 1,519 yards. He has the speed to get around the corner and enough strength, power and explosiveness to run between the tackles.

Nolan Carroll's rehab 'ahead of schedule,' targeting training camp return - NJ.com
Eagles cornerback Nolan Carroll won't be a full participant when Phase 2 of the team's offseason program gets underway Tuesday, but that doesn't mean that he isn't optimistic about his progress rehabbing from a 2015 broken fibula.  Carroll suffered the season-ending injury during a blowout loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, but says that he is raring to go after the longest injury-induced layoff of his playing career.  "The rehab has been going very well," Caroll said during an appearance on The Scott Seidenberg Show on NBC Sports Radio. "I think I'm ahead of schedule of where I'm supposed to be now.

Roob's 25 Random Points: Carson Wentz, Nelson Agholor, Fruit Bats - CSN Philly
We haven’t spoken much about the Eagles’ running attack, but it’s hard to imagine they’re really going into the season with this collection of backs. Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner and Wendell Smallwood? The oft-injured Mathews has started more than nine games twice in six seasons. Sproles has been electrifying since he got here, but he’s going to be 33 in a couple weeks, and history is not kind to running backs that age. Barner is a 27-year-old former sixth-round pick with 34 career carries. Smallwood is a rookie fifth-round pick. The Eagles have always had star running backs. Every year from 1995 through 2015, they had either Ricky Watters, Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy or DeMarco Murray on the roster. Obviously Murray didn’t pan out here, but the Eagles have always been built around a big-time running back who can run the ball, catch the ball and block. Can Doug Pederson cobble together an authoritative running attack with this group? I don’t see it.

Raiders, Chargers top list of biggest offensive lines in the NFL - SB Nation
The Raiders hold on to their title as the heaviest offensive line in the NFL, but the Chargers are just a fraction behind.

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