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Eagles News: Shaquem Griffin should interest Philadelphia

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 3/6/18.

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NCAA Football: Peach Bowl-Auburn vs Central Florida Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

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7 reasons why Shaquem Griffin’s performance was the NFL Combine’s most incredible story - SB Nation
If you didn’t know who former UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin was before, you did by the time Sunday’s NFL Combine workouts were over. Griffin, who was the 2016 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, impressed and inspired everyone in Indianapolis. For those that don’t know, Griffin’s left hand was amputated thanks to a birth defect he was born with. But this hasn’t slowed him down.

Shaquem Griffin Steals Combine Weekend - Sports Illustrated
ALBERT BREER: A college scouting director told me on Sunday that he thinks Griffin leaves here a fourth-rounder, and I ran that by a couple other scouts and they agreed. To start, he can be a strong special teamer, and developmental linebacker, with a chance to grow into more. And of course, there are still questions (e.g. could he block well enough to play on the punt team?) that teams won’t have real answers to before draft day. ​

Combine stars who Philadelphia Eagles could consider drafting - PennLive
Shaquem Griffin, who had his left hand amputated at age 4 because of a birth defect, was perhaps the biggest story of the combine. He used a prosthetic hand to record 20 repetitions on the bench press Saturday and then ran the 40-yard dash Sunday in 4.38 seconds, the best time for a linebacker since at least 2003, according to NFL.com. This speedy linebacker isn’t just a workout warrior, though. He earned all-American Athletic Conference first-team honors each of the past two seasons and won the AAC Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2016. Plus, Griffin fits a position of need for the Eagles, who could lose linebacker Nigel Bradham to unrestricted free agency. Most analysts project the 6-foot-1, 227-pound Griffin to fall into the mid to late round of the draft, partly because he’s playing without a left hand. But his impressive weekend in Indy could garner a closer look from a number of teams across the NFL, including the Eagles.

NFL Draft Rumors: Eagles ‘would love to’ pick Leighton Vander Esch in the 2018 NFL Draft - BGN
Given the report that the Eagles don’t expect to retain impending free agent Nigel Bradham, it appears Philadelphia is in the market for a new starting linebacker. The Birds might address that immediate need in the 2018 NFL Draft. Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com reports the Eagles would love to select Leighton Vander Esch at No. 32.

Coaching Moves - Iggles Blitz
Brewer coached under Mike Gundy at OSU. Larry Fedora was the offensive coordinator from 2005-2007. Fedora then left to be the head coach at Southern Miss from 2008-2011. Then he went to Carolina in 2012 and hired Brewer to come work with him again. I mention these coaches because Gundy and Fedora are gifted offensive minds. They believe in the spread attack, with some elements of the Air Raid. Gundy has always run the ball a lot. Fedora is a believer in tempo. You don’t spend 10 years working with those guys without learning a lot about how to coach offense. I think Brewer is being hired as more than just a WRs coach. My guess is that the Eagles think Mike Groh will get snatched away in a year or two and they want a veteran offensive coach on the staff who could possibly replace him. The Eagles hired a young assistant WRs coach so they have depth at that spot.

Loaded at quarterback, Eagles have options entering 2018 - ESPN
Everyone wants to know what the Eagles are going to do with Foles, and the answer is, it depends. It depends on the health of Wentz and how good they feel about him being fully rehabbed from tears to his ACL and lateral collateral ligament by opening day. And it depends on what kind of market shapes up for Foles. If a team comes calling with, say, a first-round pick, could the Eagles -- who are without a second- and third-rounder in April’s draft -- refuse it? Bottom line, the organization is in a position of strength. They have Foles under contract for another year and certainly wouldn’t mind having the Super Bowl MVP at their disposal next season. If they deal him, it will be because the compensation simply is too good to pass up.

Orlando Brown Jr.’s rough combine results might drop him into Eagles’ draft range - Daily News
Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson is a former Sooners standout who keeps up with offensive-line prospects at his school. Johnson, asked what he made of Brown and his combine numbers, said: “Good football player, not going to impress with his drill work. I see a guy who is still developing and growing into his body, who probably isn’t going to reach his full potential until he gets a few years in the league. He obviously has outstanding length and size. … He is pretty fluid in his kick-slide, and plays with a mean streak that scouts like. “I think, getting in an NFL weight room, they’re going to develop him properly and attack his weaknesses.” Brown said he had a formal meeting with the Eagles at the combine. They pick 32nd and last in the first round of the draft, and need depth at offensive tackle. They weren’t projected to have much of a shot at Brown going into the combine. Now the question might be whether they want him, if he’s there.

For Your Viewing Pleasure: One Super Season - PE.com
What began at Washington and ended in Minneapolis with a Super Bowl LII victory is still vivid in everyone’s minds, the journey the Eagles made to become World Champions. On Monday night at the NovaCare Complex in front of a packed auditorium with invited season-ticket members on hand was a dramatic and intimate behind-the-scenes look inside the Super season brought to life by NFL Films, Cinedigm, and the National Football League ...

Reliving The Magic At Eagles’ Super Bowl Commemorative Film Watch Party - CBS Philly
The Eagles’ Super Bowl season commemorative film is available for purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on Tuesday, March 6. But some season ticket holders got to enjoy an early screening inside the NovaCare Complex auditorium Monday night. Players Chirs Maragos, Najee Goode and Mack Hollins were on hand for the watch party. They spoke about this past year before the 75-minute season recap was shown on the big screen. “You get every regular season and post-season game, no matter how good or disappointing the outcome was,” explains the film’s co-producer David Plaut.

Eagles draft series: Closeup on RBs Sony Michel and Kalen Ballage - The Athletic
Michel is a big name, and yes, there’s a chance that he might get drafted in the first round, but given how backs are valued in the NFL, and with the surplus of talent in this year’s class, teams might be more willing to wait rather than spend high draft capital on one unless they are absolutely in love. There is a very good chance that Michel will be there for the Eagles to draft at the bottom of the first round (if they stick with that pick) or even in the second if they trade back. He could be a dangerous complement/change of pace back to Ajayi and used in a role similar to the one he played in college. He is a very well-rounded back with vision, speed and pass-blocking ability, yet is a load to bring down.

Connor Barwin Watched the Eagles Win the Super Bowl Without Him - GQ
Eventually we got around to the Eagles. He humored my questions about a football team he wasn’t on. After they won, “I was in a weird state for a couple of days,” he said. It was two opposite feelings: “I was kind of bummed out that I wasn’t part of it.” But he was also happy for his friends on the team, and for the city, where he still mostly lives in the offseason. After a few days feeling sorry for himself, he watched the team’s victory parade on television, and saw how happy everyone was, and exhaled. “I was like, man, I’m over any personal weird feelings I’m having. I’m just happy for everybody involved”—even guys like me, barging into his home in barely concealed glee over something that ultimately didn’t have much to do with him.

Ohio State names Ryan Shazier, Malcolm Jenkins Spring Game honorary coaches - Land-Grant Holy Land
As spring practice is about to get underway, Ohio State has announced that the honorary captains for this year’s Spring Game will be two big-time Buckeye legends. Leading the Scarlet and Gray squads will be linebacker Ryan Shazier and safety Malcolm Jenkins.

Harold Landry’s combine performance shows he belongs in rarified air - PFF
With all the hoopla surrounding the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis this past weekend, you’ll surely see dozens of lists purporting ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ When it comes to edge defenders though, one guy’s performance was head and shoulders above anyone else’s. Harold Landry’s 6.88-second 3-cone at 252-pounds puts him in rarified air for top prospects. Below is every single 250-plus pound defensive lineman drafted in the first round that had a sub-6.9-second 3-cone: DeMarcus Ware, J.J. Watt, David Pollack, Melvin Ingram, Joey Bosa, T.J. Watt.

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