Eagles work out small-school defensive tackle

According to Tony Pauline, the Philadelphia Eagles have had an individual workout with a small-school prospect that went previously unreported. Delaware’s defensive lineman Bilal Nichols has been on the rise after finishing his testing and has caught the eye of the Eagles.

“One defensive lineman sneaking up draft boards is Bilal Nichols of Delaware... Teams feel that Nichols not only offers potential at defensive tackle but could also line up as a two-gap end. The small-school prospect has had individual workouts with the Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

Nichols will be on an official visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers tomorrow. As we noted during the combine the New York Jets had also shown a lot of interest in Nichols.” – Tony Pauline

Measuring in at 6’3 ¾” and 306 pounds, the Delaware product made the switch from linebacker to defensive end to defensive tackle over the last six years of his time playing football. In his senior season, he notched 56 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and 5 pass knockdowns.

Sushi raw as a pass rusher, Nichols will need development with his hands and overall technique to become a better penetrator. Projecting his 1-year impact, he possesses the ability to help right away as a space-eating one or two-gapper at 1-tech or nose tackle as part of a rotation while the rest of his game comes along.

Not allergic to putting the work in, Nichols “shared team’s Weight Room Champion honors with linebacker Troy Reeder for spring drills for outstanding work and improvement in the weight room,” according to the Blue Hens school website.

With the newly acquired Haloti Ngata on a one-year deal, the Eagles could be eyeing the small school prospect to bring along slowly. His draft projection lands him in the middle portions of Day 3.