Eagles News: Philadelphia got one of the biggest steals of the 2018 NFL Draft

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The 10 biggest steals in the 2018 NFL Draft - SB Nation
Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Sweat, DE, Florida State, fourth round. Finding successful pass rushers in the NFL Draft is really difficult, but there are a few metrics that translate well. At the top of the list are times in the three-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle, which show quickness, burst, bend, and change of direction. Sweat was among the top of the class in those drills and also posted a 39.5-inch vertical showing his ridiculous explosion. It helps too that he has an absurd 84-inch wingspan. All those numbers suggest he has the tools to immediately get to the quarterback when he lines up in the Philadelphia defense. So why did he go in Day 3? Mostly because of a knee injury he suffered in high school that was so bad it almost required amputation and it got him pulled from many draft boards. Considering he still has enough burst to put up the Combine numbers he did, I think he was worth the risk.

Grading the 2018 Eagles Draft Class - BGN
I think the Eagles did a nice job of addressing needs while also accounting for value. Tight end and slot corner were two of the most important areas that needed to be addressed. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Eagles spent three picks on linemen. Building through the trenches earned them a Vince Lombardi Trophy. Who can blame them for continuing to invest in those units?

Unlike last year, Eagles (mostly) drafted highly athletic players in 2018 - PhillyVoice
Barnett, Rasul Douglas, Donnel Pumphrey, Shelton Gibson, Nate Gerry, and Elijah Qualls all had disappointing Combines a season ago, and they all ended up on the Eagles’ roster. As a result, it was easy to infer that Joe Douglas appeared not to care all that much about the “underwear Olympics.” In 2018, four of the five players the Eagles drafted had very good athletic measurables, which differed from the players they drafted in 2017.

Roster Overview - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles signed several Safeties. That position needed depth and competition. The Eagles added quality UDFAs in hopes of finding a player or two. RB is deep, but shallow at the same time. There are a lot of bodies, but also question marks. It could turn out to be an outstanding group if Sproles is healthy and back to his previous form and either Smallwood or Pumphrey can bounce back from disappointing 2017 showings. It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do at Punter. Do they think Johnston is the guy? They will bring in competition for him at the least. I just wonder if they’ll look for a veteran to bring in or think Johnston has the potential to be the guy.

Biggest post-draft questions for all 32 teams - ESPN
When will Carson Wentz be ready? That’s the question on everyone’s mind with the draft giving way to spring workouts. Wentz, who tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in December, has targeted Week 1 as his return date. The coming weeks will go a long way in determining whether he’ll be able to achieve his offseason goal.

2018 Draft: Magnets, Mayfield and the Browns’ Big Secret - The MMQB
MMQB: Why, Howie?
Roseman: “He a fascinating prospect. He’s 6’8”, 345 pounds, he can run, he can bend. Our line coach, Jeff Stoutland, went to his workout and came back raving about his work ethic and his athletic ability. We saw this guy had rare athleticism and was physical and violent. Traits of that body type and that athleticism are hard to find. We understand it’ll be a process. He’s 21.”
MMQB: Strange to draft a guy who never played football?
Roseman: “Maybe even stranger to trade two picks for him. I thought [owner] Jeffrey Lurie said something interesting about him: ‘With a lot of these guys, you can see what they’re going to be. With this guy, we don’t know his floor, and we don’t know his ceiling.’ With this guy, we’re molding a piece of clay.”

Eagles Draft Central: Spadaro On Jordan Mailata - PE.com
Dave Spadaro talks with Fran Duffy and Chris McPherson about Australian Rugby player Jordan Mailata and the raw tools he brings to the Eagles.

Eagles executives have earned right to pat themselves on the back - Morning Call
But in balancing the present with the future, your program is set up to sustain regardless of any step backward that may be taken this coming season. You not only have one good quarterback. You have three. You not only have one proven running back. You have three. You taken what may be the best offensive line in football and added to it. You have a deep, rich wide receiving corps and a tight end group that has a chance to be as good as or better than last year’s after adding free agent Richard Rodgers and then drafting Dallas Goedert 49th overall on Friday night. On defense, you acquired one of the best veteran pass rushers available in Michael Bennett before drafting a rookie, Josh Sweat, from Florida State with a ridiculously high ceiling and replaced a pretty nice player in Beau Allen with a better one in Haloti Ngata.

Eagles made the best of draft situation they don’t want to be in again, even if they repeat - Inquirer
The Eagles emerged from the draft with five players, their lightest haul since 1989. They seemed to do a solid job in what they knew was going to be a tough spot; a spot they knew they would be in when they were trading 2018 picks for Carson Wentz, Jay Ajayi, and Ronald Darby – players they needed to bring home the first Lombardi Trophy in the history of the franchise. Of course, they don’t regret any of those moves. But it still pained them to sit and watch players they’d extensively scouted, hosted and projected into hypothetical lineups get snapped up by rivals. Would the Giants have been able to add guard Will Hernandez in the second round (34th overall) if the Eagles had possessed both first- and second-round picks going into the draft? Would the Eagles have still ended their weekend without drafting a safety had they been able to select in the third round, when six players who project as NFL safeties flew off the board?

Five post-draft thoughts on the state of the Eagles roster - The Athletic
That leaves us with safety. The starters are set in Maclcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, but they are very thin here with Chris Maragos and Tre Sullivan as the backups. I thought the Eagles would try hard to address safety in the draft, but the board didn’t fall that way. They could use someone to fill the Corey Graham role in big nickel and dime packages. They could also use someone to potentially replace McLeod in 2019 when he carries a cap hit of $9.9 million. Barring a successful position change with someone on the roster (Douglas?), it seems likely that the Eagles would add a safety at some point in the months ahead. Graham, by the way, is still on the market and could be an option.

Jerry Jones: Cowboys ‘weren’t fazed’ when Eagles jumped them in second round - Star-Telegram
But the Cowboys were pleased to land Texas offensive lineman Connor Williams with the 50th overall pick, and said Goedert wasn’t in the conversation for them at that point. Instead, the decision came down between Williams and a defensive player with similar grades. “Let’s put it like this – we weren’t even fazed,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said of the Eagles’ move.

Will Cowboys be better than 9-7 after spending NFL draft plugging holes? Right now, answer is resounding ‘no’ - Sports Day
So have the Cowboys improved? Given that each of 32 teams will welcome a dozen or more draft picks and free-agent signings in their next mini-camp, every team answers that with a yes. So what is the meaningful question? I’d say it’s more along the lines of whether the Cowboys improved their chances to finish with a better record than they had in 2017. And the answer to that right now has to be a resounding “no, not at all.’’ I understand that the Ezekiel Elliott suspension hung over the team even before it finally fell into place at midseason last year. The only way I know to quantify that is that the Cowboys were 6-4 with him and 3-3 without him. And the first set of numbers includes a win that only head coach Jason Garrett got really excited about, a 6-0 victory in Philadelphia against Eagles backups about a month before the real team won a Super Bowl. (Quick aside: If the Cowboys lose that final game, then they have Florida State safety Derwin James fall into their laps with the 17th pick. Interesting to consider what might have happened in that scenario.)

Get your Sixers playoff shirts! - BreakingT

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