Eagles News: Jordan Howard trade earns positive reviews for Philadelphia

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Jordan Howard Trade: Eagles acquire Bears running back - BGN
Rumors started swirling after the NFL Combine that teams were talking with the Bears about potential trade terms for running back Jordan Howard, and it appears the Eagles were one of them. The team made things official, acquiring Howard for a 2020 draft pick. Adam Schefter is reporting it’s a sixth-round draft pick that could turn into a fifth-rounder.

Jordan Howard Emergency Show! - BGN Radio
John Stolnis and Brandon Lee Gowton react to the Eagles filling our their RB group by trading for Jordan Howard.. is it a good move? How does it impact the Draft, if it all? All that and more on another loaded BGN Radio! Presented by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Howie Gets a RB - Iggles Blitz
Howard lacks great speed. He isn’t going to make dynamic cuts. He will hit the hole and run over defenders. He can make some guys miss so he’s not just LeGarrette Blount Part II. Howard has run for 6, 9 and 9 TDs in his three seasons. He is very good in the Red Zone, something all teams need. If Howard can develop into a solid receiver, he could be terrific for the Eagles. The Eagles have not had a durable RB in a few years. It would be nice to have someone out there, play after play, game after game. The Eagles will still do a lot of Running Back By Committee. They believe in that approach. If Corey Clement can come back healthy, that would give the Eagles a good 1-2 punch at RB. I still think they’ll add a rookie. And then we’ll see what Wendell Smallwood, Josh Adams, Boston Scott and Donnel Pumphrey can do.

Jordan Howard could surge right to the top of Eagles’ depth chart - ESPN
Howard is the most accomplished running back on the Eagles’ roster at the moment, and he appears to be the favorite for the role of lead back -- for now. He is the league’s third-leading rusher since he entered the NFL in 2016, he has a pair of 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, and he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Nicknamed “The Bulldozer,” the 6-foot, 224-pound Howard has a punishing running style and a nose for the goal line, as he has scored nine rushing touchdowns in each of the past two seasons.

Jordan Howard is a perfect fit for what Eagles want at RB - PE.com
At 6-feet, 224 pounds, Howard brings power to the ground game, and he brings a nose for the end zone. Howard’s 18 touchdowns since 2017 are tied for the third most in the NFL behind the Rams’ Todd Gurley (30) and New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara (22). Howard and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott are the only two running backs in the NFL with 900-plus yards rushing in each of the last three seasons. And in short-yardage situations (third- or fourth-and-2 or fewer), Howard converted 74 percent of his opportunities this past season (23 of 31), just behind Elliott who was successful 76 percent of the time (35 of 46). Howard’s “explosive” runs numbers have dropped since his rookie season, but the Eagles think he’s going to fit into the offense as a move-the-chains running back who can be effective as a checkdown receiver in the passing game.

Grading the Eagles’ offseason moves: Is Jordan Howard enough to solve Eagles’ RB problem? - The Athletic
Three things strike me as true about this trade. First, Howard is a mediocre running back whose numbers have declined since he entered the league in impressive fashion in 2016. Here are his rushing yards, in order from year one to year three: 1,313, 1,122, 935. Here are his yards per carry: 5.2, 4.1, 3.7. Here are his reception totals: 29, 23, 20. Here are his rushing DVOA ranks: 9, 14, 36. That the Bears were obviously desperate to get rid of Howard is reason enough to temper expectations that he can be a difference-maker for the Eagles. The second thing that is true is that this was a deal worth making for the Eagles. The cost of a 2020 sixth-round pick, which can reportedly turn into a fifth, is exceedingly reasonable in exchange for some security at the running back position heading into the draft. That’s because the third thing that is true is that Howard is probably the best running back now on the Eagles’ roster. For all his faults, including being mostly a non-factor in the passing game, Howard is a more reliable early down option than the likes of Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams. He should be able to fill the role LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi played throughout much of 2017.

The Film Room Ep. 37: How Jordan Howard ran over the entire NFL - YouTube
Jordan Howard’s astonishing rookie campaign in 2016 was as impressive as it was unexpected. The former fifth round pick out of Indiana took over the starting running back job in Chicago in week four and then went on to have one of the most productive rookie seasons in franchise history - even outshining the great Matt Forte in the process. But all of that success begged the question - how could a running back with seemingly average physical talent put up elite numbers in his first year in the NFL? This week, we take a deep dive into Howard’s tape to figure out exactly how he did it. Enjoy the show!

Bears trade Jordan Howard to Eagles for 2020 sixth-round pick - Windy City Gridiron
Howard does fit somewhere else in the league. Being the fastest in Bears history to 10 100-yard rushing efforts — faster than Walter Payton of all people — is an example of what Howard’s capable of when an offense is tailored around his strengths as a specific bell cow. He can wear a defense down if given the chance and the touches in strategic moments. The issue is that the Bears and Nagy no longer had a vested interest in accommodating Howard in such a fashion. However, Nagy’s friend in Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is a testament to carving out a specific goal line and power role. Just ask LeGarrette Blount and his Super Bowl LII ring.

How the 32 NFL Head Coaches Negotiated the Rule Change to Allow Review of Pass Interference - Sports Illustrated
By Tuesday afternoon, the wheels were turning on the fourth iteration of the rule change: Proposal 6c. Some of the emotion of the early meetings was still evident as the discussion picked up again around 4:20 p.m. local time. But at that point, there was also investment on both sides—and Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, rivals on the field, took key roles in remaining focused in the room. Both prioritized integrity. “You have coaches, players, owners and really fans too giving to their heart and soul to your team, to your sport,” Lurie told me. “And we owe it to everybody to hold the integrity as high as possible. And accuracy—get to the truth. … We have technology to get it right, [so the thinking was], ‘Let’s design a way to do this, let’s not leave here until we assert that we are for integrity and not for walking out and not having this solved.’”

Interesting Analyst Hire (Juan Castillo) - MGoBlog
Michigan’s Pro Day provided a little nugget. Harbaugh plans to hire Juan Castillo as an Offensive Line Analyst. Castillo coached under Sean McDermott for the Buffalo Bills as a Run Game Coordinator. He also worked for John Harbaugh in the same role. In addition, he worked for Andy Reid as the Offensive Line Coach and Defensive Coordinator. His other stop was under Ray Rhodes as an Offensive Assistant, working with the OL and TE’s.

NFL Draft TE Rankings - Rotoworld
But for as much conviction as Moreau puts into his blocking assignments, there is less confidence when he’s asked to run routes. Linebackers tend to stick to Moreau despite his athletic profile. Again: Is that from a lack of development, or a byproduct of LSU’s conservative offense or mediocre quarterback play? Or is the jury already more or less in on the Island of Foster Moreau as a blocking specialist who could chip in on special teams? Honestly, I don’t have a clue. And I’m not going to pretend to. But if eight tight ends listed above him come off the board in April, I’m rolling the dice in the sixth round.

Poll results: Voters think Giants made correct Eli Manning decision - Big Blue View
Did the New York Giants make the right decision by sticking with Eli Manning as the team’s starting quarterback for 2019? Simple question, but one that evokes strong feelings on both sides. We asked that question to our ‘FanPulse’ participants, and the lopsided result is perhaps surprising as an overwhelming 72.13 percent of voters said “yes” the Giants did the right thing. That meant only 27.87 percent voted “no.”

NFL insider notes: Comp picks all the rage in free agency, the Steelers’ perfect draft fit and more - CBS Sports
A third agent said: “Comp picks have become a much bigger factor in free agency. Totally. I hear it much more now than ever before.” No one is blaming the teams. The agents get it. Leverage is leverage and the rules are the rules. Organizations like the Patriots and Ravens and Eagles have long been proponents of maintaining as many comp picks as possible and have a very good idea of how much they can afford to sign a future free agent for, after losing some prominent ones in free agency, and still come out with a pick in a future round. And in a copycat league, it was only a matter of time before more teams took them more seriously, and with the added flexibility of those picks now able to be included in trade packages, their value is higher than ever. Right now, the Patriots project to landing two extra third-round picks in 2020, the Eagles stand to gain a third and a fourth and the Ravens will grab a third.

Ed Oliver’s awesome workout stats, put in terms all of us can understand - SB Nation
Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver is an absurdly good athlete, in the same way grass is absurdly green and water is absurdly moist. At Houston, the defensive tackle was a generational sort of talent, and he’s likely going to be great in the NFL, too. I don’t know if all of us mortals have appropriately considered just how good an athlete Oliver is, though. Some numbers from his NFL Combine and pro day, two events spread most of a month apart in March, might illustrate that best for all of us. Combine numbers are league-verified, while pro day numbers come from Oliver’s college team, via reporter Sam Khan Jr. We can’t be scientific about those, other than to say they sound good.

Give the Eagles some more votes in this poll or else risk losing to the Browns:

That’s a 10-4, good buddy: Phillies 10, Braves 4 - The Good Phight
Today was all about witnessing the depth of this lineup and how terrifying it could be moving forward. On a good day, there’s no one here you’re happy to face as an opposing pitcher; a notion that came to life after the Harper walk in the seventh. With three home runs on the day, tying a franchise opening day record, there was one message sent loud and clear from these Phillies: Hope you like dingers. That’s a 10-4, Phillies. [BLG Note: The Phillies are back!]

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