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Eagles News: The worst pick from Philadelphia’s 2019 NFL Draft class

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 5/3/19.

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NCAA Football: Maryland at Penn State Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Best & Worst Of Philadelphia Eagles Draft Class - The Draft Network
Worst Pick: Penn State RB Miles Sanders. I wasn’t surprised to see a team overdraft Sanders -- in an uninspiring running back class, Sanders’ athleticism and potential is enticing. Only a one-year starter with minimal tread on the tires, Sanders very well could have a long a productive career in the NFL as a true three-down option given his ability in space as a receiver. But as it currently stands, Sanders’ lack of measured decision-making and block recognition put him in too many risky spots, and he’ll need simple concepts early to stay married to his reads and paths. Sanders had the athletic ability to create out of structure easily at the college level, but won’t be such a phenom at the NFL level, and could suffer some early growing pains if RB coach Duce Staley doesn’t iron out his issues.

Eagles Draft Profile: Miles Sanders is “a true all-purpose back” - BGN
Sanders has a broad skill-set, so his only glaring weakness is his tendency to put the ball on the ground. It wasn’t a regular problem, but his fumbles seemed to almost always come at inopportune time. Last season, he fumbled right before halftime as Penn State was leading Ohio State 13-0. The Buckeyes would capitalize with a very short scoring drive, and ultimately come back in the fourth quarter to squeak out a one-point victory. Later in the season, Sanders fumbled on the five-yard line as the Nittany Lions were just about to put the game away against Iowa. This allowed the Hawkeyes to nearly pull off a dramatic comeback, that fortunately was thwarted at the last second.

At the Podium: Howie, Miles & JJ Meet the Press - BGN Radio
We take a trip back in time to after day two of the NFL Draft to hear from Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas, Doug Pederson, Miles Sanders, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside!Powered by SB Nation & Bleeding Green Nation.

Projecting first-year roles for each of the Eagles’ five draft picks - PhillyVoice
As for the possibility of Dillard filling in at left tackle and Jason Peters moving over to left guard, that will almost certainly never happen. At one time Peters mentioned he would be fine with such a move, but more recently -- and more consistently -- he has bristled at that notion. Also, it’s probably fair to note here that this isn’t Madden. Asking a 37-year-old vet who has played one position for the last 15 years to suddenly master a new one may not be such an easy or seamless transition.

Young DEs - Iggles Blitz
Barnett has established himself as a good NFL player. The next step for him is to show he can be an impact starter. Sweat barely played as a rookie. Either the coaches didn’t trust him or just felt he wasn’t ready. This is a huge year for him. Sweat must show that he can contribute as a role player, if not make an impact off the bench. In his defense, Sweat was coming from a very different college scheme and had a lot to learn. Miller played in a scheme at PSU that moved him around. He understands how to line up wide or in-tight. He understands how to rush in space or in traffic. Miller can play LDE or RDE. He even got some snaps at DT (not many). I feel like he should be more ready to contribute right away than Sweat was.

How Nipsey Hussle’s death led DeSean Jackson to Boys’ Latin - ESPN
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson was about halfway through his Q&A session with the students at Boys’ Latin Charter School in West Philly on Wednesday, and to that point he had fielded only football-related questions. Knowing there were bigger issues at hand, he took it upon himself to change the direction of the conversation. ”Let’s try to switch it a little bit,” Jackson finally said to a group of about 150 high schoolers, who sat at rapt attention as Jackson spoke from the stage in a surprise appearance. “Let’s go to everyday life, when you all leave from school, any obstacles you are all going through.” Jackson was aware of the series of tragedies that had struck this community. Boys’ Latin, the only public all-boys school in Philadelphia, lost four students to homicide or suicide in the 2017-18 school year alone, according to lead student support officer Kenyon Meeks. One of the victims was William Bethel, a 16-year-old athlete who was slain on Easter Sunday in 2018. Bethel shared a connection with Jackson, having attended Jackson’s youth football camp during his first stint with the Eagles.

A crowded field at cornerback sparks competition - PE.com
A starter since the Eagles made him a seventh-round draft choice, Mills has the tenacity and the aggressiveness and the focus that the Eagles love. Those traits have made him a success story, and then some. Mills is still recovering from a foot injury suffered in the victory over Jacksonville in London. Once he gets back, Mills will face competition from a talented group around him.

Alshon Jeffery, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside are more similar than you thought - NBCSP
Eagles took J.J. Arcega-Whiteside with the 57th pick in the 2019 draft, the Stanford receiver was asked which NFL players have influenced his game. The first name he said: Alshon Jeffery. That is certainly understandable. The similarities between the two are plentiful. Jeffery is six years older than Arcega-Whiteside but age is one of the few things they don’t have in common. Both grew up in South Carolina. Both have a basketball background. Both are known for winning 50-50 balls. And now both will be members of the 2019 Eagles roster. “When I grew up watching Alshon, being from Carolina, it’s like, that’s a guy that everybody in the state knew. As a kid, it’s like, dang, I want to be him one day. I want to be playing college football, like representing my state, having all the kids look up to me. That was me. On top of that, when I get to Stanford and he’s tearing it up in the league, like dang, I’ve got to do whatever he’s doing because whatever he’s doing is working and I want to emulate the same kind of style.”

PFF’s picks on win totals in 2019 - PFF
There are a couple of major reasons to like the under. First off, the Cowboys won the division, which means they get a lovely first-place schedule and do not acquire a first-round caliber player as the rest of the division did (some more than once). Second, there is the Dak Prescott dilemma (I DO NOT HATE DAK). Dak’s rookie season was tremendous, and he had the benefit of a virtually impenetrable offensive line. Tyron Smith has not been quite his dominant self the last two seasons while battling through some injuries, and La’el Collins allowed 46 pressures at right tackle (only Sam Tevi allowed more). Prescott’s pocket presence hasn’t done him any favors, either. We’ve attributed league-high 15 sacks to Prescott. When the ball does come out, accuracy is still an issue; the most consistent measures of accuracy are avoiding uncatchable throws (ranked 27th) and making accurate throws to open (more than a step of separation) receivers (ranked 31st of 35). Prescott ranked 18th in grade from a clean pocket, eclipsing nine wins with middle of the pack quarterback play is no easy feat. This brings me to the ancillary reasons. The Cowboys won 10 games last season thanks to some timely play in the red zone, ranking fifth in EPA per play allowed on third downs in the red zone. Banking on a repeat of something like that is just not so easy. The coverage unit is certainly strong, but you simply cannot be very certain in coverage remaining strong. Last and definitely least is the influx of talent to division rivals. While the Giants will need more than a three-series sample for their new quarterback, they did well to acquire talent throughout the draft while the Redskins stole the better quarterback at pick 15 and the Eagles sured up their offensive line while adding a playmaker for Carson Wentz in J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. The Cowboys could be just as good as they were last year and max out at 8-8.

Former Air Force safety Weston Steelhammer gets invite from Philadelphia Eagles - Gazette
Former Air Force safety Weston Steelhammer has received a rookie minicamp invitation from the Philadelphia Eagles. The three-time first-team all-Mountain West performer enthusiastically confirmed the news to The Gazette on Wednesday evening. The camp runs from May 9-12, giving rookies a chance to earn invitations to further team activities or training camp. Steelhammer also spent time in an Eagles minicamp in 2017 before being stationed in San Antonio as a logistics officer at Joint Air Force Base.

Kyle Tanguay makes history as Eagles’ first male cheerleader - Philly.com
Kyle Tanguay made history last night by becoming the first man to be named to the Eagles’ cheerleading squad for the 2019 season. Tanguay is in his junior year as the University of the Arts, where he is studying dance. He is just the fourth man to cheer on the sidelines for an NFL team.

The Eight NFL Teams With the Biggest Holes Left to Fill - The Ringer
The draft is over. Free agency is mostly in the books. Yet some squads—including contenders like the Chiefs and Saints—still have major questions that need to be answered.

The blind confidence of drafting Daniel Jones - SB Nation
I think it’s a good place to start by saying this: It’d be great to roll through life with the blind confidence of someone like Dave Gettleman. It would be amazing. It would mean parallel parking without looking back, paying every bill without ever checking your bank balance, and eating the most suspect oysters with gusto. Life would be one long heat check if I had the confidence of someone like Gettleman, and I’d hit every corner three without even looking to see if it went down. That might be what being an NFL general manager feels like. It might be one reason why Gettleman, the general manager of the New York Giants, took Duke quarterback Daniel Jones without flinching in the first round of the NFL Draft. The sketchiest oyster of them all in the NFL’s seafood buffet of talent, Jones got a no-look vote of confidence, first-round money, and a shot at an NFL starting quarterback gig from Gettleman and the Giants for reasons that frankly not even Gettleman seems to be able to explain without making the situation worse.

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