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Eagles News: Philadelphia had the second oldest snap-weighted roster age in 2019

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 4/11/20.

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Snap-Weighted Age: 2019 NFL Rosters - Football Outsiders
Football Outsiders has been tracking snap-weighted age since 2006 — calculating a team’s age not by just averaging the ages of the players on the roster, but by weighting the age of each player by the number of snaps he played in the regular season. For the past four years, we have seen the league-wide SWA drop to record lows, as the benefit of players on cheap rookie contracts continues to drive roster construction. The NFL’s SWA was 26.42 last season; 83 players on their rookie contracts started all 16 games. Rotational spots that might have gone to savvy veterans a generation ago are being given to fresh faces straight out of college. That’s the way the modern NFL is built. But that’s not the way the Patriots are built. They have been old, year after year, for sure, but they set a new bar last season. They were the oldest team in the league by a wide margin, nearly a year and a half older than the Philadelphia Eagles in second place. They were the oldest offense in the league, more than a year older than the Green Bay Packers. They were the oldest defense in the league, a year older than the Carolina Panthers. And they managed to squeak past the Buffalo Bills for oldest special teams in the league, as well. [BLG Note: The Eagles will obviously be younger in 2020 by not retaining Jason Peters, Malcolm Jenkins, Nigel Bradham, etc.]

How CeeDee Lamb could thrive in the Eagles’ offense - BGN
In a talented and crowded wide receiver class, everyone seems to agree that CeeDee Lamb kicks ass. Lamb played with three different quarterbacks in three different seasons and put up big numbers with each one. The 6’2”, 198 pounder capped off his career with an All American season in 2019 where he averaged over 21 yards per catch and scored 14 times. Of his 1,327 receiving yards in 2019, almost 700 of them came after the catch…

Eye On the Enemy #15: All Things Draft w/Cody Benjamin - BGN Radio
John Stolnis gives a quick look around the NFC East before he’s joined by Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports to talk all things NFL & Eagles Draft! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Eagles 2020 NFL Draft preview: Running back - PhillyVoice
We aren’t far removed from the 2018 season, when the Eagles probably had the worst running backs in the NFL. In 2019, the additions of Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders fixed that, but Howard is gone, and the Birds are one Sanders injury away from being right where back they were in 2018. While Elijah Holyfield will have a chance to show what he can do in training camp, the Eagles could really use a physical runner who can complement the dynamic Sanders and the shifty Boston Scott. Because the Eagles have done nothing so far to address their woeful wide receiving corps, the rest of their team needs, like running back, have been under-discussed. They still have to add multiple backs.

Draft Talk - Iggles Blitz
DS Antoine Winfield – I loved his dad, Antoine Winfield the CB from Ohio State. I am not being biased here, though. Winfield Jr. had a terrific career for the Gophers and showed the ability to make plays as a centerfielder at the back of the defense or when playing in the box. Winfield had an amazing 7 picks in 2019, but also had 3 sacks and 3 FFs.

Carson Wentz’s No. 2? This time, Eagles’ Nate Sudfeld might land gig - ESPN
Philadelphia could use a late-round pick on a quarterback, like it did last year when it selected Clayton Thorson out of Northwestern in the fifth round. Or, it could try to entice McCown, 40, who is still recovering from a torn hamstring suffered in January’s playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, to come back for another season and add some insurance. But some in the Eagles’ building are betting against a repeat of last offseason, and believe Sudfeld is on track for the No. 2 gig — with the caveat that jobs are earned, not given, at a position of such high importance.

Eagles mailbag: Trade down scenario; confidence in Andre Dillard and Carson Wentz - NBCSP
I look back at the end of the 2019 season as a huge success for Carson Wentz. He was playing with a bunch of practice squad receivers and still put up huge numbers. I don’t care who the opponents were; Went completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,199 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INTs to basically will the Eagles into the playoffs. The Eagles haven’t done a great job of getting him receivers yet this offseason, but if they grab a couple in the draft, that’ll help. In 2019, he became the first Eagles’ quarterback to ever throw for 4,000 yards in a season and that won’t be the last time. Wentz is still a really talented quarterback and I think he still has the ability to be one of the top QBs in the league.

Grad School: A college football expert fills the draft needs of NFC East teams - The Athletic
So yeah, he’s fast. But Ruggs is the rare track star whose speed translates on the field. He is exactly what the Eagles want, and if it appears he might be gone, it might be worth trying to move up. But let’s pretend this is an ideal world and the Eagles can get Ruggs without giving up any of their other picks. They can find some help on the edge at No. 53, and one great option could be in the form of one of Ruggs’ college teammates. Terrell Lewis would be going much higher if not for durability issues that cost him most of two seasons. But Lewis could grow into an elite pass rusher, and his size (6-5, 262) makes him schematically flexible.

Top 10 fantasy football performances of the 2010’s - Fake Teams
Michael Vick, Eagles @ Washington, Week 10, 2010 - 49.32 Fantasy Points. Vick had the greatest fantasy performance by a quarterback of all time back in 2010 as he threw for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns, as well as rushing for 80 yards and 2 further scores in the Eagles’ 59-28 victory on Monday Night Football, including the famous 90-yard pass to Deshaun Jackson that travelled 61 yards through the air.

Didinger: An Eagles legend, Pete Retzlaff deserves to be in Canton - PE.com
Pete Retzlaff is almost certainly the greatest bargain in Eagles history. In 1956, General Manager Vince McNally claimed Retzlaff off waivers after he was cut by the Detroit Lions. The Eagles paid $100 for his rights. All Retzlaff did was play 11 seasons in Philadelphia, earn five trips to the Pro Bowl, set the club records for pass receptions and receiving yards, and help the Eagles win the NFL Championship in 1960. It was quite a return on such a modest investment. Retzlaff, who died Friday at the age of 88, was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 1989 and, hopefully, he will one day be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. He surely deserves it.

2020 Prospects With 1st Round Grades - Rotoworld
15. Justin Jefferson - WR4. As a 20-year-old junior, Jefferson (6’1/202) compiled 111 receptions, 1,540 yards, and 18 touchdowns as a go-to target in the most prolific offense in college football history. Primarily a slot receiver, Jefferson wins with nuanced route running, steady hands, and yards after catch ability. His 11.5 yards per target average was among the best in the class, and he only trailed Jerry Jeudy in 15+ yard receptions over the last two seasons. Per PFF, 41% of his receiving yards came on ins, outs, and crosses, which are the routes he’ll run most often in the NFL. He occasionally won on vertical routes at LSU and may be the part of his game that can be developed the most in the NFL, especially after showing 4.41 speed at the NFL Combine. Jefferson can be a reliable underneath target as a rookie and has WR1 upside within a couple of seasons.

2020 NFL Draft: Prospect-pro comparisons for top wide receivers - NFL.com
3) Justin Jefferson, LSU. Pro comparison: Cooper Kupp (65.3 catches per year, 865.3 receiving yards per year, 13.2 yards per catch, 7 receiving touchdowns per year, 2017-19).. Neither Jefferson nor Kupp were highly recruited coming out of high school, though they both come from families of athletes. Jefferson’s father, John, was a college basketball player, and Jefferson’s brothers, Jordan and Rickey, played football at LSU. Kupp’s father, Craig, meanwhile, played in the NFL, and I drafted his grandfather, Jake, to play for the Cowboys in 1964. Running mostly possession routes, Jefferson caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 scores in 2019. He has a knack for making acrobatic catches; Jerry Sullivan, Jefferson’s former position coach at LSU, raves about him. Jefferson had a great workout at the NFL Scouting Combine (4.43-second 40-yard dash, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot-6 broad jump). He’s very quick, strong and smart. His best position is the slot, and like Kupp, he excels at creating separation coming out of the break. Jefferson will catch a lot of passes for many years.

Brandon Aiyuk NFL draft profile and fantasy projection - DraftKings Nation
Aiyuk started his collegiate career in Junior College and has shown marked improvement as his career progressed. He is still more of a big play threat than an all around receiver at this point and did most of his damage against zone coverage instead of man. Once into his route, Aiyuk has great acceleration and can manipulate defenders to get cushions for his big yards after the catch plays. His main trouble, and it is concerning, is his ability to beat press coverage. He doesn’t have the technique or toughness to beat good coverage corners off the line and will need to improve in that area to be a longtime top starter in the NFL.

One month later, sports remain shut down - PFT
There likely will be no offseason program. The NFL and NFL Players Association continue to try to come up with a plan for allowing players to earn workout bonuses by working out at home. And at some point, the NFL’s “we plan to play” mantra will have to yield to a more pragmatic approach: We’ll have a plan for whatever may happen. Those plans, for all sports, must include the possibility of not playing at all. If no feasible alternative can be identified based on a virus that will set the timeline as to when reality returns, the only realistic option will be to continue to wait. For the virus to run its course. For widespread antibody testing that will determine the people who already have had the virus. For a vaccine. For a cure. As to all sports, events well beyond the field, the court, the rink, the wherever will determine whenever the time is right for sports to return.

Drew Brees signs with NBC Sports for post-football announcing career - Canal Street Chronicles
After Brees finishes his career with the New Orleans Saints, he’ll be heading to NBC Sports to begin his career as a color analyst. He’ll start off as a studio analyst for “Football Night in America,” as well as a game analyst for Notre Dame football whenever he decides to walk away from the game. He chose NBC over ESPN, who is reportedly still searching for a replacement on Monday Night Football for Booger Mcfarland.

The XFL just shut down, and it doesn’t sound like it’s returning - SB Nation
For the second straight year, a fledgling spring football league has shut down operations without finishing its debut season. The XFL was five weeks into its relaunch when Covid-19 concerns forced the league to postpone games indefinitely. Less than one month later, the league discontinued all operations and permanently laid off most, if not all, employees.

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