Eagles News: Looking back at Andre Dillard’s rookie struggles

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Eagles new player (or current player with new role) series: Andre Dillard edition - PhillyVoice
It was easy to see in training camp that he could move. Also in training camp, it was hard to miss an emotional outburst that occurred after a practice in which he and Derek Barnett got into a scrap. According to a source, that was only one of multiple such emotional moments that occurred during practice last season. Dillard’s biggest flaw as a rookie, by far, was his inability to anchor against power. If it doesn’t get fixed, and opposing pass rushers know they can just bull rush him into the quarterback, it will likely be a fatal flaw for his NFL career. We looked at all five of Dillard’s games in 2019, and in the Twitter thread below, you’ll see the worst moments. Normally, we’d try to balance out the bad with some good, but that’s hard to do for a player who was on pace to allow 27 sacks in a full season. [...] We’ve reported multiple times here that the Eagles have serious concerns about turning over the starting LT job to Dillard.

Are Andre Dillard and Darius Slay who the Eagles think they are? It’s the biggest question of the 2020 season. - Inquirer
But if you look past Wentz, there aren’t two players more critical to their respective units than Andre Dillard and Darius Slay. And there aren’t two questions more pressing than as follows: (1) Is Darius Slay as good as he used to be? (2) Is Andre Dillard any good at all? If the answer to either is anything less than a wholehearted “yessir,” the Eagles are going to have a host of problems for which there might not be any fix. For all the grief Howie Roseman has taken for last week’s curious draft, his post-Super Bowl tenure as general manager is going to be defined by a series of moves that have already been made.

State of the Eagles: Post-Draft Apocalypse (Part II) - BGN
At the beginning of the offseason, Howie said that “hope is not a strategy.” And he’s right - it’s not. Which is why to some his moves this offseason are confusing. Moving towards a “positionless” secondary, trading draft picks for a 29-year-old corner coming off a down year, not signing any wide receivers, not trading up for CeeDee Lamb, and using your second-round pick on a backup quarterback all seem to rely on a lot of hope for 2020. And, in the constraints of 2020, that is a fair assessment. If you want the Eagles to compete for a Super Bowl this season, you’re going to have to hope that most - if not all - of these moves pay dividends immediately.

At the Podium: Post-Draft Meet the Press - BGN Radio
Howie Roseman, Andy Weidl, and Doug Pederson hold their yearly post-draft press conference after the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

The RBs - Iggles Blitz
Michael Warren II is a short, thick back at 5-9, 226. He averaged almost 20 carries a game over the last two seasons at Cincinnati. Warren isn’t as physical as Jordan Howard, but he does break tackles and would instantly be the heaviest of the Eagles RBs. Warren isn’t just a pounder. He has good feet and delivered more long runs than I expected. He has good vision and a nice burst. I think Warren has a legit chance to push for a roster spot. The other RB couldn’t be more different. Adrian Killins is tiny at 5-7, 162. On the surface, you would say he’s got no chance to make it in the NFL. But Killins does have speed and in the modern NFL that gives him a shot.

Eagles keeping a handle on a strong RB room - PE.com
With the NFL in a buyer’s market in this post-draft period, the Eagles are keeping their eyes open for running backs who either are available or who might become available. Maybe they decide they want to bring a veteran into the running back room, and if they do, there are going to be options. There are going to be opportunities to add, for example, a back who can run between the tackles and gain first downs and move the chains and punch the ball into the end zone as Howard did so well last season. The Eagles don’t have a proven “big back” on the roster at the moment.

NFL Draft 2020: Why this Eagles undrafted rookie could make 53-man roster | ‘He’s got power’ - NJ.com
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman appears to be enthusiastic about Warren’s acquisition. “Michael Warren, if you get to watch him, he’s got really quick feet, he’s got power,” Roseman said during an appearance on 94WIP’s Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team show on Tuesday. “He was tremendously productive at the University of Cincinnati.” Roseman wasn’t blowing smoke when he mentioned Warren’s production. Over the past two seasons, Warren ran for 2,594 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Jalen Reagor’s speed and downfield ability is exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles need - PFF
Carson Wentz showed us his high-end, MVP-conversation season in 2017 before going down with injury, but his overall grade has regressed in each of the past two seasons, falling from 84.9 to 79.4 to 75.6 this past season. In Wentz’s defense, the Eagles’ wide receiving corps was one big landmine last season with players going down one after another. Getting healthy and adding someone with the kind of juice that Reagor has — able to learn from one of the best deep threats to do it in Jackson — should only help Wentz get things back on track in his career.

How coronavirus precautions hurt these eight NFL draft prospects - ESPN
Prince Tega Wanogho, T, Philadelphia Eagles. Where we thought he might go: Early to middle third round. Where he ended up: Sixth round, No. 210 overall. The background: His injury flag was raised late in the draft process. He started 12 games last season at Auburn and was a second-team All-SEC selection, but was pulled out of Senior Bowl practices after the medical exam there and then did not work out at the combine.

Execs unfiltered on every NFL team’s 2020 draft - The Athletic
“Whether it is New Orleans with Taysom or Miami with the Wildcat, if you have a smaller offensive package that is easy to install, it causes a disproportionate amount of time and preparation for the opposing defense, which is a competitive advantage,” an exec said. “Do you want Jalen Hurts or do you want the backup quarterback to be a guy who was coaching high school football on Friday night (like Josh McCown was before the Eagles signed him)?” Something in between a second-round pick and a retired backup could work. “If Carson goes down, are you really going to win a lot of games with Jalen?” an exec said. “Would he win you more games than just a regular veteran backup would? I don’t know.”

Eagles mailbag: How will receiver depth chart will shake out? - NBCSP
It might make some sense from a football perspective to bring back Jason Peters and try to make him a backup behind the first-round pick. I just can’t see that happening, though. If Peters is on the roster in 2020, I’d be shocked if he isn’t the starter at left tackle.

Former Eagles end Dick Lucas dies from COVID-19 at 86 - PFT
Dick Lucas, a starter on the Eagles’ 1960 NFL Championship team, died Wednesday from complications of COVID-19. He was 86. He is at least the third former player to die from the coronavirus, and the third player from the 1960 Eagles team to die the past month. Timmy Brown and Pete Retzlaff, who are in the team’s Hall of Fame, died last month.

2020 NFL Draft: Ranking all 29 trades, from Saints’ questionable moves to affordable Round 1 deals and more - CBS Sports
21. Cowboys land potential Frederick heir. The Cowboys probably made the right call in sacrificing a future fifth-rounder for Tyler Biadasz, who was a projected first-round pick at this time last year, but we’ll be able to see that process play out in real time. If the Wisconsin center can smooth over the loss of Travis Frederick and establish himself as the team’s center for the next decade, it’ll be well worth the price paid. But there’s a reason other teams let Biadasz slip to the end of the fourth round.

Daryl Worley can be a solid starter on the outside while Reggie Robinson develops - Blogging The Boys
Earlier this week, the Cowboys added yet another cornerback to their roster in Daryl Worley. After drafting two cornerbacks, Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson, the Worley signing more or less confirmed the rumblings that at least one other cornerback, likely Chidobe Awuzie, will move to safety. With more cornerbacks on the roster than anyone can keep track of anymore, it’s a bit of a guessing game as to who will be starting in the secondary. There’s a safe bet that Diggs will be given every opportunity to lock down one of the starting outside corner jobs, and the starting slot corner role will likely be another battle between Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown.

Packers sign former Washington DT Treyvon Hester - Acme Packing Company
The Packers have signed defensive lineman Treyvon Hester, bolstering a thin position group that went unaddressed in the 2020 NFL Draft. The 6-2, 304 pound Hester was a seventh-round pick by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2017 and has since played one year each with the Raiders, Eagles, and Redskins, providing rotational depth in each of his stops.

If the NFL Is Expecting a Normal Season, Why Furlough Employees and Cut Pay? - MMQB
Those other leagues all had to cancel games. The NFL did not. The NFL finished its 2019 season in early February, before the pandemic forced cancellations, and it claims it plans to hold its full slate of games, in stadiums full of fans, in 2020. So why the cuts? This does not look like a simple business decision. It looks like a tell. For all the talk about a 16-game season and getting back to normal, the NFL is acting like it expects something else. As it should. The hope that spectator sports as we knew them will be back soon is just that: hope. Maybe even a fantasy. These are unprecedented and uncertain times, and nobody knows quite what the country will look like in early September. But a normal NFL season involves games in 22 states, plus London and Mexico City. That feels highly unlikely.

Ask a former NFL player: Which team has the best roster in the league now? - SB Nation
In the NFC, you have the Buccaneers. They’re loaded now with Tom Brady, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, O.J. Howard, an underrated interior offensive line, and first-rounder Tristian Wirfs to play right tackle. On defense, there’s Shaq Barrett, Ndamukong Suh, Lavonte David, and second-round safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The Saints are also in the discussion. Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and one of the best offensive lines in the NFL round out their offense. On defense, they have Cam Jordan, Marshon Lattimore, Malcolm Jenkins, among others.

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