Eagles News: Daniel Jeremiah discusses the possibility of Philadelphia drafting Bijan Robinson

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2023 NFL Draft: Daniel Jeremiah identifies intriguing team fits for top prospects - NFL.com
Armed with two first-round picks (Nos. 10 and 30), the Eagles are poised to add starting talent to a team that just barely lost Super Bowl LVII. Despite the club’s long history of not drafting running backs in the first round — the last Eagles RB selected in Round 1 was Keith Byars in 1986 — Jeremiah is highly intrigued with the scenario of Philadelphia adding to its ground-game strength by selecting Texas’ Bijan Robinson. “The most consistently highest-rated player in the draft,” Jeremiah said. “Everybody says that Bijan Robinson is not only the best running back in this class, he’s one of the five best players in this draft. He’s elite.” Where Robinson lands is hard for Jeremiah to figure because of how increasingly unpopular selecting RBs in Round 1 has become in today’s NFL. Considering the makeup of Philadelphia’s win-now roster, which has produced top-five rushing offenses in consecutive years, Jeremiah certainly wouldn’t mind them getting “one of the best backs we’ve seen in the last several years.” “When you look at that offense with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, then all of the sudden you drop Bijan Robinson into that mix? Holy moly,” Jeremiah pondered. Another potential need for Philly is at cornerback, with James Bradberry set to become a free agent. Jeremiah believes the Eagles are also primed to take one of the top CBs of the class in the first round. “I think (Illinois’ Devon) Witherspoon is a stud,” Jeremiah said. “Having been in that building and seen Asante Samuel there, I think you can make an easy comparison with the ability to take the ball away.” [BLG Note: Bijan Robinson at 10 overall? Nah. Bijan Robinson at 30 overall? Sure. But he probably won’t be there.]

2023 NFL draft: Every prospect with a first-round grade, plus comps - ESPN+
Running back (1). Bijan Robinson, Texas (No. 5). Comp: Saquon Barkley. Robinson is the total package as a running back prospect. He plays with amazing patience but can also lower his shoulder with a 220-pound frame and create space for himself. Robinson’s contact balance and vision in traffic are some of the best I’ve ever seen. He rushed for 1,580 rushing yards and 18 TDs this season, and he’s also a very good receiving threat out of the backfield (314 receiving yards). There are few players more talented than Robinson in this year’s class.

NFL Mock Draft Simulation: Eagles use two first-round picks on the defense - BGN
Pick 94: Devon Achane, Running Back, Texas A&M. Devon Achane is a true game breaking back who could step in and immediately be a 200 carry player as a rookie. Behind the Eagles offensive line, Achane would have all the room in the world to break off big runs. Achane being a sneakily good pass catcher means he could stay on the field all three downs too, a dynamic the Eagles have not had in their backfield for a while.

Is this the year Eagles finally draft a 1st-round corner? - NBCSP
The Eagles haven’t drafted a cornerback in the first round since they took Lito Sheppard out of Florida. Over two decades ago. But in his latest NFL mock draft, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah gave the Eagles cornerback Devon Witherspoon from Illinois with the No. 10 pick. Jeremiah worked for the Eagles in the early 2010s. While that was a long time ago, he understands the front office’s philosophies better than most. So why give them a corner? “I just think Witherspoon is a stud,” Jeremiah said on a national conference call Friday afternoon. “And I think having been in that building and having seen Asante Samuel there, I think you could make an easy comparison there with just the play-making ability, taking the ball away. We’ll see what (James) Bradberry ends up doing in the offseason. I imagine he probably ends up getting paid somewhere. So if they don’t re-sign him, there’s going to be a need there as well. There’s a zillion free agents they’ve got to navigate around but that’s one I would think would be hard to retain.”

Jordan Mailata looks to ‘keep connecting’ in offseason - PE.com
The 2023 offseason is underway, and like the rest of his teammates, Jordan Mailata is absorbing what he described as a “well-deserved break.” He’ll take time to spend with his family and heal the emotional wound left by the unsavory end to the dream-like season. Despite the final score of the finale, Mailata holds a great deal of pride for what he and his team achieved. “You’ve got to reflect on what you could’ve done better,” Mailata said. “There are multiple things in the game that I could’ve done better to help the team out. But we’ve also got to move forward and reflect on everything we accomplished this year as a team. We’ve got to be proud of that. We can’t just write that off.” He’s right. The talent and preparation it took for the team to make it to the Super Bowl can’t be understated, especially when Mailata is part of the conversation. The 2022 season was the culmination of his transformative development. In five years’ time, the 6-foot-8, 365-pound man who once was a physically gifted but inexperienced Australian Rugby player blossomed into a fixture of the best offensive line in the league.

Cowboys free agency: Jason Peters returning as a player or in another way? - Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys have a new offensive line coach in Mike Solari, so the conversation starts with his evaluation of Peters and what he would bring to the team. The Cowboys would move on if Solari feels his age and health are holding him back from being an asset. However, Owner Jerry Jones mentioned at the Senior Bowl that he expects Tyron Smith and Peters to return this season. Peters might feel inclined to return to Dallas, given he is a native of Bowie County, TX, and would like to stay close to home. He does provide position flex, having played at left guard and both tackle spots for the Cowboys. If McGovern signs with another team, Dallas doesn’t have proven depth behind their starting five, so Peters would be an excellent insurance policy like he was in 2022.

Jeremy Reaves tops the list of the Commanders’ Restricted and Exclusive Rights free agents - Hogs Haven
Jeremy Reaves. Reaves is still living in the glory of being named to the 2023 Pro Bowl and AP All-Pro team as a special teams player. The only reason that I can think of that the Commanders wouldn’t use the RFA tender on Reaves, who entered the NFL as a UDFA in 2018 and seems to be a favorite of Ron Rivera, is if they sign him to a long-term deal instead. Reaves made $965,000 in 2022, and a $2.6m right of first refusal tender following his pro bowl and All Pro season seems like good value; however, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 27-year-old sign a 3-year extension with a signing bonus and slightly lower ‘23 cap hit instead. [BLG Note: Reaves was an Eagles UDFA signing in 2018.]

Big Blue View mailbag: Daniel Jones edition - Big Blue View
Taj, it’s the offseason and because you have nothing else to get all worked up about, you’re getting yourself tied in knots about this. Relax. Let it play out. I keep saying this. The Giants and Jones reps are in a negotiation. Everyone is going berserk about the $45 million figure that was tossed out by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who got that from one source. Maybe it’s accurate. Maybe it’s not. You expect Jones’ reps to walk in the room with the Giants and say “whatever you are offering we will take”? Doesn’t work that way. Jones will shoot high. The team will offer something substantially lower. The two sides will work to find common ground. The Giants don’t want to let Jones get to the open market, and the tag would do that. Quarterback is the most important position. Even $40 million, as audacious as it sounds, is only going to be middle of the pack for quarterbacks. There are a lot of guys — Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, maybe Derek Carr — who are going to get that much or more this offseason. It really isn’t outlandish in this market to pay a quarterback that if you believe in the guy. The Giants don’t want to use the tag. That much has been clear from the various reporting that has been done. More than that, though, they don’t want Jones to hit the open market because they don’t want to lose him. They will use the tag to prevent that, if they have to. Even if they tag Jones, they will try to work out a multi-year deal. As for Barkley, let’s see what happens. Again, Jones is the priority.

Houston Texans Announce 2023-24 Coaching Staff - Battle Red Blog
It’s been a little over three weeks since the Houston Texans announced DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach. We can now report that the Texans’ new coaching staff is fully in place. [BLG Note: Former members of the Eagles on this staff include Jerrod Johnson, Bill Lazor, Matt Burke, Cory Undlin, and Dino Vasso.]

The 7 biggest NFL offseason storylines - SB Nation
Potential QB extensions for the Class of 2020. As noted above, there is the potential for unprecedented quarterback movement this offseason. Whether Lamar Jackson gets a long-term deal with the Baltimore Ravens is certainly one quarterback contract issue to watch, but other potential QB contract situations to monitor involve the Class of 2020. With what we have seen from Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Tua Tagovailoa, there may be an incentive for their teams to try and move sooner rather than later on contract extensions. Think back to when Patrick Mahomes signed his ten-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. It seemed massive at the time, but subsequent deals for Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Deshaun Watson have pushed Mahomes’ deal — in terms of average annual dollars — down to the fifth-highest in the NFL among quarterbacks. For teams, the sooner you move on the extension, the better. Because the longer you wait, the more the market will be reset by the time your passer puts ink to paper.

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