Eagles News: Jalen Hurts is “the five-star general that every team covets”

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Jalen Hurts’ forthcoming megadeal underscores Eagles’ brilliance; Julian Love reshapes Seahawks’ D - NFL.com
Philadelphia has been to the playoffs in five of the past six seasons, making a pair of Super Bowls and winning one. Although it will be challenging for the Eagles to maintain a top-tier all-around roster with a $40 million quarterback, the Kansas City Chiefs have remained perennial contenders despite Patrick Mahomes’ 10-year, $503 million extension. In fact, they just hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. After watching Hurts go toe-to-toe with the two-time MVP on the game’s biggest stage, the Eagles should not have any reservations about fully compensating the QB1 with a megadeal that keeps him in Philly for the long term. As an ascending player with everything you want in a franchise quarterback, Hurts is a dual-threat weapon and an extension of the head coach between the lines. His ability to galvanize teammates is a true talent, something that separates Hurts from many others at the position. Whether he’s leading the charge as a high-level performer, providing inspirational talks in the huddle or locker room, or setting the tone with the right message at the postgame press conference, the fourth-year pro is the five-star general that every team covets in a QB1. Given the Eagles’ outstanding ROI on Hurts, among others at the position, teams should try to replicate their formula for quarterbacking success.

Eagles All-22 Film Review: Nicholas Morrow is a fun player - BGN
Despite this, if Nakobe Dean develops as we hope and becomes a good starting linebacker, I think the Dean and Morrow partnership could be a pretty decent one. We know the Eagles do not value the linebacker position as a premium position and they were not going to bring back TJ Edwards due to his price, but I think Morrow can replace Kyzir White’s role in the defense and the Eagles may have saved themselves some money without losing too much production. We just have to accept that Howie is going to rely on a lot of stopgaps at linebacker, and I think (and hope) Morrow will be able to be an average starter and not end up like Eric Wilson, Zach Brown, or ‘insert failed Eagles linebacker here’. I’m cautiously optimistic about Morrow, despite the very low cap number. I think if he is asked to start he will do a good enough job for the Eagles next season. But the Eagles are going to have to rely on Nakobe Dean to take a huge step forward, or the linebacker room will take a pretty big step back.

Above the Nest with Raichele #78: Kelly green jerseys are back! + Eagles sign free agent defensive tackle Kentavius Street - BGN Radio
Raichele Privette gets you caught up on the Eagles latest roster moves and takeaways from the NFL owners meetings earlier this week.

Reviewing the Eagles’ free agent signings: Role players to be counted on, or ‘lottery tickets?’ - PhillyVoice
Will Edmunds be counted on for an important role in 2023, or is he a lottery ticket? Edmunds has been a starter for the entirety of his NFL career (79 games, 75 starts), so there’s a decent enough bet that he will be one of the Eagles’ starting safeties in 2023, barring some Jaquiski Tartt-like training camp. He’s probably a little bit more than just a lottery ticket.

Howie Roseman’s one-word response to Jordan Davis doubters - NBCSP
“The guy won the Lombardi and the Outland trophies. He was top-10 in the Heisman Trophy (voting). With the best defense in the country that won the national championship game. And so you’re going, ‘What are we missing?’ (He’s) a freak-show athlete. What are we missing? “Good character? Yeah, he was a captain at Georgia. Unbelievable personality. So you’re going, ‘What is going on here?’ And it’s like, ‘Oh, he can’t play on third down.’” Davis had 11 ½ sacks at Georgia, including 5.0 as a senior in 2021. He didn’t have any as a rookie, but the Eagles wouldn’t have drafted him 13th overall if they didn’t believe he could develop into a guy who can disrupt the quarterback and play on third and long.

NFL Free Agency 2023: Falcons, Panthers, Lions, Seahawks Get Top NFC Grades - SI
Notable addition: QB Marcus Mariota. Notable departures: RB Miles Sanders, DT Javon Hargrave, S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S Marcus Epps, LB T.J. Edwards, LB Kyzir White, G Isaac Seumalo, WR Zach Pascal Tough to crush the Eagles, who understood they were going to lose guys after this season. The problem is how many ended up leaving. Philadelphia watched as seven starters left, and in some cases on reasonable deals it could have potentially matched. Still, the Eagles are deep enough to withstand some of these departures while still owning two first-round picks (Nos. 10, 30). Grade: C

Making Monsters: T.J. Edwards is a ‘tackling machine’ - Windy City Gridiron
Shane Haff, who covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SB Nation’s Bleeding Green Nation, joined our latest Making Monsters podcast to give us the deets on new Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards. Not only did Shane share some great Edwards info with host Tylor Doll, but he also talked a bit about assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, who was previously in the Eagles front office. Haff called Edwards a “tackling machine” and lauded his ability in the run game but said his pass coverage skills took a “leap” in 2022 after struggling in that aspect early in his career. He says T.J. is still ascending as a player and cites his football instincts as a big reason for his growth.

Five boom-or-bust signings from 2023 NFL free agency - PFF
OT Andre Dillard, Tennessee Titans. Tennessee’s tackle unit ranked dead last in pass-blocking grade by five grading points and pressure percentage allowed by 2.5 percentage points in 2022, so something had to be done to address the position group in free agency. And that was the case before the team released longtime stalwart Taylor Lewan. They may have found a multi-year solution at left tackle with a promising young player on a three-year, $29 million contract that does not pay much cash up front, or they may have run the risk of putting their quarterback in further danger in 2023. A first-round pick back in 2019, Dillard failed to nail down a starting spot on the Eagles’ offensive line, which is far less concerning in Philadelphia than it might have been anywhere else. He played 677 snaps between 2019 and 2021 but saw just 37 snaps this past season. His 340 total snaps at left tackle in 2021 is really what we’re working off here in terms of NFL game film, and the results were promising if not perfect. Dillard earned a 71.7 pass-blocking grade and allowed just one quarterback hit over 250 pass-block reps. However, his 8.8% pressure percentage allowed ranked 63rd out of 73 tackles with at least 100 pass-blocking snaps over the same weeks he played. Working in his favor could be the ball getting out quicker in Tennessee as compared to a 2021 version of Jalen Hurts that had a high average time to throw, with Dillard allowing mostly later pressure, which is less the fault of the offensive lineman. It’s hard to know what the market was like for Dillard, who carried first-round pedigree and found himself stuck behind arguably the best offensive line in the NFL over his rookie contract, but this is a major payday for a player with 714 career snaps despite his first-round status.

Lions feel Halapoulivaati Vaitai “in a good place” after back surgery - PFT
When the Lions signed Graham Glasgow as a free agent earlier this month, one response was that the move didn’t seem to bode well for Halapoulivaati Vaitai‘s future with the team. Vaitai missed all of last season because of a back injury that required surgery and there was a chance to save some money by parting ways with the right guard, but the Lions were able to address the financial issue without losing Vaitai. Vaitai agreed to a pay cut in 2023 and he’ll be in line to hit free agency after the season rather than having to wait until after the 2024 campaign.

2023 Seahawks Free Agents: Seahawks rescind RFA tender of Ryan Neal per report - Field Gulls
So, for those fans who had hoped that the Hawks, with Julian Love and Ryan Neal able to play safety alongside Quandre Diggs, would perhaps move on from Jamal Adams, this would seem to be the final nail in that coffin. Specifically, by rescinding the tender to Neal, he becomes an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team, and the Seahawks lose the right of first refusal in terms of the ability to match any offer sheet Neal may sign. In addition, the move will clear roughly $1.877M of cap space as the $2.627M cap hit associated with the right of first refusal tender will come off the Seahawks salary cap. To head off the question that is almost certain to be asked, Neal will not count in comp pick calculations should he sign with another team. [BLG Note: Neal is a former Eagle (2018 UDFA signing) and he played under Sean Desai last season. Worth keeping an eye on.]

3 free agent linebacker options the Cowboys would be smart to look at adding - Blogging The Boys
Coming into the league as a highly-touted player during the 2016 NFL draft, Myles Jack would fall to the second round because of concerns about his surgically repaired knee. Since then, he has been a pretty durable player that has played in at least 11 games per year in seven career seasons thus far. During the last three seasons alone, Jack has surpassed the 100 total tackle mark each time. This offseason, just like last year, he finds himself as a free agent but due to his quality of play throughout his career, he should find another team. Jack is a sound tackler, and plays the pass game at a quality level as well. At just 27 years old, he has plenty of experience and still has plenty of tread left on the tires to be a nice addition to the Cowboys.

Big Blue View mailbag: Vacation edition - Big Blue View
Chris, even if the Giants want Smith-Njigba I don’t think they are going to try and move up into the top half of the draft to get that done. By the traditional Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, that would cost the Giants a second-round pick, and in my view that’s too rich. Here are four trade charts with differing values. I think a run on wide receivers could begin around No. 20 with the Seattle Seahawks in that spot, the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 21 and the Baltimore Ravens at No. 22 all possibly interested in a receiver. Maybe a move to No. 19 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) costs a third-round pick. I would say there is a chance. The question the Giants have to answer is do they believe they can get a potential No. 1 wide receiver by making that move, or can they sit tight, get a similar player at 25 or later, and keep that pick for something else.

2023 NFL draft running back projections: Rankings, comparisons - ESPN+
BackCAST and conventional wisdom agree: Robinson is the best running back prospect in this class. Robinson ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at 215 pounds. It is a very good size-speed combination — much, much better than the average prospect. Robinson also had an increasingly heavy workload, handling 23%, 43% and 60% of the Longhorn’s rushing attempts in his three-year college career. Robinson averaged 6.33 yards per carry, which is again very good. Accordingly, Robinson has a well-rounded and solid projection. However, he is not a Saquon Barkley- or Jonathan Taylor-level prospect. As a pure runner, Robinson’s numbers are solid but he does not excel in any particular metric. His size-speed ratio is good, but not quite as good as the top running back prospects in the past few drafts. His workload was good, but again, not particularly notable in the context of past top prospects. His yards per carry average is also good, but it is not even the highest in this class. His numbers do suggest that Robinson could excel as a receiver. Robinson finished his three-year college career with 60 catches for 805 yards and 8 receiving touchdowns. Accordingly, he could be particularly attractive for a pass-happy team looking for a three-down back. As the value of running backs has dropped in recent years, it is a real question about how much draft capital a player like Robinson is worth. A pick in the top 10 might be too rich for a player like Robinson, but if a team could somehow grab him near the end of the first round, it might end up very happy.

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