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Eagles News: Philadelphia is “really high on where Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean are” entering Year 2

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 4/17/23.

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2023 NFL Draft: How the Panthers Are Leaning With the No. 1 Pick - SI
The Eagles are really high on where Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean are going into their second years, and that could, potentially, work to help Jalen Carter with Philly, should he slide to the bottom of the top 10. For one, as one executive who’s worked with GM Howie Roseman in the past put it, “Howie loves going all in on certain programs, so if he has success with a couple guys from one school, he can go overboard.” And two, having Davis and Dean, in theory at least, would help Philly get Carter past the litany of issues he’s had. Hitting on Carter would give the Eagles the perfect heir to Fletcher Cox, as the dominant 3-technique for the Philly front.

Roob’s 10 Observations: At what positions have Eagles improved? - NBCSP
1. The Eagles lost seven starters through free agency – five on defense - and it’s hard to say they’ve improved at any of those seven spots. Nick Morrow is no T.J. Edwards. Terrell Edmunds might be a push with Marcus Epps – but he might not be. Nakobe Dean could – and should - end up much more productive than Kyzir White, but he only played 34 snaps last year and is still a question mark until we see it on the field. Cam Jurgens has all the potential in the world, but he played exactly one snap at right guard as a rookie and Isaac Seumalo was a top-10 guard in the NFL last year according to Pro Football Focus. Kenny Gainwell and Rashaad Penny are loaded with potential, but neither has been a consistent week-in and week-out player like Miles Sanders. Reed Blankenship really showed up last year, but Chauncey Gardner-Johnson’s shoes are huge ones to fill. Jordan Davis has all the tools, but Javon Hargrave was one of the best in the business. Don’t get me wrong. I like this roster. The Eagles are loaded on offense, they still have the best group of edge rushers in football and there’ll be multiple opportunities to land elite playmakers in the draft. And I feel like Howie Roseman did as good a job as possible replacing the guys who left considering the cap limitations he was working around. But these are big holes, and the Eagles will be counting on a lot of question marks to fill them.

5 things to know about new Eagles defensive tackle Kentavius Street - BGN
His biggest strength is staying healthy. Availability matters especially on the defensive line. He is a solid rotation pass rusher as well at DT and can be an alright run defender. Also decently versatile as evidenced by him playing defensive end for 3 years in San Fran. Has a quick first step off the snap as well. Did log a career high in snap count for the Saints at 46%.

Adding to the OL - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles need to find two or three additional linemen to add to that group. Brett Toth could win a spot, but he’s far from a lock. The Eagles don’t need to add blockers in the first round. They’ve been able to find good players early, middle and late in the draft. They’ve even had success with UDFAs. I think the only reason to spend a first round pick would be to secure an OT who could take over for Lane Johnson down the road. That might seem wasteful, taking a player who won’t be needed for a year or two. But that is the value of an OT. Andre Dillard only started a handful of games for the Eagles, but got $10M a year in free agency. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson led the league in INTs and got $6.5M. Teams are desperate for good OT help. If the Eagles believe in one of the OT prospects, they could take him at 10. They could also target someone at 30. They’ll have options. With a pair of good starters and a good backup, the Eagles are in the envious spot of having flexibility. They could take a mid-round player who might need a little work. They could also take a late rounder and see if they can develop that player.

Spadaro: There’s more to the NFL Draft than Round 1 - PE.com
Only a handful, at best, of the players they watch will be Night 1, or even Night 2, draft picks. Some will go as late as the third day – Rounds 4-7 – and then another large group will be signed in the post-draft period, one that yielded for the Eagles in recent seasons the likes of linebacker T.J. Edwards, a Super Bowl starter and a key player these last few seasons; safety Reed Blankenship, who is line to be a key player in his second season here; No. 2 tight end Jack Stoll; punt returner/wide receiver Britain Covey; and reserve cornerback/special teams player Josh Jobe. The list of players who have impacted the Eagles through the years – many seasons included – who were not drafted includes players such as tight end Chad Lewis, cornerback Herman Edwards, defensive tackle Ken Clarke, and on and on and on the list goes. The point is this, and I venture to say that this is an annual reminder: The strength of a team’s NFL Draft extends far beyond the first round or even the second night: It’s an entire-weekend process that impacts a roster more than any single offseason event. Winning the draft means maximizing the seven rounds of the weekend as well as finding some gems in the free-agent frenzy that happens on Saturday night when teams fill out their rosters with players not taken.

2023 NFL Draft: Day 3 fits for all 32 NFL teams - PFF
Philadelphia Eagles: RB Sean Tucker, Syracuse. Tucker may not always find the right hole, but when you give him a runway, there are few more impressive running backs in the class. His burst and speed are nothing short of elite. Put that behind the offensive line that creates the biggest holes in the NFL and Tucker could go off.

NFC East News: Jalen Hurts agrees to 5-year, $255 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles - Hogs Haven
This deal locks up the Eagles franchise quarterback through the 2028 season, which is bad news for the rest of the division if Hurts can maintain, or exceed, his level of play from last year. The full details of his contract haven’t been released yet, but it’s been reported that $110 million is fully guaranteed at signing, with $179.304 million in total guarantees. Hurts also has a no trade clause included in his deal, which is the first time that has been used by the Eagles. Eagles GM Howie Roseman isn’t afraid to pay his top guys, and that’s clear with the team’s franchise quarterbacks. He now has another massive deal to maneuver around in the coming years when the big cap hits start affecting team decisions. Hurts joins Daniel Jones(Giants) and Dak Prescott(Cowboys) on the franchise QBs list in the division, and they are all averaging at least $40 million per year.

Snyder’s Long Goodbye, and the First-Round Case for Bijan Robinson - FMIA
An increasing number of people around the league think Jalen Carter has done enough in his visits to not sink like a stone on draft night. (More on Carter in my next section.) It’s become almost a cliché, how many team officials think the Seahawks will take Carter with the fifth overall pick. Best rumor of the week: Steelers trading up from 17 to nine if Carter’s there. There could not be a more perfect coach for Carter than Mike Tomlin.

Jalen Hurts signs 5-year extension, most lucrative in NFL history - Big Blue View
For the New York Giants, this means another five years of dealing with a dual-threat nightmare defensively. The question going forward will be how to contain one of the league’s most explosive players.

3 Cowboys on the roster bubble heading into the 2023 draft - Blogging The Boys
Kelvin Joseph, cornerback. You could include fellow cornerback Nashon Wright here also, but Wright has shown more in his combined play on defense and special teams than Kelvin Joseph has at this stage in their respective careers. Joseph’s off-the-field concerns must weigh on the front office and the patience the team has with him has been wearing thin. The lowlight of Joseph’s season was an abysmal performance against Jacksonville last year where he was subsequently benched. Joseph hasn’t shown the instincts needed to be relied on to play corner for extended action and Dallas hasn’t shown any interest in playing Joseph other than a boundary cornerback. The addition of Stephon Gilmore and the emergence of DaRon Bland and Israel Mukuamu have made things significantly more difficult for Joseph’s chances at carving out a role for himself on the team. Entering his third season in Dallas, Joseph is at the crossroads of a career that needs to get off the ground immediately, in Dallas or otherwise.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba Highlights Deep Class of WRs - Football Outsiders
Potential Sleeper—Tank Dell, Houston: 243 Yards/Season. Scouts, Inc.: No. 229 Overall. Similar Historical Prospects: DeDe Westbrook, Anthony Gonzalez. Playmaker projects Tank Dell at only 243 yards per season, but his low Playmaker projection is entirely a function of his low projected draft position. In terms of just his college statistics, Dell’s numbers are eerily similar to Jalin Hyatt’s. Dell caught a touchdown on 3.4% of his team’s passing attempts and recorded 2.90 yards per team passing attempt during his best seasons for those statistics. However, draftniks are not crazy for ranking Dell in the lower rounds. Dell has one huge red flag: his size. It is true that NFL decision-makers have been perhaps overly anxious about wide receiver size. For example, despite having Jerry Rice-level numbers at Alabama, DeVonta Smith dropped somewhat in the 2021 NFL draft due to concerns with his size, but he already has over 2,000 receiving yards in two seasons. However, Smith was considered small at 170 pounds and Dell is smaller—he weighed in at 165 pounds at the combine. Dell presents excellent value in the later rounds. In the worst-case scenario, Dell’s lack of size proves to be too great an obstacle and he fails to make active roster, which is a common fate for many seventh-round picks. In the best-case scenario, however, Dell overcomes his relatively small size and achieves a level of success consistent with what his college statistics suggest might be possible.

The Commanders sale has taken a bizarre turn - SB Nation
The possible sale of the Washington Commanders felt too neat and tidy for a Dan Snyder business deal. There’s now reportedly a bizarre $7 billion ALL CASH offer for the team that came out of nowhere, three days after an agreement had been reached in principle for Snyder to sell the team to a group made up of Josh Harris, Mitchell Rales, and Magic Johnson. News emerged over the weekend that former Duke basketball player Brian Davis slid under the wire to deliver a $7B offer to Snyder, almost a full billion more than the Harris-led bid. Having a new bidder jump into the ring isn’t what makes this situation bizarre, but rather the nature of the bid’s construction — paired with the fact nobody can really work out where this money is coming from.

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