Eagles News: Two Philadelphia rookies make the “All-Draft Pick Team”

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2023 NFL ‘All-Draft Pick Team’: Our favorite selections at each position - The Athletic
Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles (Round 1, No. 9). Carter has it all as a prospect — and he’s got it made with the situation into which he was drafted. His explosiveness and pass-rushing chops will give him third-down value, especially on a defense that just lost Javon Hargrave. Carter has an impressive combination of anchor, hands and agility as a run defender, and he won’t have to shoulder the load alone as he shares snaps with Jordan Davis and Fletcher Cox. Carter was arguably the most talented player in the class and joins a defense that put up gaudy backfield-production numbers last season. [...] Tyler Steen, Philadelphia Eagles (Round 3, No. 65). This should be fun. Steen is a powerful, explosive former defensive lineman who matriculated from Vanderbilt to become Alabama’s starting left tackle in 2022. He has technical work in front of him, notably with his feet and general finish consistency. However, the Eagles have the best offensive line coach in the NFL (Jeff Stoutland). At the very least, Steen will be a valuable swing lineman.

Kelce gives some impressions of Carter from OTAs - NBCSP
“I’ve never liked comps but I think sometimes when you see a guy and it reminds you of another guy, there’s something to that,” Kelce said. “When you anatomically move the way somebody else who was a good player moves and you bend the same way. I think that’s one thing.” So that begs the question: Who does Carter remind you of? “I have not seen him enough to say that,” Kelce said. “We just lost a really, really good D-tackle in (Javon) Hargrave and we still have Fletch (Cox). He kind of reminds me on some elements of a little bit of both of those guys. He’s thick in the lower body the way Hargrave was but I’m going to be interested to see what his hands feel like. I’ve only noticed two players’ grip strengths in my career. One is Fletcher Cox, the other one oddly enough is Clay Matthews.” The Eagles lost Hargrave in free agency to the 49ers but brought Cox back on a one-year deal for his 12th season in 2023. After Kelce and Long took a brief detour to talk about Matthews’ surprising grip strength, Kelce offered up one more name of a guy Carter reminds him of a bit. “He’s kind of got some (Commanders Pro Bowl DT) Daron Payne to him too, just body stature,” Kelce said. “He bends really well. Daron also sits with his ass kind of down, kind of in a 2-gap stance even when he’s playing a one-gap, 2 technique. That’s kind of how he looks a little bit in his stance. I haven’t seen enough of him to say yet but just walking around. You just see somebody lift weights. …

Jason Kelce among the NFL’s best 30 players over 30 years old - BGN
Understandably, the veteran takes time after every season to mull retirement, but Kelce has talked various times this offseason about how he still wants to play, and still feels like he can do so at a high level. It didn’t quite feel like the end for Kelce following the Super Bowl loss, and there’s still so much potential for the Eagles’ 2023 roster, but it’s always a sigh of relief when he confirms his return. Jordan Mailata is certainly glad to have Kelce around another season, and talked about how Kelce is the epitome of a football player and called him a true leader.

The EPA Podcast #25: Ranking the positional groups in the NFC East - BGN Radio
Shane Haff and Victor Williams rank the NFC East positional groups for all four teams in the division in addition to ranking the coaches.

Mailbag: Should the Eagles add DeSean Jackson, Zach Ertz, Julio Jones, Budda Baker, Matt Araiza, or (fill in some other recognizable name)? - PhillyVoice
I have repeatedly gotten asked if the Eagles should sign Araiza, so, alright fine. The short answer... I don’t have an answer ‍♂️. I can watch All-22 and opine on whether a guy can play or not, and obviously the guy can punt, but I have no idea what kind of person he is. Just because he was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in this case, that doesn’t necessarily make him a saint, and his legal battles seemingly aren’t over. I have no doubt that Dom DiSandro has done his digging on the matter and Araiza himself, but I have no information as to what he and the Eagles may have found. My guess is that if the Eagles were comfortable with Araiza the person they’ve have already brought him in.

Appreciating Nick - Iggles Blitz
A bad couple of seasons from Sirianni following a 4-win year to end the Pederson era would have made for desperate times. The easy thing to do would have been to go with the big name (Josh McDaniels) or whoever was the hot name at the time. Instead, Lurie and Roseman rolled the dice on a little-known offensive coordinator. The Sirianni hire has proven to be the equivalent of an 80-yard TD. He is 23-11 in two seasons. He made the playoffs both years and got to the Super Bowl last year. Sirianni helped turn a late second round pick into a star QB. He and his staff have done a terrific job schematically. The Eagles offense had defensive players looking confused on almost a weekly basis last year. The Eagles are good and fun to watch. The players have stayed healthy. They sure seem happy. Sirianni is pushing all the right buttons. He’s become one of the best coaches in the NFL.

Where are they now? S Quintin Demps - PE.com
The Eagles got a safety who had the hands of a wide receiver and a halfback’s running ability during the 2008 NFL Draft when they selected UTEP’s Quintin Demps. After finishing his collegiate career with 17 interceptions, two of which he returned 100 yards for touchdowns during his senior season, the third-team All-American was disappointed not to have been chosen earlier than the fourth round. “I was excited, but I was also kind of mad because I didn’t go in the first or second round,” Demps says. “I ran a 4.3 (40-yard dash) at the Combine. Nowadays, they’re running that like it’s nothing. But back then, a safety running a 4.3 was a big deal. I thought I would jump up, for sure. Looking back, I was just being ungrateful. But overall, it was joy and excitement.” Shown the ropes during Training Camp by veterans like Brian Dawkins, Quintin Mikell, and Jason Avant, his welcome to the team moment didn’t include embarrassing haircuts or the like. Instead ...

Where do the Giants’ position groups rank in the NFC East? - Big Blue View
The NFC East quarterback situation is difficult to decipher. It comes down to how much credit/blame you give to each team’s quarterback for the team’s success/failure. No NFC East QB is among the top five in the NFL in my eyes. Vacchiano may feel differently. He argues that Hurts is the best two-way (pass, run) QB in the league and ranks him easily as first in the division. He might be. Did Hurts take a big step forward from 2021, when he was not viewed that way, to 2022? Or did adding A.J. Brown to an offense that already had Devonta Smith and the NFL’s best offensive line make the difference? Some Giants fans believe that Daniel Jones is better than Dak Prescott. He might be. Jones has never had the receivers and offensive line that Prescott has had with the Dallas Cowboys, while Prescott has put up big numbers and gotten his team to the playoffs more often - but never to an NFC Championship Game. It’s a toss-up, edge to Prescott for now. It could change by season’s end. The only certainty is that the Washington Commanders rank last at the moment, with unproven Sam Howell the ostensible starter.

Dallas Cowboys updates: Mike McCarthy says Tony Pollard involved in OTAs, Terence Steele not ready yet - Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys lost running back Tony Pollard to a fractured fibula in the Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Offensive tackle Terence Steele was lost a few weeks prior. McCarthy noted that the former has been involved as of late by way of walkthroughs but that the latter is not quite there. The Cowboys have been coy about how they are going to approach the offensive line this year. On the surface they have a starting five (that includes Steele) that most of us feel confident about, but the inevitability of life without Tyron Smith casts a shadow that the team will have to address at some point.

Three Players I Expect to Make a Jump in 2023 - Hogs Haven
In 2022, Darrick Forrest blew up onto the scene and was an absolute menace in the deep secondary. Starting at free safety from the beginning of the season, Forrest was in on 81% of the defensive snaps (and his special teams snaps dropped to 24%). Forrest ended the season with 4 interceptions, two forced fumbles, and 88 tackles, and did it with a sufficiently bruising style that he earned the nickname “Forrest Thump” from some admirers in the fanbase. To an extent, Forrest played in strong safety Kam Curl’s shadow last year, as a result of Curl having played well for three straight years now. However, by the end of last season, I was left with the distinct feeling that Forrest’s ceiling is actually the higher of the two, and that he’s going to end up being the more valuable player in the coming years. I stand by that, and it’s not intended as a slight against Curl, who has been an impressive talent by any metric. This year, I think the duo of Forrest and Curl gets recognized as one of the best in the league, and Forrest (and, perhaps, Curl) will get strong consideration for post-season honors.

A college football player invented a balaclava to reduce concussions - SB Nation
When Johns Hopkins sophomore defensive back Carter Hogg was in pre-K, his dad Jason used to take him to work. With his Bob the Builder umbrella in tow, he would sit and watch, taking notes as his father worked on new technology for a credit card company. Now as a student-athlete, Hogg is using the entrepreneur and inventor mindset that’s been passed down from his family to create the G8RSkin, a protective device that could reduce the concussion risk in contact sports, all with family on the mind. “Having grown up around my dad and all the different ideas and concepts he came up with, it kind of inspired me,” Hogg said in an interview over Zoom. “I’ve been blessed to have that inventive aspect imbued in my by my dad from a young age.”

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