Eagles Draft Analysis and Grades: Terenna
Round 1, Pick 23 (23) Danny Watkins OL 6’3″ 310 Baylor
Pick Grade: B
Pick Analysis: If Watkins was 21 or 22 and as good as he is this pick would have been graded an A. My main concern is that he will be 27 during his rookie year and I don’t want him to turn into another Chris Weinke, who was 28 during his rookie year, and never really panned out even though he looked really good in college. The problem with taking older players who look good when playing against younger players is that older players are in their prime while younger players have yet to hit their prime. Men increase testosterone levels until they are about 30 and since testosterone increases muscle mass and strength, a 27 year old is much closer to their peak strength than a 22 year old. Watkins might just look like a good guard now because he was a man playing against kids. That being said, he will improve as a player because he only has two years of experience and could still end up starting 7 or 8 years for us. I don’t love the pick, but it did fill our second biggest need. It might have been better to take Gabe Carimi, OL here.
Round 2, Pick 22 (54) Jaiquawn Jarrett DB 6’0″ 198 Temple
Pick Grade: C+
Pick Analysis: Safety wasn’t out biggest need and we could have gotten much better value and possibly a better player by taking Mark Legree in the 5th round. Legree was more productive and has superior speed, size and strength. Taking Jarrett at pick 22 in the second round was certainly a reach. He is one of the slower safeties in the 40 and was only marginally productive in college. Jarrett only had 9 interceptions in his college career while Legree had 22. The only real knock on Legree is that he played at a smaller school. At first I wanted Devon House here because CB is our biggest need and he will likely turn out to be the second best corner in the draft, but he had a few character issues. I still would have taken a chance on him at some point in the draft. I also would have liked Dontay Moch, LB here. I think that Moch is going to turn into a very good LB in the NFL. Linebacker was a need that we didn’t address very well in this draft. Overall, I was disappointed in this pick and I’m not completely sold on Jarrett as a starter for the Eagles even though he may become just that after Mikell leaves.
Round 3, Pick 26 (90) (From Ravens) Curtis Marsh DB 6’1″ 197 Utah St.
Pick Grade: B-
Pick Analysis: CB was our biggest immediate need, but it’s not likely that Marsh will be able to start right away. Marsh only played CB in college for two years and still has a lot of need to improve. Statistically he had an decent senior year with 13 pass break ups, but needs to improve his hands and turn more of those break ups into interceptions. Marsh has moderate athleticism, but is no were near the athlete of Patrick Peterson or Devon House and is very average in the 10 yard range. Overall, Marsh could end up being an eventual starter for us, but since we need a CB to start this year, this pick doesn’t help us immediately. We will need to get a CB in FA if the lock out ever ends. I think that Marsh was certainly a reach because of how unproven he is. I would have considered Devon House, CB here who could have started right away or Sam Acho, LB here as well.
Round 4, Pick 19 (116) (From Buccaneers) Casey Matthews LB 6’1″ 231 Oregon
Pick Grade: C+
Pick Analysis: I firmly believe that Matthews is overrated because of his brother. He is not Clay Matthews. While he is instinctive and has a good feel for the game, he is small, slow and only had average production in college. Casey had a 1.67 in the 10 while Clay had a 1.49. Clay is much more athletic than Casey and was 10 lbs heavier coming into the NFL. If Casey wants to start for the Eagles he needs to put on 10-15 lbs and work on his quickness. He looked like a weakling in college and was often pushed around by blockers. I would have much rather had Chris Carter, LB or Devon House, CB who were both available at this point. Carter is a bigger, faster and more productive linebacker who will be a starter in no time for the Steelers. House is going to be a very good corner for the Packers and may even start this year.
Round 4, Pick 23 (120) Alex Henery K 6’2″ 177 Nebraska
Pick Grade: A-
Pick Analysis: Our all time point leader, David Akers, is not returning. We needed a kicker to replace him and Henery was the best kicker in the draft. Even though it’s never fun to pick a kicker, this was a solid selection by the Eagles, even if it was a bit of a reach.
Round 5, Pick 18 (149) (From Chargers) Dion Lewis RB 5’7″ 193 Pittsburgh
Pick Grade: A-
Pick Analysis: Taking Dion Lewis here was probably our best pick. He is a quick running back in the style of Darren Sproles. He can break tackles and has great lateral speed. He can change direction on a dime. Lewis was productive in college and will be a great change of pace back behind LeSean McCoy. This was a good value pick in the 5th round and one of the only players that we didn’t reach on. Even though I like this pick, I also would have considered taking Mark Legree, S or Chris Carter, LB here.
Round 5, Pick 30 (161) (From Jets) Julian Vandervelde OL 6’2″ 301 Iowa
Pick Grade: C
Pick Analysis: There were definitely better Offensive Lineman available at this point, like Demarcus Love, OL. I also would have rather had Chris Carter, LB here. While I don’t love this pick, it does help to fill a need if he pans out.
Round 6, Pick 26 (191) (From Ravens) Jason Kelce OL 6’3″ 280 Cincinnati
Pick Grade: D-
Pick Analysis: Kelce was brought in to play center, but he is just too small. He needs to put on at least 20 lbs to have a chance to hold off DTs in the NFL. He is going to get pushed all over the place and will likely not make the team. The Eagles love undersized and slow players. I would rather have had anyone here.
Round 6, Pick 28 (193) (From Patriots) Brian Rolle LB 5’10” 229 Ohio St.
Pick Grade: F
Pick Analysis: Rolle is a tiny linebacker who needs to put on 15 lbs without losing any speed to have any chance to make this team. He also wasn’t very productive as a college player and should have had way more tackles at his size. He looks slow and weak on tape and easily gets blocked out of plays. I pretty much hate this pick, but if he really beefs up without losing a step, there is a small possibility that he could be a back up.
Round 7, Pick 34 (237) (Compensatory Selection) Greg Lloyd LB 6’1″ 246 Connecticut
Pick Grade: D-
Pick Analysis: Lloyd’s father was a very good Linebacker in the NFL, but Lloyd himself isn’t much of a prospect. He has good size, but poor athleticism and college production. There is little chance of him making the team. Why not take a chance on Mark Herzlich, LB who had better production or Scott Lutrus, LB who had a great freshman and sophomore years and who is much more athletic. We could still get both of those players In FA if the lock out ever ends though.
Round 7, Pick 37 (240) (Compensatory Selection) Stanley Havili RB 6’0″ 227 USC
Pick Grade: C
Pick Analysis: Havili will have to play running back in the NFL. He has good size and athleticism. Although he didn’t run much in college he had a good average per run and caught the ball well. He looks athletic, fairly strong and can make players miss. I wish that there was more information on Havili, he didn’t participate in any of the speed drills except the 40 where he timed a 4.64. I would like to see what his 3 cone was, but we’ll just have to wait to see more of him in pre-season. My biggest concern with this pick is that we didn’t really need another RB. At the same time there aren’t tons of great players available in the 7th anyway.
Free Agents that I would take:
Mark Herzlich (LB), Scott Lutrus (LB), Joe Lefeged (S), Patrick Devlin (QB), Nick Bellore (LB)
Overall Draft Grade: C
The Eagles started off by drafting three average players and then a couple of solid picks in Dion Lewis, RB and Alex Henery, K. They then decided to waste the remainder of their picks on guys who will not make the team. It could have been a pretty decent draft but instead turned out to be pretty terrible. The general theme of the draft was reaching and spending picks on guys who are undersized, old or slow. Still, even though we could have drafted much better and didn’t get an impact Line backer, we will get some help from this draft. If we had all lower picks than we did, I might not look at this draft as poorly. We really missed out on some much better players than we drafted.
Team with the best Draft: Patriots
While the Patriots draft was certainly helped by having many high picks they did well with those picks. Nate Solder, OL is really going to sure up their offensive line. Ras-I Dowling, CB was considered one of the best corners a year ago and still shows great promise. Ryan Mallett, QB will have time to develop into an eventual starter behind Tom Brady. Marcus Cannon, OL is a boom or bust prospect who could develop into a great offensive lineman if his medical issues are resolved.
I also really liked Tampa Bay’s draft and think that their defense is going to take a big step forward with Mason Foster, LB, Da’Quan Bowers, DE and Adrian Clayborn, DE. Bowers was first round talent that they got in the second because of injury and foster is going to be a great starting linebacker for them.
By: Terenna at EaglesDomination.com
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