Saturday, March 7, 2009

Recent Transactions

Keeping up with the pace of NFL free agency, the Eagles have made a couple more moves this week:

First, they traded Greg Lewis to New England, along with a 7th-round draft pick next year, for a fifth-round pick this year. Honestly, this deal seems a little strange to me. Clearly the Eagles have motives beyond just looking to stockpile the entire draft. I do think Greg Lewis maybe had a little better value than this, but parting with a final round pick is not a huge deal. The deal gives the Eagles four picks in the fifth round and twelve overall. Chances are very high they will not keep all of these picks in the fifth round, and will likely use some of them to move around the draft board. With two picks in the first round, as well, chances are pretty slim the Eagles will use both. One of those might be trade bait or useful in moving up in the first round for a particular player. The Eagles clearly have something in mind to keep trading for these draft picks.

Second, they signed safety Sean Jones out of Cleveland to a one year deal. He is coming off an injury, much like Stacy Andrews and Jack Ike, but he definitely has potential and is a great pick up to help fill in the safety depth chart. He has 14 picks over the last three seasons while Dawkins only had six. However, that in no way means he is ready to replace the lost legend. Jones should fill in nicely, and chances are good the Eagles will draft another safety, most likely a Free Safety. It is unlikely that the Eagles will use a high draft pick on a safety, so look to the third or fourth round for them to pick up that position. It also depends on where the players they have scouted fall.

So long as the Eagles hold on to him until the draft, Reggie Brown might be used as trade bait, or paired with a draft pick so that the Eagles can move up in the draft, or receive a player either just drafted or someone entrenched. The possibilities of getting an Anquan Boldin are pretty low, but the Eagles would certainly be wise to draft a decent WR. Maybe they are trying to move up to grab a Crabtree? Highly unlikely. The Eagles will probably wait until the second round, maybe even third, to grab a receiver. They should be looking for someone with size (D.Jack is only 5'10") and very good hands (obvious reasons).

Ramses Barden out of Cal Poly (where Eagle Chris Gocong hails from) might be one the Eagles take a look at. He is big (6'6") and he's got tremendous athleticism. He's strong so he can fill in the blocking role, and since Jackson would bring the speed, losing some with Barden would not be a huge deal. He is more of a possession guy than a deep-threat, and that's just what the Eagles need. Even though the Eagles throw the ball deep a lot, they need someone who can actually catch and not drop the ball. That is the real key. The Eagles should be running more short-to-mid range passes rather than throwing the ball deep so often. Really that's what the West Coast offense should be.

Another possession guy is Patrick Turner out of USC. He would be a late round pick, maybe one of the fifth or sixth round picks for the Eagles, but he's got great size (6'5") and good hands. He dealt with some injuries in college, and never really reached his potential, but with proper coaching he can probably excell and be a surprise success from the late round.

The Eagles will mainly be looking to fill offensive holes in the draft, including a RB, maybe FB, TE, and OL. They may be focusing more on interior linemen since picking up Stacy, and with Herremans possibly moving out to Tackle, they can go for a Guard/Tackle hybrid player. Really the focus should be on LT. William Beatty is one of the names being thrown around, aside from Eben Britton out of Arizona. But Beatty has an added advantage: he blocked for one of the best running backs in the country (Donald Brown). It would be interesting if the Eagles ended up taking both of these players from UConn, but it seems that the Eagles are favoring Britton as their choice. Then again, maybe they will move up and snatch one of the early Tackles like Eugene Monroe or Andre Smith.

Herman Johnson at the Guard position is simply massive, and the Eagles love size. Coming into LSU, he weighed over 400 lbs. when he first started as a freshman. Currently at 6'7" and 364, he is simply huge. He has good skills when it comes to the running game, something the Eagles really need is a good run blocker. He is also very strong and could probably handle two linemen or a linemen/backer at the same time. It would be interesting if the Eagles make a play for him in the draft.

No comments: