With the NFL Draft a thing of the past, I figured I would
take a look back at how the Eagles did and I talked to Philadelphia Inquirer
Eagles writer Zach Berman to evaluate their selections.
The Eagles were under a lot of scrutiny after their
first-round selection of Louisville defensive end Marcus Smith. Smith wasn’t viewed as a first-round pick
entering the draft and even himself was surprised to be picked in the first
round. The Eagles were a bit unlucky in
the first round as their six players who they targeted with the 22nd
pick were all gone by the time pick 22 rolled around. With pass rusher being their biggest need in
the eyes of most, Berman believed it was still important to address a need.
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| Joe Robbins/Getty Images Even Marcus Smith himself was surprised when the Eagles drafted him in the first round . |
“If you like the
player, which clearly they liked him, then you get him,” Berman said. “It’s
always better to be a pick early than a pick late.” Anthony Barr from UCLA was the highest rated
pass rusher on the Eagles board and after Barr and the five other players they
were looking at were off the board they moved back to 26 and saw another pass
rusher, Dee Ford from Auburn, go at 23 and so the Eagles took Smith.
Berman believes Smith has the frame to be a situational
pass-rusher and is a good enough athlete to be molded into a starter but it
really depends on the learning curve with which he adapts to Bill Davis and the
3-4 defense. Someone who Berman believes
will make more of an immediate impact was the Eagles second-round selection
Jordan Matthews, a wide receiver from Vanderbilt.
“He’s got good size, he’s got good speed, he’s got great
production and by all indications he’s a good character guy,” Berman said. “So he’s got what the Eagles were looking
for.” After releasing DeSean Jackson
this offseason, Berman thinks Matthews can help fill the void.
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| Bob DeChiara-USA Today Sports The Eagles will look to Jordan Matthews to help make plays on offense in 2014 as they move forward without DeSean Jackson. |
“I think he can be a day one impact player,” Berman added of
Matthews. Another player the Eagles
drafted in hopes of being another playmaking wide receiver was Josh Huff from
Oregon. The value in the third round
isn’t bad, but it could look a lot better when the season starts.
“There’s no one in the NFL that will have a better idea of
how to use Josh Huff than Chip Kelly,” Berman said referencing the familiarity
Kelly has with Huff from their time together at Oregon. While Huff was drafted in the third round, if
Chip Kelly figures out a good scheme fit for him in his offense, then Huff
figures to be yet another playmaker for the Eagles.
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| Scott Olmos/USA Today Sports Given that Josh Huff is familiar with Chip Kelly, the Eagles hope he can fit right into the high-tempo offense. |
Berman felt the Eagles late-round picks made sense as they
added defensive backs Jaylen Watkins and Ed Reynolds and defensive linemen
Taylor Hart and Beau Allen. Secondary
was a big need for the Eagles and Berman felt that Watkins was a good fit.
“His versatility in nickel situations, dime situations, and
on special teams is nice,” Berman said of Watkins.
Reynolds is another good fit in Berman’s mind as he believes
the safety from Stanford gives them some depth at a position they very much
needed some depth at. Reynolds could
wind up being a nice playmaker on defense for the Eagles as Berman pointed to
his six interceptions two seasons ago, three of which were returned for
touchdowns for the Cardinal as something to be excited about.
Taylor Hart gives the Eagles a prototypical 3-4 defensive
end and is another guy Chip Kelly is familiar with having came out of Oregon
and Beau Allen was a true nose tackle that gives the Eagles some depth behind
Bennie Logan at nose tackle who played a lot as a rookie last season.
A common thread now having seen two drafts with Chip Kelly
as the Eagles head coach has been his penchant for drafting players from the
Pac 12 who he had at Oregon or went against.
Berman thinks it’s a practical approach for someone entering his second
season in the NFL having spent lots of years in the college ranks.
“If you have familiarity with a player and have a better
idea of how he’ll translate to the NFL, then it makes,” Berman said. In the last two drafts, the Eagles have
drafted Zach Ertz, Matt Barkley, Josh Huff, Taylor Hart, and Ed Reynolds, all
from Pac 12 schools.
Berman added that he felt the Eagles did alright after an
unfortunate first round. “In terms of
what you were going into the draft looking for I would give them a B-, I think
the first round didn’t really go their way but I think they recovered nicely,”
Berman said.
As we head towards the summer, the pieces are beginning to
fall into place for the 2014 Eagles and Berman doesn’t expect many other major
personnel moves to be made now that the draft is over. “I think for the most part what you see now
is going to be most of their roster,” Berman concluded.
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