OT: Philadelphia Eagles: The Atlanta Chokers edition.

[FLYguy3911]

No. He's going to be Danny Woodhead because we don't know if he can run between the tackles. You say he's a matchup nightmare, but if we draft him I think we STILL have no threat up the middle at RB.

He's going to be Danny Woodhead because he's known for his versatility as a pass-catcher than as a traditional back. If you'd rather me say Darren Sproles, I can, but I think Darren's size and speed differentiate him. Woodhead is the best comparison I can draw.

632 carries in his college career, and he never averaged less than 6 yards/carry in a season. I'd imagine he has some idea of how to run inside. And Stanford doesn't run some gimmicky spread offense. Everyone knows what they are going to do.

We don't have a threat up the middle? What does that even mean? It's 2017. Teams rarely run base defenses anymore. There are almost always 5 DBs on the field on any given play. And with a guy like McCaffrey in the backfield, they probably aren't going to want a LB covering him in the pass game, so expect a lot of sub packages when he is on the field. If you're talking about him moving piles, well yeah, he probably won't be doing that, but neither did Shady and I think he turned out alright. Shady wasn't as well rounded as McCaffrey either. You can find a load to compliment with him later in the draft or on the street if you are really that worried about running up the middle.

It's pretty clear Pederson is always going to be a pass happy guy. I don't really believe in drafting 1st round RBs but if the Eagles pull the trigger on anyone it would probably be a guy like McCaffrey who will be a major threat in the passing game. And let's not forget, the most important thing at this point is to surround Wentz with all the necessary tools he needs to be successful. A RB with McCaffrey's skillset could go a long way.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

CM is getting the white RB treatment. Guy is legit.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

And with a guy like McCaffrey in the backfield, they probably aren't going to want a LB covering him in the pass game, so expect a lot of sub packages when he is on the field.

I agree with the the full post, but I feel like you even undersold this point. You need a Shazier level athlete to put a LB on him consistently and not expect to get roasted.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Daaamn I'd be psyched to get Cook or Ross in second.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

John Ross seems like he's going to be a PUP hero.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I agree with the the full post, but I feel like you even undersold this point. You need a Shazier level athlete to put a LB on him consistently and not expect to get roasted.

Yeah he's a tough check. And he's not just a guy that's a good receiver out of the backfield. You can motion him out into the slot and have him run the route tree, like Westbrook. He's a bigger target than Brian and probably has even better long speed than him too. For those reasons and the buzz going around, I don't think he makes it to 14.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Yeah he's a tough check. And he's not just a guy that's a good receiver out of the backfield. You can motion him out into the slot and have him run the route tree, like Westbrook. He's a bigger target than Brian and probably has even better long speed than him too. For those reasons and the buzz going around, I don't think he makes it to 14.

Yep. Exactly this. Unfortunately I think he's a top 8 pick, but McCaffrey, like Westbrook before him, is not going to live and die on long speed. You can find LBs with long speed anyway. What you can't find are ones that can keep up with a guy who runs a bleeping 6.57 3 cone. He's a thing of beauty on a screen. His hips are upfield instantly. The athletic scores show on tape exactly how you'd hope.

I know it's tough to imagine what that 3 cone means for people who don't follow this stuff religiously. Kevin King is a phenomenal athlete even on the NFL CB scale. If you go by SPARQ, he's the best athlete (relative to his positioin) in this entire class. Change of direction is one of his biggest strengths. He ran a 6.56 3 cone.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Yeah the 3 cone and 20 yard shuttle times are more important than a 40 yard dash for a RB imo.

If no one has seen this yet:

https://twitter.com/CMcCaffrey5/status/854742776273133568

 

[FLYguy3911]

There's talk of Josh Dobbs going in the late 1st? What the...I know he's had a good offseason but jeez.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

That's gross lmao. The NFL draft is wild.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Oh dear lord. I saw Brugler say he could see him to Cleveland at 52 and I thought that was high. His feet look good to me, but the accuracy just isn't there for that kind of pick. What about him says he's more than a mid-round QB?

 

[FLYguy3911]

McShay mentioned it. Made it sound like early 2nd was very possible with an outside chance he could sneak into the late 1st.

I'm guessing he probably just heard something because I listened to him talk about Dobbs the other day and he didn't mention him going that high.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Was he even really draftable prior to the senior bowl? Every Tennessee game I watched over the years nothing really jumped out with him.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I'm not convinced he's significantly better than Dane Evans, but I clearly don't look at QBs the same way the NFL does.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

I'm not convinced he's significantly better than Dane Evans, but I clearly don't look at QBs the same way the NFL does.

For as long as I can remember, I have had this feeling that the NFL has a somewhat diabolical "quarterback development" problem, and I sense that it has something to do with the meathead/armed forces nature of football coach mentality. Not all coaches are prehistoric in this way, of course, but a lot of them clearly are. It is a vague notion that I couldn't elaborate on, but the number of decent quarterbacks who are produced just doesn't equate to me. I have always felt that there should be more, even when you consider the evolution of defenses and the ever increasing degree of difficulty in breaking them down. As I've said before though, I have really lost a lot of interest in the sport in the last several years, so who knows.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Spread offenses are killing QB development. Also high school (and younger) QBs attend QB camp after QB camp because that's what you have to do now to get an offer from a big school. A lot of these kids get so mechanic it actually hurts their performance.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Spread offenses are killing QB development. Also high school (and younger) QBs attend QB camp after QB camp because that's what you have to do now to get an offer from a big school. A lot of these kids get so mechanic it actually hurts their performance.

Yeah, those things are very in tune with the overall impression I have. I just think NFL clubs could also do more to improve the number of guys who would make decent starters - I couldn't say how, but it just seems like there aren't enough. Maybe it has to do with the lack of in-game reps they get to acclimate to the pro game. These coaches just tend to be very, very stubborn, in my opinion.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I don't know how to prioritize which parts are more responsible than others, but those are surely part of the problem.

Another big part of it to me is the natural evolution of defenses. As the passing game evolved from a surprise attack to what we have today, defenses are keying on it more and more and not just in what personnel they put on the field. Now when you're looking for a QB, not only do you need a guy with a big enough arm to play at this level, you need someone to be able to handle packaged passing concepts. It wasn't that long ago that finding the best located safety was enough to fairly reliably determine what you should do as an offense. Now you need to find someone who can identity a defense pre-snap and then adjust his progression to the situation. Then you need those two tiny subsections of QBs to both line up.

What the current system gives us is guys who can do exactly what is put in front of them because that's how they learn. The great QBs make plays outside of the structure of the offense because they understand how to put everything together into one coherent picture.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

Garrett
Thomas
Allen
Trubisky
Hooker
McCaffrey
Lattimore
Adams
Howard
Williams
Fournette

They're all gone. Who do you pick ?

I'd take Davis.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Garrett
Thomas
Allen
Trubisky
Hooker
McCaffrey
Lattimore
Hooker
Adams
Howard
Williams
Fournette

They're all gone. Who do you pick ?

I'd take Davis.

There's only 11 guys there. You have Hooker twice.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

There's only 11 guys there. You have Hooker twice.

He's that damn good.

I wasn't really sure how I wanted to fill out the list, those were the guys I felt confident we'll never get the opportunity to select.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I'd take Davis over at least half of your exclusions, let alone the rest of the board.

I really think the pick is going to be Conley, Harris, Ross, or Barnett. I would guess they love McCaffrey too, but don't see him lasting beyond 8.

 

[SnS]

I hope the Panthers take McCaffrey. As a fan, that's my pick for them.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Ok, not sure if this had been suggested but here's a path I would not mind taking at the draft.

Trade 14 to Denver for 20, 51, and 126.

Take Peppers with 20. At our pick at 43 we could still have a shot at Dalvin Cook or John Ross, plus a number of quality corners. Then at 51 you are looking at potentially adding a DB like Budda Baker or Kevin King. Then you can also now use maybe 99 in the third round to target a guy like Sidney Jones "for free" because we gain another pick at 126 that we can use to just draft BPA. If we haven't gotten an RB yet, Donnell Pumphrey might still be on the board at 126 who I think is going to be a good threat catching passes out of the backfield.

The impetus for this is taking Peppers at 20. I know there is some concern with him because he doesn't really have a position, but I think that plays to the strength of the Eagles defense. He has a potential IMO to be a real hard-nosed safety that can also play some linebacker in certain packages, plus he may be able to play out wide in a pinch and can be used to return kicks.

Just a thought. I am just looking big-picture. Doubt it happens though. While safety might not be our biggest need, I think Peppers could have the biggest impact. There's a slew of CBs that we can get in the second, plus a guy like Jones maybe you roll the dice on in the third. If you go Peppers at 20, CB at 43, and BPA from then on out, I think you wind up with a nice draft. Or Peppers at 20, Cook/Ross at 43, CB at 51, then BPA you are dancing a jig.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Peppers is pretty much a zero in the passing game. The Eagles taking him in the first round would be pretty disappointing.