Teams are putting the finishing touches on their preparation as the 2015 NFL Draft is nearly here.
To preview the draft for the Philadelphia Eagles, I got together with Anthony DiBona of Inside the Iggles. Below are my questions followed by his answers.
1. What are the team’s biggest needs heading into the draft and how might they address them?
"Even after all the moves the Philadelphia Eagles have made this offseason, they still have some glaring needs. Wide receiver, safety, cornerback, offensive guard and quarterback are all positions in question. Whether it be due to a lack of starting experience or injury concerns, all of those holes should ideally be addressed. But the biggest needs are safety, wide receiver and cornerback.At safety, the Eagles have shown a ton of interests in Penn State safety Adrian Amos and rightfully so. He fits what they look for at the position with his size, athleticism and versatile coverage skills having starting experience at both safety and cornerback. At wide receiver, Philadelphia has brought in multiple prospects for pre-draft visits. But none fits the team better than USC’s Nelson Agholor. He’s not the biggest guy but he runs great routes, explosive after the catch and is considered a high character player which Eagles head coach Chip Kelly values quite a bit.Lastly, at cornerback, the Eagles have focused on two prospects in particular during the pre-draft proccess. Those players are Byron Jones from Connecticut and Eric Rowe from Utah. Both prospects are some of the best athletes at their position in the 2015 draft class but they’re also great players on the field. They each have experience playing safety as well, which bodes well for their potential fit in Philadelphia."
Section 215
2. What needs to happen for this draft to be considered a success?
"While many believe the draft will only be a success if the Eagles somehow draft Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, I tend to disagree. Although he’s the perfect fit for the birds at quarterback, the team has far too many holes to “put all their eggs in one basket,” as they say.In order for this draft to be considered a success, I believe the Eagles and Kelly should focus on filling the holes on their roster. There isn’t a legitimate option currently on the team to start at safety opposite of Malcolm Jenkins, that’s a problem. We also have no idea who is going to start opposite of Byron Maxwell at cornerback. Then there’s the fact that the team is relying on Miles Austin, Riley Cooper and two players heading into just their second year in the league to be their receiving core.All of that paired with an injury prone projected starting quarterback in Sam Bradford and the Eagles will have their hands full during the draft. If they can somehow manage to address each of those spots in some capacity, I’ll be happy."
3. What in your mind would make this draft a failure?
"If the Eagles do not draft Mariota, they might as well just forfeit the rest of their picks. But in all seriousness, I’ll consider this draft a failure if the team fails to address some of it’s glaring weaknesses. The secondary is a mess, they have no idea who their starting outside wide receivers will be, my grandmother has better knees than their projected starting quarterback…it’s just not looking good right now.But all of that can change with a solid draft class in 2015. The talent is certainly in this year’s class to patch up some of these major holes, it’s just up to Kelly and the rest of the Eagles’ staff to get the job done."
4. What is a bold prediction for your team this draft?
"The Philadelphia Eagles will not draft a quarterback in this year’s draft. Unless of course, they trade up for Mariota somehow, but that likely isn’t happening. UCLA’s Brett Hundley has also been linked to the Eagles and I’m actually a big fan of his, unlike many others. But I just don’t see Kelly pulling the trigger on any other quarterback besides his favorite former Duck.Following the draft, there should be a couple of intriguing undrafted free agent quarterbacks for the Eagles to consider. Alabama’s Blake Sims, South Alabama’s Brandon Bridge and Southeastern Louisiana’s Bryan Bennett are all potential low risk, high reward values for Philadelphia if they go undrafted and hit the open market. Bennett is especially intriguing because of his cannon of an arm and experience working with Kelly at Oregon."
5. What is a draft angle the general public might not be aware of for your team?
"The general public probably believes the Eagles are going to draft Alabama safety Landon Collins…but that isn’t the case. Just because the team needs a safety and he’s the “best one available,” that doesn’t make him a fit in Philadelphia. The first thing the Eagles look for in a safety is their coverage ability, that isn’t Collins’ biggest strength.So if there’s one thing that the general public might not be aware of, it’s that the Eagles will draft a safety high, but it won’t be Collins. Prospects such as Arizona State’s Damarious Randall and Penn State’s Adrian Amos make way more sense for the Eagles at safety. That could also be the reason why both of those prospects visited the Eagles and Collins didn’t."
For full Eagles coverage, check out Inside the Iggles.
Next: NFL 2-Round Mock Draft 2015