The New England Patriots took very talented Kicker Justin Rohrwasser (Marshall University) in the 5th round of the 2020 NFL Draft. As is his right, he has expressed himself via tattoo with the markings of a neoconservative, right-wing, militia group co-founded by the late Michael Brian Vanderboegh, called The 3 Percenters (referring back to the three percent of people who took up arms against the British during the American Revolution).
His tattoo is prevalent on his left arm, I believe. And now…he is being pressured to cover it up or remove it. This is SOOOOOOO wrong to me. He chose to tattoo this on his body and express himself. Why do we force people to hide who and what they are? We create a place for dishonesty, disingenuousness, and ambiguity to fester. People can hide in plain sight and not have to own what they claim to stand for. A HUGE part of the history and legacy of this nation is what these neoconservative, right-wing, white organizations stand for and believe in. It makes us uncomfortable to see and know this truth. It is unhealthy for us to force it “underground”. Allow this young man the opportunity to keep his tattoos intact. Allow Nick Bosa to continue sharing his thoughts and commentary. Don’t hide who and what you are!
That annual rite of sports passage is mercifully over.
I am referring to the National Football League draft, which is quite possibly the single most over-analyzed, unscientific spectacle in American society.
Without even going into the aspect that has an undeniable slave auction feel and optics, can you think of any other event in America that has produced more self-appointed experts with less reliable outcomes than the NFL draft?
It’s not that the Mel Kipers of the world don’t do their homework. Most of them do. It’s not that the information provided is useless. Some of it is valuable.
The reason why the draft is largely a crap shoot is because no matter how sound the information gathered about a player, it is impossible to predict, with any degree of certainty how a 21-22 year old man will react to the NFL cultural environment. It’s bigger than just the football itself. First round picks become instant millionaires. In college, none have an abundance of expendable cash. In college, he must study subject matter he may not care about for the sake of staying eligible. In college, he did not have a multitude of parasitic people around him, some of whom are his own family. He will have that in addition to opportunistic women in the NFL. Lottery winners twice their age do not have a good track record of handling such a situation and we actually believe that we can forecast how a 20-something who has not even reached full brain maturity will?
Human behavior and performance is actually relatively predictable based on past behavior and performance. The wildcard caveat to such forecasts is that one must be able to replicate the environment and circumstances under which that past behavior and performance occurred. The best college football programs cannot replicate the NFL culture for their players.
This is why so few teams have a long track record of quality drafting. As a matter of fact, only one team comes to mind that has mastered this process over multiple generations and it is not the New England Patriots. The Patriots’ success is almost exclusively a function of the Tom Brady/ Bill Belichick era and let’s be honest, they got lucky with Brady. How else can you describe it when they waited until the 6th round to pick him? Do you really believe they would have waited that long had they had any inkling he would be what he has been? The other side draft benefit to having this sustained greatness for nearly 20 years at OB is that they have not had to take a QB in the first round. First round QBs are the most expensive picks and therefore the Patriots have had more cap space to pursue other players.
Call it “homerism” if you’d like, but the team that has had the most sustained draft success since the 1970 merger has been my own PITTSBURGH STEELERS!
That year was the last time the Steelers had the overall number 1 pick, which the team used on Terry Bradshaw. He is now in the Hall of Fame! Since then:
The Steelers have been the only team that has won at least 5 games every year. The Cowboys have hit rock bottom (4-28 in 1988-89). The 49ers have hit rock bottom (4-28 in 1978-79) and recently. The Patriots hit rock bottom on multiple occasions (9-39 from 1990-92 and 2-14 in 1981) prior to their current run. The Steelers have never hit rock bottom;
• Four of their first 5 picks in 1974 (Swann, Lambert, Stallworth and Webster) are all in the Hall of Fame. Safety Donnie Shell was a free agent from that same class, signed out of HBCU South Carolina State and went on to become a perennial Pro-Bowler and may have his Hall of Fame name called soon;
• The entire 1979 Super Bowl Champions roster were made up completely of their own draft picks. That had not happened before or since; and
• The Steelers have won the most post season games (36), games overall, and of course Super Bowls (6) since the merger in 1970.
The term we card-carrying members of Steeler Nation use to describe our draft acumen is “STEEL CERTAIN!” And still yet, even with our great history and success, in 1983 we took Gabe Rivera out of Texas Tech instead of homegrown Dan Marino. It took the organization about 10 years to become a consistent playoff team again and about 20 before Big Ben’s arrival put us back on the top. No team is above blowing it in the draft.
So the next time you find yourself watching the draft “analysts” pontificating about the grades of each team’s draft before any of the picks have put on the team pads and uniform, take it with a grain of salt. Enjoy it for the entertainment it may be and nothing else.
NFL Draft day is here. And what we think we know from our instant information on steroids era is leaving us no more informed about who will be a good player than in past years prior to the NFL Combine. Call it a case of too much information in the wrong hands.
A great case study for this was the 2003 NFL Combine when a very well run franchise wanted a particular player very badly. However, it was feared that the player would not be there when the teams’ turn came. Though this team had two first-round picks, it did not want to trade up or give up one, if not necessary. So their best hope was for the player to run a disappointing 40-yard dash. This organization was smart enough to realize that the teams picking ahead of them were doing so for a reason: they were not very smart and overvalued NFL Combine information.
The player they wanted obliged them and ran a poor 40-yard dash, and as a result, the Detroit Lions bypassed him and took WR Charles Rogers at number 2. The NY Jets did the same and took DL Dwayne Robertson at 4, as did the NO Saints taking DL Johnathan Sullivan at 6. None of those three played more than 6 years in the NFL, a combined 14 years overall and 0 Pro Bowl selections. This team with its 10thpick took an edge rusher out of Arizona State who would go on to record 6 double digit sack seasons and become a 6-time Pro-Bowl player. Even after missing most of 2015 with an injury, he had 8 sacks last year, at age 33. This year will be his 15th in the NFL.
The team was the Baltimore Ravens and the player was Terrell Suggs. In addition to being the ugliest man in the NFL, he has been terrorizing my Steelers and the whole damn league ever since.
It’s not just the NFL. Remember all the fuss about how much weight Kevin Durant could or couldn’t lift?
It might surprise some of you how this process of reading way too much into combine data is not much different than the impact of the SAT/ACT scores on the college admission process. In my time as an educational professional, I wish I had a dollar for every student I have come across with great SAT/ACT scores who fell flat on his or her face, not just at a 4-year college, but also at the community college level. I would be even richer if I had a dollar for all those I have encountered speaking little to no English and/or coming from impoverished situations, often with no household knowledge of the college process, and yet thrived, even to the point of earning transfer scholarships.
What the two processes have in common is how much of an indictment they both are of how we assess human potential. Even more disturbing is the underlying reason we fall prey to this; simply put we are analytically lazy.
It’s a lot easier to look at numbers and be overly reliant upon them when making an assessment than it is too take the time to make a holistic and comprehensive assessment. What NFL combine numbers and SAT scores do not measure is resilience, work ethic, and emotional intelligence, in spite of the fact that there are tools to measure both resilience and emotional intelligence. Instead the NFL uses the Wonderlic.
I am not suggesting that none of the information collected is valuable. I am, however, adamant that the vertical leap of an offensive linemen in football is not a piece of information that serves any useful purpose. Furthermore, I argue the information collected should never replace direct interaction and other developmental factors, such as those already mentioned. After all, at age 18-22, none of us are fully developed neurologically and thus even the best assessments are grasping as indicators of future success.
There is good news on the college front. There are now over 800 accredited, bachelor-degree granting institutions that have changed their approach to standardized test scores, by not requiring the SAT or ACT for admission. So when high school counselors advise students with poor SAT or ACT scores about their college options, they can still offer them hope to include both those 800 colleges, in addition to the far too often undersold community college.
Unfortunately, I see no trend in the NFL against the current conventional thinking, which is to remain a slave to combine data for fear of looking stupid if one takes a chance on an outlier way of thinking. It’s as if teams would rather continue to fail doing what most of the league does as opposed to taking a chance doing things differently.
Tonight, the cycle continues. I’ll kick back with friends and watch but not far from my mind will be something a highly successful college and NFL coach once said about the draft, to paraphrase; you only have to worry about maybe a 3rd of the league. The other two-thirds are so dysfunctional that they will self-destruct under the weight of their own idiotic decision making.
I wish the Ravens were among that two-thirds dysfunctional group back in 2003.
Both Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette have chosen to skip their bowl games in preparation for the NFL combine and draft.
Their basic reasoning is risk/reward analysis: the risk being another Jalen Smith or Marcus Lattimore cautionary tale by getting hurt and losing millions by dropping out of the first round of the draft, where virtually all of the guaranteed money is. The reward: a pat on the back from your pimp…ah I mean coach and athletic director for leading your team to a victory in a game that is all but meaningless to everyone except those who collect the TV revenue, and that ain’t the players.
From some corners we hear the same old tired responses such as, “they signed a contract” or “they are quitting on their teams.”
Let’s address both.
On the contract, it would seem to me that a natural evolution of the student athlete organizing movement would be to challenge just how legally binding are these contracts? After all some are with 17-year old minors. My Judge Mathis law degree says such are not binding. Even if they are, who really thinks that a 17-18-year old fully understands all the parameters of such a commitment? The most compelling response to the contract piece is the fact that highly sought after coaches routinely break their contracts for the cash and greener pastures after having “promised” their recruits in their parents’ living rooms that they will be there for the duration. If the college experience is truly an educational environment and coaches are themselves educators, then both McCaffrey and Fournette have learned well.
As for quitting on their teams, yep, that is exactly what they are doing. No way around that except to say that many of those same teammates that they are quitting on would do the exact same thing if they were in that position. And what position is that? The position of coming to the reality that all college athletes are not created equal. If the 3-year starting left tackle at Ohio State or Alabama can’t see that his value is higher than his teammate who is the 3rd string tight end and occasional special-teams player in his fourth year, he is an idiot.
Finally, what they won’t do is feed you or your family if you suffer a career-ending injury or worst in a meaningless game. Any bowl game short of the playoff means about as much as a professional pre-season game.
The stakes are even higher for a running back, which is the ultimate pro-sport disposable. They last on average of about 3 seasons. They cannot begin to draw their pension until 55 and the annuity at 35. According to a Sports Illustrated report in 2014, nearly 80% of NFL players are broke 3 years into retirement.
Against this backdrop, if Fournette or McCaffrey were your sons, can you honestly say you would advise them otherwise?
They are both making a sound business decision and showing that they have learned the valuable lesson of placing the proper value on their labor.
NCAA big-time college sports is as transparent an example of the American Capitalistic “pimp and ho” system as there is. If these two young men have learned to pimp themselves in their best interest rather than passively allow others to do so in their best interest, I say more power to them and hope and suspect more will follow suit.
The 2015 draft has come and gone, and the dust is beginning to settle for the Eagles and teams around the NFL. How did Chip Kelly do in this draft, the first where he had full control of the process?
Despite the incredible speculation and trade scenarios leading up to the event, the draft was decidedly without drama for the Eagles. They didn’t land Marcus Mariota, and they didn’t draft any offensive linemen. But they did load up on defensive backs, an area of need for many years.
The draft grades are pouring in, and there seems to be consensus about the Eagles’ performance: no one was wowed, but it wasn’t a miss. Better than average – every grade I’ve seen has been in the “B” range.
Heading into the draft, the team needed to find a dynamic wideout to replace Maclin, and they did that nicely with the first-round selection of Nelson Agholor. They needed to find a likely starter at corner, and they now have some options there, with the pickup of the versatile Eric Rowe. The Jordan Hicks pick was too high, given his injury history. They needed help at safety and picked up a few options for that position. Philadelphia needed to address holes in the offensive line left by the departure of Todd Herremans and the likely exit at any moment by Evan Mathis (what WAS that this weekend?!).
Draft expert or casual fan, no one truly knows the success or failure of this draft until we see how the six drafted players perform for the team in the next few years. As the Daily News’ Paul Domowitch said in an article today, “There is no right or wrong with respect to the 2015 NFL draft right now. There are only opinions.”
A few other perspectives on the Eagles’ 2015 draft performance:
A roundup of draft grades from national media, including a B+ from Mel Kiper, Jr.:
“He has put a premium on guys that will buy in, and I think he got those types and hit a couple home runs in the process. Nelson Agholor to me just screams ‘high floor’. He’s a great route runner, plucks the ball out away from his body, has the proven toughness of a return man – you should hear Polian talk about that – and is sneaky explosive. He can get behind defenses. I also think Eric Rowe at No. 47 overall was a steal. He is a great kid and offers up versatility (CB or S), and I thought he’d be a good value as early as the end of Round 1.” –Birds 24/7
An NFC East personnel exec weighs in on the Eagles draft:
“He loved the selections of first-round wide receiver Nelson Agholor and second-round defensive back Eric Rowe, really, really loved them. But he hated the third-round selection of linebacker Jordan Hicks (way too high).” – Philadelphia Daily News
A B+ for the Birds from Brandon Gowton, an extensive round-up of grades from other outlets:
“My first impression of the Eagles draft class is that it looks solid. There aren’t really any picks that make no sense at all to me. The team did a nice job of addressing needs by selecting players who fit their scheme and culture.” – Bleeding Green Nation
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW #689 SHOUTOUT to you MIKE DITKA….((MLB)) YANKEES 8 RED SOX 5(sweep)….PHILLIES 6 MARINERS 2….CLEVELAND 10 BLUE JAYS 7….NATIONALS 1 METS 0….BRAVES 5 REDS 0….ORIOLES 4 RAYS 2….TWINS 13 WHITE SOX 3….TIGERS 6 ROYALS 4….ASTROS 7 MARINERS 6(sweep)….CARDINALS 3 PIRATES 2(14..sweep)….BREWERS 5 CUBS 3….ATHLETICS 7 RANGERS 1….GIANTS 5 ANGELS 0(sweep)….DODGERS 1 DIAMONDBACKS 0(13)….PADRES 8 ROCKIES 6(sweep)…….long streak (ASTROS 10) wrong streak (ROCKIES 5)….ST LOUIS keeps walkin off ((sweep of PITTSBURGH))…..HOUSTON keeps rockin on((long win streak))…..BREWERS fire RON ROENICKE oh well..cant say dinnt see that comin……maybe everybody except RON….oh neva mind !!!!!!!…gonna chop it up tonight on THE SPORTS HOUSE RADIO SHOW with THE MAYOR…you already know ——-646-478-5337——6pm——THE WACKO BOB NETWORK—–> come thru……..((NBA))**PLAYOFFS** second round E–WIZARDS 104(beal 28) HAWKS 98(carroll 24)—(washington leads series 1-0)….W–WARRIORS 101(curry 22) GRIZZLIES 86(gasol 21)—(golden state leads 1-0)……..SALUTE to STEPHEN CURRY(warriors)….will be named 2014-15 NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER….((NHL)) **PLAYOFFS** second round E–LIGHTNING 6 CANADIENS 2 (tampa bay leads 2-0)….W–BLACKHAWKS 4 WILD 1 (chicago leads 2-0)…..DUCKS 3 FLAMES 0 (anaheim leads 2-0)….AFTER FURTHER REVIEW 2.0 likes ALEXANDR OVECHKIN (capitals) for 2014-15 MVP…….((NFL)) 2015 NFL DRAFT…TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS came out ahead…selecting JAMEIS WINSTON (florida state)….TENNESSEE TITANS selected MARCUS MARIOTA (oregon)…just like we said they would ….but oh well…TODD GURLEY (georgia) selected by ST LOUIS RAMS cause all types of havoc….ask ZAC STACY (jets)….or TRE MASON (rams)….((NASCAR)) SPRINT CUP at TALLADEGA…..DALE EARNHARDT wins…JIMMIE JOHNSON second….PAUL MENARD third……KEVIN HARVICK(394) leads SPRINT CUP points chase…MARTIN TRUEX JR (354)…..JIMMIE JOHNSON(342)….JOEY LOGANO(335)…..((MLS)) SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 3 NEW YORK CITY FC 1….SPORTING KANSAS CITY 1 CHICAGO FIRE 0….NBA PLAYOFF GAME of the day BULLS v CAVALIERS (second round east conf game 1)…..NHL PLAYOFF GAME of the day RANGERS v CAPITALS (second round east conf game 3….tied 1-1)….MLB GAME of the day CUBS ((wood) v CARDINALS (martinez)……TRUE SCHOOL JAM of the day “SHOCK THE MONKEY” -PETER GABRIEL…..its MONDAY…ask “who won” day…..enjoy the sunshine…..the BALLISTICS have been kicked !!!!!!!……..AFR.
The 2015 draft is now in the books and the Eagles continued to load up on help in the defensive backfield, an area of need the past several drafts. While other pressing needs went unaddressed, namely on the offensive line, attention to the troubled secondary was long overdue.
Much more will be said about what the Eagles got and what they didn’t this draft in the coming days. For now, here’s a look at the three players the Eagles took in the final day of the 2015 NFL Draft.
“Shepherd comes with some tightness in off-man coverage but possesses fast eyes and is always aware in coverage. He also flashes the ability to anticipate and jump routes and has one of the best sets of ball skills we’ve evaluated in the 2015 cornerback class.”
“You know, the unique thing about him is he’s played safety, he’s played nickel, he’s played corner. He’s a physical player. He’s an outstanding special teams player. He’s a guy that we’ve had our eye on for a while just because of his — not only his athletic ability but his position versatility, so he’s a guy that we were excited that he was still there.”
“Evans has exceptional size and length and brings above-average range. He has some tightness in off man coverage and is at his best in press, where he can utilize his length to turn and run with receivers. Evans also has the size to compete with bigger receivers in contested situations.”
Round 7, Pick 20 (237): DE Brian Mihalik (6’9″, 295), Boston College
Says Kelly:
“I think Brian has got a skill se… height/weight/speed off the charts. He has a 34-inch vertical jump. He ran 4.88 [in the 40] and he’s a productive player. He just played wide defensive end in a 4-3 defense. He hasn’t been a two-gap player, but we feel with the physical skill set that he has, that we can covert him to a four technique.”
“Mihalik intrigues coaches with his size and length. He has some traits of a 5-technique but he’s a limited athlete who will have trouble sticking on this roster.”
The Eagles also added fifteen undrafted rookies to their ranks Saturday evening, which you can read more about here.
Have your say: Are you satisfied with the Eagles selections this year?
The Eagles traded up to make Eric Rowe their first selection in the 2nd round.
Day 2 of the 2015 NFL draft saw the Eagles move up to get a versatile defensive back in Utah’s Eric Rowe with their second-round selection, and add some needed depth at linebacker with Texas’ Jordan Hicks in the third round.
Philadelphia moved up from 52 to the 47th pick overall, trading with the Dolphins, to get Rowe (6’1″, 205). He has played both safety and corner, and what do you know-the Eagles need help at both.
His versatility is a big part of what made him worth giving up a pick to get him, said Chip Kelly.
“We think he can do a lot of things. That was the thing about him. He’s got 45 career starts, I think nine at corner and 36 at safety…Versatility is one of the things that you look at and then from a height-weight-speed parameter, he’s off the charts in terms of what he can do from a physical standpoint.”
NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock was also high on Rowe.
“This is one of my favorite players in the draft. He played free safety for three years before kicking over to corner this year. He’s a top-50 pick all day long. Rowe can match up on the outside with the big receivers in the NFL.”
While he has successfully played both positions, Rowe said that his preference would be to play corner, as he feels he has room to grow in that role. When asked to describe his style of play, Rowe revealed a DB this town may love.
“A physical, press competitor. I love to hit, I love to come on the blitz and tackle. On the press man, I love to take charges on the line of scrimmage. I would say I’m an aggressive corner.”
Rowe played in 47 games (45 starts) at Utah and accumulated 261 tackles, three INTs and 34 passes defensed in his career. His 34 career pass breakups are the fourth-highest total in Ute’s annals, and his 13 pass breakups as a senior in 2014 tied for the fifth-highest single-season mark in school history.
Jordan Hicks
In the third round, with the 84th overall selection, the Eagles picked Texas LB Jordan Hicks (6’1″, 236).
One thing Philadelphia already had with Hicks was an element of familiarity, said Kelly.
“Jordan was, I think, the individual we saw the most this offseason, whether it was exposure at the Senior Bowl to him, his pro day, individual workouts, top-30 visits, all those other things… He’s a three-down linebacker, can cover and is an outstanding special teams player.”
There is little doubt about his talent, but there are concerns about his extensive injury history, though Hicks was healthy all of last season. Mayock’s reaction to the pick reflected these concerns.
””I think a lot of people like his physical traits, but people worry about his durability.”
Concerns about this health aside, Hicks feels his greatest asset is his proven ability to be thrown into any system and thrive.
“I think, number one, the fact that I’m a smart football player. I can get people lined up on the field and I have a great understanding of football and schemes and what it takes to call a play and check plays. I think also the versatility that I’ve been in. I’ve seen four different linebacker coaches, four different [defensive] coordinators in five years at the University of Texas. I’ve played in 3-4 defenses, 4-3 defenses. I’ve been in spot drops, man drops, zone pressure schemes, man pressure schemes. You name it, I’ve probably learned it. I think the ability to convert and take what I’ve learned and translate it over to this next level is probably the big thing.”
Hicks appeared in 45 career games at Texas, with 28 starts, amassing 299 tackles, including 24 for a loss, 5.5 sacks, two INTs, seven pass breakups, 12 special teams tackles and one fumble recovery. His 147 tackles as a senior were tied for the seventh-highest total in Texas history. In 2014, Hicks was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player.
Here’s some footage of Rowe at this year’s combine to get your excitement flowing:
And take a closer look at Hicks with highlights from 2014:
Welcome to Philadelphia, Eric and Jordan! Follow them on Twitter:@EricRowe18 and @JordanHicks
Welcome Nelson Agholor to Philadelphia, the first-round pick of the Eagles in the 2015 NFL Draft.
In the end, the anticipated drama, intrigue, and complex trade scenarios did not come to pass for the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite reports of late inquiries with the Buccaneers and the Titans regarding the top two spots to get Marcus Mariota, Chip Kelly stayed with the 20th overall spot and selected WR Nelson Agholor from USC for their first round pick in the 2015 draft.
Wild trade offers from Kelly were reported through the start of the draft, supposedly offering first round picks as well as just about every star of the Eagles defense. Not surprisingly, he denied the reports, comparing his actions to looking at swanky houses you know you can’t afford.
“We didn’t offer any players to anybody. It was just a really steep price. It was like driving into a nice neighborhood and looking at a house, and they tell you the price and you walk away. We didn’t walk in the front door and take a look around. Part of our plan, as we’ve said all along is we’re going to build this team. We still think there is a lot of value in this draft and in future drafts.”
Agholor (6’1, 190) has drawn comparisons to former Eagle (sniffle) Jeremy Maclin. Kelly said of the pick, “He’s a great fit for what we’re doing.” Agholor has drawn praise for his athleticism, versatility, and high football IQ. Kelly continued,
“He’s got excellent speed, outstanding hands, catches the ball away from his body. Outstanding route runner, real student of the game. We were really excited, and he was kind of what our model is. He was the best player that was available for us that fit our system.”
Kelly’s praise continued, comparing his newest player to one of his 2014 selections at receiver, Jordan Matthews.
“I guess the best way to say it is he’s just dialed in as a football player. He’s in the Jordan Matthews category in terms of his approach to the game. Always striving to be better. I think the great thing about Nelson is he has a growth mind-set, and not a fixed mindset. He’s always trying to get better.”
Mike Mayock was high on the pick for the Eagles.
“Agholor is a precise route runner. He has added value as a great returner. He reminds you of Jeremy Maclin, the guy he’s replacing. Agholor can play anywhere, outside and in the slot. The Philadelphia Eagles are going to love him.”
Agholor finished his career at USC with 179 catches for 2,571 yards and 20 TDs in 30 games, becoming just the 12th Trojan to notch 2,000 receiving yards in a career. Additionally, he had 540 yards on 37 punt returns (14.6 average) and set a school record with four punt return touchdowns. Agholor recorded 24 kickoff returns for 443 yards (18.5 average). In 2014, he started all 13 games and led the team with 104 receptions and 1,313 yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. His 104 receptions in 2014 rank third on USC’s all-time single-season list and sixth in the Pac-12.
Check out some of Agholor’s highlights from the 2014 season:
Follow Agholor on Twitter at @nelsonagholor . Welcome to Philadelphia, Nelson. Looking forward to seeing you on the field.
The day has finally arrived. The NFL draft starts tonight and finally, we will have answers. Eagles fans will find out how much more–or less–they understand the enigma that is Chip Kelly.
In the lead-up to the main event, there is an intense scramble of rumors and goings-on behind the scenes, as is always the case. Here’s a roundup of the latest rumors as they relate to Philadelphia:
The Mariota Madness will not end until he is drafted by one of the many teams in the league speculated to be after him. Chief among them are the Eagles, who reportedly are doing “all they can” to get him. –ProFootballTalk
In Mike Mayock’s lone mock draft, he has safety Damarious Randall headed to the Eagles, saying, “Randall is probably the fastest-rising prospect in this draft class. He has coverage skills and great range on the back end. This kid is today’s NFL safety; he has great range but you give up some physicality.” – NFL.com
Part of the draft mix is trade talk, and the Birds reportedly have Brandon Boykin and Mychal Kendricks on the trading block. – Inquirer
Oh yeah, those Kendricks rumors? The Eagles reportedly want a second-round pick for him. And teams aren’t the league aren’t having it, apparently. – CSNPhilly
Wondering what kind of wideouts Philadelphia plans to target? In this case size is much of what matters. – Daily News
An overview of the Eagles’ needs this draft. Shocker: there are many. – Inquirer
Wondering what the draft process is like for the families of soon-to-be NFL rookies? Some NFL moms, including Mama McNabb, talk about the big day. –NFL Player Engagement
Who will go first, Mariota or Jameis Winston? And who will be the better pro-quarterback? Fivethirtyeight answers the question by building a model, as they do. – fivethirtyeight
You excited yet? Get in the mood until the official start tonight with this clip from the movie Draft Day. Pretty sure that with this draft, real life will be even better than the movies.
