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"Cromartie's stock started rising after the Senior bowl. Beings as his Lions and our Birds have the same needs in SOME areas, Glenn called me the day of the game to alert me to this kid who was all over the field- most importantly showin all that he could play the run which was supposed to be a knock on him in some scouts eyes a while back.


I dont know how much his stock rising can translate on draft day- right now I don't see him as a 1st rounder, maybe a 2nd?"



If the Lions let DRC go by them at 16(?) in the draft I will be as pissed as a man whose baseball team is undefeated can be.



I think DRC is the real deal, even in a deep DB draft. Fast as KB posting a Phils roster update, with the ball skills of Neag.


I'd take that.

Well, I waited a little bit before posting the secondary review from the combine because, frankly, it's boring and not many people seem interested. Here goes, though.

CB

The first thing you notice is this is a very, very fast group.

12 players clocked in with 40 times UNDER 4.4. To put that in perspective, there were 5 guys who did the same last year.

The next thing you notice is the depth of potential playmakers. There are a minimum of 4 first rounders, but that number could increase. The guys who are "no doubt about it" int eh first round are Rodgers-Cromartie (as GGB mentioned above), Leodis McKelvin, Mike Jenkins, and Aqib Talib.

Among those, Talib is the guy with the most size and he ran the slowest at 4.47. Still, at almost 6'1", that's a great time. He's also considered the best ball hawk in the bunch, but there are concerns about his physicality and mental lapses. There is also the footage of Jordy Nelson (who is a slot type white guy with a 4.51) catching a ball on Talib and just running away from him. It was a foot race and Talib just didn't have the wheels to stick with a 4.51 guy. That's the big knock, but he's an interesting guy. Talib also struggled in drills opening up his hips and getting to deep quarters at the combine, but he backpedal/turn/and go were all fine. Where he really separates himself is when the ball is in the air. He's going for the pick every time, has great size, and recorded a 38" veritcal (which was better than everyone not named Rodgers-Cromartie, who had a 38.5), and he looked the most natural locating, high-pointing, and securing the ball. He just looks like a pick machine. He had 2 picks in his first year, 6 picks as a sophomore, and 5 picks as a junior for 13 picks in 34 games.

DRC is the boom-bust guy. He's the best athlete, potentially, in the entire draft. At almost 6'2" he ran a 4.33, 10'11" broad jump, and had a 38.5" vertical. He's the tallest CB in the draft and his vertical/broad jump were tops for the entire combine. He looks extremely fluid and athletic in all the drills and he also catches the ball well. He had a great senior bowl game...a couple great pass breakups and a really nice pick. The knock on his is he's slight (only 184 lbs. at 6'2") and he's raw. At the senior bowl practices he struggled a little bit. The final knock is the level of competition he faced at Tennessee St., but I think he silenced a lot of that at the Sr. Bowl. He's the guy with the most upside in the draft, but my biggest concern would be how he adjusts to the NFL. Not only the massive jump in the level of competition, but this guy stepped ont eh field and dominated at his shitty school...is he coachable? Will he work in the film room? What's his work ethic? The other intriguing thing about him is he dabbled in the punt and kick return games, he blocked 8 kicks/punts in his career, and even played a little receiver his senior year. For what it's worth, Deion Sanders is all over this guy and the latest mock draft I've seen has him going to Philly.

McKelvin is the guy who is battling (with Mike Jenkins) to be the first CB taken. He's got solid size at 5'10 " and change, ran a 4.38, is a physical corner who will play the run (he even had 3 forced fumbles this year), and he's an excellent return man. He averaged 23 yards per kick return this year and 17.4 yards per punt return (wow) with 3 punt returns for TD (wow). He was a potential pick for the Birds, but his stock is just soaring. Apparently he aced his interview at the combine and senior bowl, as well. The knocks (there are always a couple) are level of competition (Troy), but that's been mitigated some by the success of Osi and Demarcus Ware. The other knock (a real one, in my mind) is ball skills. 4 picks in 4 years. That's it. They say his instincts aren't the greatest and he just doesn't have that anticipation/ball skills to naturally get those picks.

The final guy is Mike Jenkins, believed my many to be the best CB on the market. He's got prototypical size at 6' 200 lbs. He ran a 4.38. He's been a shutdown corner at South Florida. He's got 6 picks in 3 years as a starter, but no one threw at him. he might be considered the safest bet and when they threw him out to return kicks this year for the first time, he responded with a 30 yard kick return average on 7 returns, taking one to the house.

Those are the first round locks. There is a decent chance one will be there when the Eagles pick and I think they'd be lucky to have ANY of them. If those 4 guys are off the board, I don;t think anyone else is worth the investment at 19, but there are plenty of guys like Tracy Porter from Indiana who would look good in the early second (they would probably have to trade up).

The CB who helped himself the most was DRC. He's just confirming that he has the best set of tools on the market even though his lack of polish will keep his stock at a slightly lower level.

The biggest loser was clearly Brandon Flowers. He was Mike Mayock's #1 CB, but after running a 4.59, struggling in some of the drills, and making Ryan Moats sound like a genius in his interviews (reportedly), his stock is going to be down...it's unlikely he still goes in the first round, though he still has the chance to be a great player.

It's a good year to need a CB, though.


Safety

I'm not going to spend much time on this spot. Bottom line is there are only two guys with the potential to go int eh first round (Dujuan Morgan from NC State and Kenny Phillips from Miami). Both of them put up okay 40 times, but nothing special. They both struggled in the ball drills. Mike Mayock says he doesn't have a first round grade on either. Bottom line is Phillips would have to be considered at 19, but there may be better options even if he slides and the entire class is shallow.

This could be part of the reason the Eagles were rumored to have interest in Gibril Wilson.

There are a couple other safeties with good long term prospects as core players, special tamers, and maybe even starters for a couple years (like the kid from Notre Dame), but there aren't a lot of highly athletic, stud prospects with few questions out there this year.

Wow.

Talk about some serious rising. I had the guy as a 2nd rounder (high) cos there are no doubt, some questions about the cat, but the impact he could have in the return game would of course make him an immediate contributor here.

I give you the latest NFLDRAFTCOUNTDOWN.COM mock draft...

DRC to Eagles at 19?

I saw that and hell...GGB's already said he'll be pissed if the Lions pass.

This guy is the breakout riser of the past couple months.

It can't hurt that his cousin/half-brother (or whatever he is) completely dominated last year.

Throwing this out in the mix. Take a look at Chris Johnson from ECU. Kid is FAST! 4.24 40. He killed Boise St for 223 and 1 TD. He is a pretty good kick returner as well. 5-11 200lbs

Stats..
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=162658

So now there's no way they take a corner in the first round, right? Or is cornerback the new tackle?

Depends, IMO.

If they deal Lito, they could still take a corner in round 1 or two, especially if that corner will be handling return duties.

A guy like Tracy Porter from Indiana would be interesting in the second round. He could play the nickel and handle the punt/kickoff return duties.

Plus, Sheldon is going to be 29 in a week. Interestingly enough, that's the same age Bobby Taylor was when Sheldon was drafted to replace him.

So, while I think the odds have gone down, I definitely wouldn't rule it out if Lito is dealt and (more importantly) the corner is versatile.

I actually would not be disappointed if that happened because they definitely need return game help, and cornerback is one of the few positions where I actually trust their judgment in the draft.

I don't have any stats to back this up, but I also think that there seems to be less of a risk in drafting a corner early on as opposed to other positions. Maybe that's just a gut feeling.

When you think about it, the Eagles have had a really good scouting system in place for DBs, even beyond the draft. They take undrafted guys and make quality DBs. In addition to the ones on the roster, I can recall four that have gone on not to flop (i.e. "system players"):

Clinton Hart
Al Harris
Michael Lewis
Rod Hood

Not saying those were all undrafted. Probably should have started a second paragraph to clear it up.

there were some not so good ones...but yeah, the DB guys are ok at scouting.

Notable bad selections: Matt Ware, the safety (can't remember his name) but he was a 6th rounder, etc.

DRC would be a pretty solid pick IF they are dealing Lito. Then it wouldn't make sense.

Wouldn't mind him mainly because a fast, TALL corner would be helpful particularly against TO (even though Romo is predictable and Lito eats his lunch routinely) and Plaxico.

Ware was their most notable flub.

He was a 3rd round CB who they had to convert to safety. Turned out he sucked no matter where they put him.

He was also, inexplicably, on the field for about 3/4 of the Super Bowl after not really playing all season. One of the many mysteries of that debacle...

The Patriots going to 5 WR sets after the Eagles scored first pretty much exposed Matt Ware.

Looking back, it's a miracle that they only lost by 3 points with Ware and Dexter Wynn on the field for over half the plays.

I know he was a third, FD. They also selected a safety that year in the 6th who didn't amount to anything. Can't be too unhappy over a 6th though.

The only DB's they drafted that year were Ware in the 3rd. Reed in 4th and Wynn in the 6th.

I know he was a third, FD. They also selected a safety that year in the 6th who didn't amount to anything. Can't be too unhappy over a 6th though.

Ah...didn't understand your post the first time.

I didn't care about Dexter Wynn, but I was pretty pissed they released Gaddis last year.

What the hell is the point of drafting a Jr. athletic "project" in the 5th round and cutting him at the end of camp? Did you miss that badly or not have the patience for your own project?

5th rounders aren't exactly throwaway picks, either. They've picked up guys like Cole, Gaither, AJ, Scott Young...for the guy to not even make the practice squad was a little sad.

I love reading these scouting reports--this one is for Malcolm Kelly:

"Has a solid build with good upper-body muscle definition, long arms and legs, big thighs and calves, good bubble, tight skin and room to carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk without having the additional weight impact his foot speed"

not smooth skin, but at least it is tight.

Cromarti is a sensational DB with return skills as well.
With or without Lito is kid should be the pick .
If Lito stays , move Sheldon to safety and play this kid in the slot.
BPA - is usually the mantra the'experts' put forth concerning RD1 , then drafting for need afterward .
This kid has all the ability in the world .

I think there is a decent chance DRC isn't there when the Birds pick at this point.

His return skills are questionable, but I do like his overall talent and ceiling.

I just don't think he'll be there at this point.

This should hurt Stewart's stock pretty badly, I'd think. Not only will he be unable to work out, but there's a very good chance this will prevent him from making much of an impact in the first half of the season (at least). I happen to think turf toe can be a career changing injury sometimes, so there is a lot of risk here. Finally, being a bigger back, I wonder how this will impact his weight/conditioning.?

Former Ducks running back Stewart out four to six months

Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart has returned to Eugene from Charlotte, N.C., where he underwent toe surgery on his right big toe Wednesday to repair a "turf toe" injury he suffered Nov. 15 at Arizona.

Recovery is expected to take four to six months, preventing Stewart from working out for scouts as scheduled at Oregon's second pro day and potentially hurting his stock heading into the NFL draft April 26-27.

But his agent, Ben Dogra, said the 45-minute procedure went smoothly and that Stewart would be ready for training camp in July.

He is expected by many to be a first-round draft pick.

"At the same time there's nothing you can do about it," said Stewart. "So there's no need to stress about it."

Some predict Stewart will go to Arizona at No. 16 or Houston at No. 18.

The toe was not healing on its own, so NFL general managers and scouts recommended that Stewart have the surgery now rather than risk missing training camp or games.

I just looked at 5 mock drafts and 3 of the 5 have the Eagles drafting DeSean Jackson.

I don't like this guys size but he is a burner.

I saw one mock draft were James Hardy is drafted by the Titans in the 1st round and another were he goes to the Jets early in the 2nd. Saw on a few web sites that the Cowboys are interested in Hardy given TOs age and they think he would fit nicely into their O this year..

I'd still rather see the Eagles use their draft picks (or Lito) and try to get 2 first rounnd picks.


The other mock drafts I saw have the Eagles taking Reggie Smith, CB/S, Oklahoma which I seriously doubt and Sam Baker, OT, USC which I think is more likely.

Eagles have also been projected to draft Limas Sweed WR Texas.

Link provided
http://thefootballexpert.com/mockdraftdatabase.html

Don Banks has em sittin still at 19 and taking Otah outta "Math U."

I would be OK with this pick as the kid's upside is apparently very nice, even if he is considered somewhat of a project.

My issue with the Mock is, per Banks, Kenny Phillips would still be on the board when the Birds take Otah.

I recognize the need for a Tackle, I do, but if Phillips is there and they pass him over, I would likely have beef with that.

When the NFL draft commences at the end of next month, remember the name Earl Bennett.
He is a wide receiver from Vanderbilt who is projected to be taken in the second round, and the Eagles are interested enough in him that, according to a league source, they have asked for a personal workout today.

Bennett, 6 feet and 209 pounds, was a three-time all-Southeastern Conference selection and decided to enter the draft after his junior season at Vanderbilt. He led the Commodores in receiving during each of his three seasons, including his freshman year, when Denver's Jay Cutler was his quarterback.

Bennett, who ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, caught 75 passes for 830 yards and five touchdowns last season. His 236 career receptions are an SEC record.

Vanderbilt's pro workout day is scheduled for Friday on the Nashville campus.

If the Eagles want Bennett, they may have to either take him in the first round or move up in the second because Cutler's Broncos are also interested. Denver's second-round selection, the 42d overall pick, is seven spots ahead of the Eagles' second-round pick.

FTS.

Seriously.

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