The NBA Draft takes place tonight and with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, everyone is expecting the Sixers to draft Ohio State SG 6’7″ Evan Turner. If the Sixers don’t draft Evan Turner, it would be considered a slap in the face to Sixers fans.

According to the Bleacher Report, this draft pick is a no-brainer and I would have to agree with them. Shooting guard is definitely area of need for the Sixers and the addition of Evan Turner could shape the Sixers team for years to come.

After adding PG Jrue Holiday with last year’s 17th pick, PF/C Marreese Speights with the 16th pick in 2008, and SF/PF Thaddeus Young with the 12th pick in 2007, a legitimate SG is the one position missing from a solid group of young stars.

A starting 5 of Marreese Speights, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, and Jrue Holiday with Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams getting serious minutes off the bench could surely return to the Sixers to the playoffs next season with a 7th or 8th seed and the future will be looking bright for these young Sixers.

Let’s take a look at Evan Turner:

RB was a need many of us wanted the Eagles to address.  It wasn’t a priority, especially after landing Mike Bell.  It could have waited until round 5 and that’s exactly what happened.  There’s no question that LeSean McCoy, Mike Bell, and Leonard Weaver can get the job done themselves, but you can never have enough RBs in this league. Let’s take a look at the Eagles 200th overall pick Charles Scott.

Scott is a 6’1″ 231 pound RB from LSU.  He had 542 rushing yards and 4 TDs this past season in 9 games, but he has ammassed 2,317 yards and 32 TDs over the course of his collegiate career.  2008 was Scott’s best season where he turned in 1,174 yards and 18 TDs.  (See stats)

I’m loving what I see on the tape.  He puts his head down and just trucks forward using his weight to his advantage like Beanie Wells or Shonn Greene.  The Eagles got themselves a player.  Excellent late-round steal if you ask me.  Take a look:

I blogged previously how the Eagles should think about picking up Jordan Shippley in round 3 in order to replace Kevin Curtis.  The Bengals ended up being the ones who got their hands on Shipley with the 21st pick in round 3.

It was unrealistic that the Eagles would spend a third-round pick on Shipley since the Eagles have a lot of needs other than WR, but I’m glad to see the Eagles invest a 5th-round pick in a player who can be just as good as Shipley (although totally different type of players).

Cooper is 6’3″ 222 pounds, so he has great size and can be another great possession receiver for the Eagles.  He had 51 receptions, 961 yards, and 9 TDs this past season (see stats). Cooper ran a 4.52 at the combine. He is also drawing praise for his blocking on special teams.

Take a look at Flordia WR Riley Cooper:

I like what I’m seeing from Graham on the game tape.  He has a high motor, but I’m a bit concerned about his size.  Him and Cole will definitely put a lot of QBs in fear.  Let’s learn a little bit more about the guy.  Here is a new video that surfaced on YouTube, but unfortunately the sound goes out half-way through:

The Eagles traded up to #13 to select what we all thought would be Earl Thomas.  However, it ended up being Michigan DE Brandon Graham.  They gave up their 2 third rounders to make the move.  I don’t understand why they reached so high for a guy who probably wouldn’t have been picked up until the 20′s.  The Eagles must really like the guy.  They passed on Jason Pierre-Paul, who ended up going to the Giants.  Graham has a hell of a motor, but is a bit undersized.  I rather have Thomas, but the Eagles needed another pass rusher, so not a bad move. I wonder who got this one right, the Eagles or the Giants.

Here are some Brandon Graham highlights:

NFL Draft excitement is in the air and word is that the Eagles are going to get AGGRESSIVE. The Eagles are talking to the Chiefs and Dolphins about moving up from the 24th pick. It looks like one of these players could very well be an Eagle.

ERIC BERRY

EARL THOMAS

If we can get either of these guys I like, I like it a lot. I cannot wait!

Two Sunday Night games. One Monday Night game: McNabb vs. Eagles II when it’s being played in Washington. I like the schedule. It looks like an easy first half. The Eagles should definitely be 5-2 by the bye week with their only truly tough games against the Packers, Falcons, and maybe Titans depending on which version we see next season. At least the Eagles get the Packers and Falcons at home. The tough part will be the final stretch with two game against Dallas, @Giants, and vs. Vikings.

Week 1: vs. Packers (4:15PM, FOX)
Week 2: at Lions (1PM, FOX)
Week 3: at Jaguars (4:05PM, FOX)
Week 4: vs. Redskins (4:15PM, FOX)
Week 5: at 49ers (8:20PM, NBC)
Week 6: vs. Falcons (1PM, FOX)
Week 7: at Titans (1PM, FOX)
Week 8: BYE
Week 9: vs. Colts (4:15PM, CBS)
Week 10: at Redskins (8:30PM, ESPN)
Week 11: vs. Giants (8:20, NBC)
Week 12: at Bears (1PM, FOX)
Week 13: vs. Texans (8:20, NFLN)
Week 14: at Cowboys (8:20, NBC)
Week 15: at Giants (1PM, FOX)
Week 16: vs. Vikings (1PM, FOX)
Week 17: vs. Cowboys (1PM, FOX)

Donovan McNabb has been traded to the Washington Redskins for the Redskins 2010 2nd round pick, the 37th overall pick in this year’s draft, as well as 3rd- or 4th-round pick in 2011.

I’m shocked that the Eagles traded him within the division.

However, I am excited about the Kevin Kolb era to begin and I think that makes the Eagles a much better football team.

The good thing about this trade is there won’t be all the “what if we still had McNabb” talk this season if McNabb were traded to the Raiders.  We’ll know if the Eagles made the right or wrong move quickly.  The Eagles will either finish ahead or behind of the Redskins in the division and that’s really all there is to it.

Happy trails Donovan McNabb!

It’s good to see that my man over at NFL Draft Countdown change his pick for the Eagles in his mock draft.  Perhaps he heeded to my feedback that the Eagles simply do not draft linebackers in the first round.  He previously had the Eagles taking Missouri LB Sean Witherspoon, who he now has going #19 to the Atlanta Falcons.

In his updated mock draft, he has the Eagles taking USC DE Everson Griffen with the 24th pick and I think he got this one on the money.

Griffen is a guy the Eagles could really use to boost their DEs and Griffen has killer speed, which would could form into a nice pass-rushing duo with Trent Cole on 3rd down. I could see Abiamiri being the 1st and 2nd down DE with Griffen coming in on 3rd down.

Griffen comes in at 6’3″, 273 lbs., and the guy ran an impressive 4.64 at the combine. That ranks 2nd amongst DEs an a mere 0.02 behind Dexter Davis.

Here is his summary for the Eagles 24th pick in the 2010 draft:

Over the past decade or so it has become quite obvious that the Eagles place a high priority on their defensive line, having spent considerable resources in both the draft and free agency on ends and tackles. Statistically speaking the Iggles ranked among the best in the league when it came to sacks in 2009 but word is they are motivated to bring in an upgrade at defensive end. USC’s Everson Griffen was a big-time recruit coming out of high school who underachieved his first two years with the Trojans. However, Griffen finally began to hit his stride as a junior and opted to strike while the iron was hot and go pro. A terrific athlete with a great blend of size and speed, Griffen will likely be selected based more on his untapped potential than actual production but there is no denying that he has first round talent. Philly could also use some help at linebacker, where they’ve been mix and matching mediocre youngsters and washed up veterans for years. However, even though Missouri’s Sean Weatherspoon would appear to be a perfect fit for Philly here the team just hasn’t seemed inclined to make a substantial investment in that position for some reason. Don’t rule out an offensive lineman either because they still have some question marks there and that is another position that the Eagles have tended to target early and often.

I don’t think linebacker is a priority for the Eagles in the draft. Period. Stewart Bradley will be back and healthy next season. Akeem Jordan, Omar Gaither, and Chris Gocong are all viable starters. Don’t forget about Joe Mays, Tracy White, and Moise Fokui, who are all solid reserves. Unfortunately, Will Witherspoon is now a Titan, but the Eagles have 7 solid linebackers on their roster so there’s no need to draft a linebacker in the first three rounds.

The priority for the Eagles going into the draft will unquestionably be offensive line, defensive line, and secondary.  I see the Eagles wanting to boost their offensive line after countless injuries and giving up way too many sacks to the Cowboys as their #1 priority in this year’s draft.

I could also see the Eagles drafting a CB or DE in the first round if the right player falls into their lap.

Let’s learn more about this Everson Griffin kid.  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then a video must be worth 10,000.  Let’s take a look at the game tape. Some impressive highlights from the guy who had 8 sacks this past season. However, a look at his Oregon game doesn’t make a compelling case.

There is a ton of speculation surrounding whether McNabb will be traded this offseason.  The Eagles have a decision to make and they cannot keep delaying the inevitable.  Do they stick with #5 or do they move in a new direction and hand over the reigns to the quarterback that they surprisingly drafted with the 36th pick in the 2007 NFL draft?  I say the Eagles should go with Kevin Kolb and here’s why.

I’ve always been critical of Donovan McNabb.  He simply strikes a nerve with me.  It’s for all the obvious reasons: he has never won a Super Bowl after having several legitimate chances to do so, he has been injured way too many times, he doesn’t take the game seriously enough, and he is terribly inaccurate.  What bothers me the most is when he throws the ball straight into the ground or 10 feet over the receivers head on 3rd down and smiles and laughs about it.  That drives me absolutely nuts.

McNabb is far from a consistently accurate QB.  McNabb supporters will point to his interception to passing attempt ratio being amongst the best in the league.  That is a great characteristic of McNabb.  He rarely turns the ball over. That’s because he rarely gives the opposing team to opportunity intercept him because the majority of his passes are over- or under-thrown.  I would rather focus on his completion percentage.

In 2009, McNabb was 20th in the league — not even in the top half!  Alex Smith, Jay Cutler, David Garrard, and Jason Campbell all had better completion percentages then McNabb.  That is unacceptable!  This wasn’t just one isolated year.  In 2008, McNabb was ranked 18th in completion percentage.  Jason Campbell, Shaun Hill, Trent Edwards, and Jeff Garcia all ousted McNabb in the category.  McNabb beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick by a mere 0.8%.  In 2007, McNabb was ranked 20th.  Beaten by Joey Harrington, Brian Griese, Jon Kitna, Sage Rosenfels and Vince Young. In 2006, McNabb was ranked 23rd.  Again beaten by Joey Harrington and others such as Damon Huard, J.P. Losman, and Mark Brunell.  I could go on, but I think I made my point.  For the last 4 season, McNabb hasn’t even cracked the top 50% in completion percentage and his completion percentage was worse than Joey Harrington during 2 seasons.

I’ve made my case about McNabb.  Now what do I like about Kevin Kolb?  Everything.  I like Kolb’s work ethic, attitude, and most importantly his skills on the football field.  Kolb has the attitude of a winner.  You can see that he takes the game very seriously when he plays.  He plays the game with a passion that cannot be met by McNabb.  Kolb throws a beautiful football.  It’s usually a tight spiral delivered right on the money.  He rarely over and under-throws receivers like McNabb.  Unfortunately, we haven’t seen enough meaningful games from Kolb to have a perfect picture of his capabilities.  We have the previous season’s Ravens debacle and two games this past season against the Saints and Chiefs to judge him.

I don’t put any weight into the Ravens game.  If McNabb was playing awful against the Ravens on a full week of preparation, what makes anyone think that Kolb would do any better against the Ravens without any preparation?  Kolb at least was able to move the football and pick up first downs.  He just made a few stupid rookie mistakes against a pretty good safety by the name of Ed Reed.  A more telling story of Kolb is how he played against the Saints and Chiefs.  In both games, Kolb threw over 300 yards and had 2 TDs.

Another reason that I feel that the Eagles should choose Kolb as their starting QB next season and trade McNabb is because the Eagles have a young football team at the skill positions.  With DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Brent Celek, and LeSean McCoy all 25 years or younger, I think it’s better to have a young QB to grow and develop with them.  I think Kolb has a better rapport with those players.  Just look at how well the offense played together with Kolb against the Chiefs.  Granted, it was the Chiefs, but we got a glimpse of what the future offense would look like with Kolb and these great young players.  Bleeding Green Nation has reported that when the young players have a question about the offense, they tend to go to Kolb instead of McNabb.

I think it’s time for a new era in Philadelphia and that Kevin Kolb should be the Eagles starting quarterback next season.  Trade McNabb for a 2nd-round and a 5th-round pick.  Pick up an offensive lineman in the first round and then focus on building up the defense in round 2 and 3. It’s the Eagles blue print for success.

Jay should be making his case for why McNabb should return to the Eagles shortly.