There is an outstanding article I came across over at the Eagles eye that talks about where the Eagles stand in 2008. They discuss which players will be the starters next season, which free agents they may go after, which players they will let go, and what the Eagles may look for in the draft.
To summarize the article: Trent Cole and Juqua Thomas should the starters at defensive end next year. Jevon Kearse and Darren Howard have been disappointing this season, so the Eagles may target another defensive end in free agency, possibly the Chiefs’ Jared Allen or Ravens’ Terrell Suggs, or the Eagles may draft another defensive end if they don’t think Victor Ambiamiri is making the progress they had hoped for; he didn’t get a lot of snaps this year, so it’s hard to tell how he is doing.
We all know the four safeties the Eagles were looking at in last year’s draft (Landry, Griffin, Nelson, and Meriweather) were drafted before the Eagles were up in the draft, so they really missed out on a player that they hoped could attempt to assume Dawkins’ role when Dawkins’ time to retire comes (I hate talking about it, but he is 34). Mikell has had a pretty good year; J.R. Reed hasn’t been bad, especially for a player who was counted out because of injuries; and Sean Considine simply sucks. If the Eagles like a safety in this year’s draft, you can be pretty sure they will use their first round pick on that position.
We all know how well the Eagle’s young linebackers are developing. I’m extremely impressed with Gaither, Gocong, and Bradley. I like what they have at that position, so if Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis or Penn State’s Dan Connor are available, I think the Eagles would pass on them. Laurinaitis should be drafted in the top 10 because he does stuff like this (YouTube video), but Connor could fall to a spot where the Eagles could pick him up.
The Eagles could use another OT to succeed Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan and I’m scared about Winston Justice’s development after the Giant’s debacle, but the guy never gave up a sack in college football (I think; regardless, he was damn good in college). The Eagles were going to draft him with their first pick, but Bunkley fell so they took him and then Justice fell, so they traded up in the second round to get him, so a double bonus for them. The Eagles could use another OT, but I think they should target one in the 2nd or 3rd round rather than their 1st round pick, which I think they should use to get a safety or DeSean Jackson.
Finally, what will the Eagles do about L.J. Smith? I think they’ll let him go unless his free-agent stock decreases because lets face it: he’s injury prone, drops passes, fumbles, and is a below average pass blocker, but other than that he’s awesome! He does a lot of good things to the passing game and has bad-ass tattoos. The article mentions that Dallas Clark is a free agent, but Indy will almost certainly resign him. I think Brent Celek will be a very solid player, not a pro-bowler, but a sure handed player who can block, and that’s about all you can really ask for from the 5th round selection. I think the Eagles should draft another TE late to add depth, but I have no problem with Celek as the starter going into next season.
One final note. Apparently there were some rumors the Eagles would trade for Chad Johnson in the offseason, but the chances of that are probably as good as the Eagles making the playoffs this year: none.
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