A look at Eagles draft prospects; Zbikowski in the 2nd round?
The offseason is always exciting. Debating which players the Eagles can add through the draft and free agency always gets me fired up. I just wrote an article about the possibility of addressing the receiver position by getting back Donte Stallworth, who the Patriots may let go for salary cap reasons, or trading for Javon Walker, who wants out of Denver.We also can turn our attention to the draft. Here is a great article at Yardbarker: Eagles Draft Board: Draft Prospects the Eagles should consider. There are a handful of intruiging prospects the Eagles can pick up to fill their positions of need. There are four positions the Eagles will most likely use their first and second round picks on: safety, defensive end, wide receiver, and offensive tackle.
I want the Eagles to go for 6'8" Miami defensive end Calais Campbell if he drops that far, but that's unlikely. Here are some Calais Campbell highlights. I also think another good pick is to take Pittsburgh's beastly 340 pound offensive tackle Jeff Otah, but he may go 15th to the Lions, who desperately need help on the offensive line.
I'm personally pulling for the Eagles to use their first-round pick on California wide receiver DeSean Jackson and their second-round pick on Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski. A good thing about both those players are their kick- and punt-returning abilities. Other options at wide receiver are Oklahoma State's Adarius Bowman, Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly, Texas's Limas Sweed, LSU's Early Doucet, and Michigan's Mario Manningham. There seems to be a deep draft class at offensive tackle and wide receiver, so it may be in the Eagles best interest to draft a safety or defensive end with their first-round pick and then focus on a wide receiver or offensive tackle in the second round.
Here is an awesome NFL Draft Value Board to see what players are good targets in different rounds. Michigan's Adrian Arrington would be a solid WR option in the second day of the draft should the Eagles pass on a WR on the first day. He had a great game in the Capital One Bowl against Florida (9 receptions, 153 yards, 2 TDs), check out the highlights. That game may have raised his stock significantly.
On a second thought, the more I think about what the Eagles should do at the receiver position, I'm starting to think the Eagles should give a long look at Limas Sweed and Adarius Bowman. Here is what you'll get from these players: Limas Sweed highlight video and Adarius Bowman highlights. Compare that to what DeSean Jackson will give you. I'm really becoming impressed with Limas Sweed and Adarius Bowman. It all comes down to whether you draft size or speed: do you take a big receiver like Terrell Owens, Andre Johnson, and Calvin Johnson; or go with speedy guys like Santonio Holmes, Steve Smith, Santana Moss, and Ted Ginn Jr.? You have to love Jackson's 4.3 speed, but he's only 6'0" 170 lbs. On the other hand, Bowman and Sweed remind me of Calvin Johnson with their size and athleticism. Both players are 6'4" 220 lbs. I'm sure they'll all be stars in the NFL; it'll be interesting to see what direction the Eagles go in. I'm surprised a number of mock drafts have Sweed and/or Bowman missing in the first round -- I would put them ahead of Mario Manningham and Malcolm Kelly on my draft board (most mock drafts have those players going in the first round).
To boost my Zbikowski in the 2nd round campaign, check out this awesome highlight clip of his. I'm sure he'll be able to fill of shoes of the hard-hitting Dawkins in the future just fine. I would be thrilled if he fell into the Eagles lap in the second round, but he may be picked up early in the second round since there are a plethora of teams with DB needs.
