All the speculation of whether the Eagles will trade into the top 10 to grab Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, or Andre Smith is over.  The Eagles have solidified their offensive line with Bills Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters.  The Eagles gave up the 28th pick, a second-day pick (presumed to be a 4th-round pick), and a 2010 late-round pick to acquire Peters.

I’m extremely happy about the move.  They’ll have to end up paying Peters whatever money they would had to have spent on a rookie LT like Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe so it makes sense to trade for the 27-year-old with experience and still get to hang onto the 21st pick, which many think will now be used on a RB.  Knowshon Moreno, if he slides that far, would be a dream come true and I wouldn’t have any complaints with Donald Brown either.  I’m not bummed out about losing out on the chance of getting Anquan Boldin.  I’m confident going into the season with a healthy Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson, especially with that all-star line with the Andrews Brothers and Peters.  Maybe Reggie Brown can even return to his 2006-2007 form after letting the hammy recover.  The Eagles will likely add TE phenomenon Chase Coffman in the second round.  It’s all coming together for the Eagles in 2009.  The secondary is set, the linebackers are set, and defensive line is set.  The offensive line is fixed.  Now let’s get us some weapons in the draft.  Hopefully those weapons come in the form of Knowshon Moreno and Chase Coffman.  My Plan B if the Eagles don’t take a RB at 21 and opt for a defensive player like Robert Ayers or Vontae Davis, Mike Goodson in round 3.

I’m very high on Chase Coffman.  He’s the perfect pass-catching TE for the Eagles and I have a feeling that he’ll be picked up by the Eagles in the 2nd round.  I got excited when I read this on Eagles Gab:

A source has told Scout.com the Missouri TE Chase Coffman had an official visit earlier this week with the Philadelphia Eagles. He’ll also be participating on a limited basis at the Kansas City Chiefs’ workout for local draft prospects today. The 6-foot-6, 244-pound tight end hasn’t been able to participate in full workouts during the offseason due to suffering a break of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot but he’s now nearly 100 percent recovered and should be ready for action by the time he reports to an NFL club.

What I’m Hoping For:
(21) Knowshon Moreno
(28) Vontae Davis, Robert Ayers, Alex Mack, or William Beatty.
(53) Chase Coffman

This is what you get from Coffman (full highlight package):

Still not sold on him?  Watch these: Ridiculous Catch #1, Ridiculous Catch #2, Ridiculous Catch #3, Coffman stiffarms the ENTIRE TEAM, Want to see highschool footage?, and More.

Draft in T -14 days.

The focus of Eagles fans has been Brandon Pettigrew, but I would be surprised if the Eagles use a top pick on a position like TE.  It’s just not worth a first-round pick.  Tight end is very deep this year.  The Eagles are looking at Cornelius Ingram and Jared Cook as potential second-round picks.  They could even wait as much as the third round before taking a tight end.  A guy that could potentially be a tremendous steal is Chase Coffman, who I talked briefly about in my last article on a review of Walter Football’s mock draft for the Eagles.

Take a look at this guy.  It seems like this guy can catch anything and as we know, Andy could care less about an elite blocking TE like Pettigrew.  All Andy cares about is if the guy can make catches and Chase Coffman can certainly do that.

I always find what Walter Football has to say about the Eagles draft interesting.  He usually throws some curve balls from what you’re used to seeing at other mock drafts.  Let’s see who he has the Eagles taking with their first 5 picks:

21 – Robert Ayers – (DE) – Tennessee
28 – Alex Mack – (C) – California
53 – Duke Robinson  – (OG) – Oklahoma
85 – Javon Ringer – (RB) – Michigan State
117 – Chase Coffman – (TE) – Missouri

It looks like he has a pretty good grasp on the Eagles needs: offensive line, running back, and tight end.  His curveball: the Eagles taking Robert Ayers with the 21st pick.  Here’s my reaction to his picks.

ROBERT AYERS: I don’t know if the Eagles will be targeting a DE early.  It seems to me like the Eagles are happy with the way Victor Abiamiri is developing as he is sharing time with Juqua Parker, who also had a very solid season as well.  On the other side of the line the Eagles have their stud Trent Cole, and then have reserves Chris Clemons and Bryan Smith, who they jumped on a bit early in the 3rd round of last year’s draft.

Ayers is a solid player.  Here’s a link to his highlights and you can read up on his draft profile here.  Ayers is currently ranked 17 on Mel Kiper’s big board and his stock is rising.  I don’t think defensive end is a pressing need, so I would pass on Ayers to address a bigger need or would take Illinois CB Vontae Davis.

ALEX MACK: I previously wrote that the Eagles could target Duke Robinson with the 28th pick, but the Eagles could get their hands on him in the 2nd round and that’s what Walter has happening.  There are some questions about his work ethic and Robinson may be a bit raw.  Alex Mack, however, has been hailed as the best center prospect in the last several years.  The Eagles could upgrade Jamaal Jackson and Alex Mack would be a great pick at 28.  The Eagles signed Jamaal Jackson to a 7-year extension back in 2006, so they may not be thinking of adding a center and they also drafted Mike McGlynn in last year’s draft, who is able to play at center or at guard.

DUKE ROBINSON: Robinson could be available to the Eagles in the 2nd round so he may not be worth a 28th pick since he kind of has that “Winston Justice bust aura” about him.  The best RBs are off the board as is TE Jared Cook, so boosting the line is the way to go the way Walter Football’s mock draft is playing out.  Just to note: Walter has Wells going to the Jets and Knowshon to the Cards.  They’re the only RBs taken in the first round of his mock draft.  The Browns then grab Donald Brown at the top of the 2nd round followed by LeSean McCoy to the Giants a few picks after the Eagles are on the clock in round 2.

JAVON RINGER: I am a big Javon Ringer fan.  He’s amassed over 3,000 yards rushing and nearly 500 yards receiving in his last 2 seasons and he scored 22 TDs last season.  I’ve seen him play a few games live and he was tremendous.  A very exciting RB to watch.  I think he’s going to be a very solid back in the NFL.  He ran a 4.42 at his Pro Day which is incredible.  His style is very similar to Brian Westbrook, so he would be a great match for the Eagles since he is good at catching the ball out of the backfield.  The Eagles don’t necessarily need to find a starter in this year’s draft, so they’re not going to kill themselves by passing on Knowshon Moreno, LeSean McCoy, and Donald Brown.  Javon Ringer would be a great guy to plug in there when Westbrook needs some plays off or games off.  Worth Watching: Highlights 1, Highlights 2, Highlights 3, and Highlights 4.

There’s really not a back in this draft that I don’t like.  The Eagles will definitely draft a running back, probably not in the first round, but they will definitely add a solid RB at some point in the draft and I think that will come in round 3. In round 3, Javon Ringer would be my first choice, followed by Shonn Greene, and then Mike Goodson.  I wouldn’t complain about any of them.

CHASE COFFMAN: Andy Reid said in an interview that he prefers tight ends who know how to catch first and foremost.  He doesn’t necessarily care about blocking as much; he says his coaches can teach a kid how to block, but you can’t really teach a TE to catch — they either have those skills or they don’t.  You can take that as a hint that Reid may not be thinking of taking Brandon Pettigrew with his 21st pick.  Coffman would be a great TE addition in the fourth round.  You have to love what NFL Draft Countdown says about him:  he runs great routes, has a good burst off the line, has good hands, runs hard after the catch, does well over the middle, and is a fantastic red-zone threat.

FINAL REACTION: If this is how the Eagles draft ended up I would be very happy.  We added a LDE.  We boosted the offensive line with Alex Mack and Duke Robinson.  We added a tremenous RB and TE in the later rounds.  Instead of overpaying for a TE and RB early, we got quality guys in round 3 and 4.  Well done.  Less than 30 days until the draft and I cannot wait!