December 19, 2015
As long as you're taking in some college football bowl games this week, here are some players who could make some sense for the Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Here's Utah State head coach Matt Wells talking about Kaufusi:
"The guy is a modern day Goliath. I mean, you all don't walk out there and see him pregame. You'd all be scared. I mean he is humongous, and he's athletic. That's gotta be what Goliath looked like back in the day. I mean, he's intimidating. He's huge, he's athletic. The guy is good. He just flips backs off of him when backs try to block him. The guy is a beast."
Kaufusi is listed at 6'8, 280, who has played both at OLB in the Cougars' 3-4 defense, as well as along their defensive line. In 2015, he played DL, where he racked up 11 sacks (seventh in the nation), 3 forced fumbles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 5 blocked kicks/punts.
Beast indeed. Kaufusi could be a late riser who ends up being taken in the first round.
Kenneth Dixon scores a lot of touchdowns:
| Year | Rushes | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2012 | 200 | 1194 | 6.0 | 27 |
| 2013 | 151 | 917 | 6.1 | 4 |
| 2014 | 253 | 1299 | 5.1 | 22 |
| 2015 | 176 | 968 | 5.5 | 17 |
| TOTAL | 780 | 4378 | 5.6 | 70 |
Over the last two years, Dixon also has 58 receptions for 739 yards and 11 TDs. He's not the biggest guy, and he doesn't have breakaway speed, but he runs hard, breaks tackles, catches the ball, and has a knack for the end zone.
Highlight reel from his junior season:
Fackrell has some Connor Barwin to his game, in that he's 6'5, and sort of a jack of all trades at OLB. In September of 2014, Fackrell tore his ACL in Utah State's first game and was done for the season. In 2015, in his first season back, his numbers weren't eye-popping by any stretch (4 sacks), but he's thought of highly enough as a prospect to have been invited to play at the Senior Bowl this January. He could make sense for the Eagles as a late-round replacement for Marcus Smith. Here's a 99 yard INT return for a TD against Hawaii in 2013:
If you have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve than watch a guy named Willie Beavers pass protect against Middle Tennessee, then you really need to start to evaluate some things in your life. Still, we'll profile him anyway.
Beavers is Western Michigan's LT, but because of his smaller height (he's listed at 6'5, but probably isn't) he's likely to move inside to guard. Here's Beavers working against Michigan State, when he often went up against star pass rusher Shilique Calhoun, and held his own:
You can see he has athleticism in the same mold as a guy like Allen Barbre, or a poor man's Evan Mathis. He does a good job getting to the second level and flashes quickness. However, much like other Eagles interior offensive linemen in recent years, he's not a guy who is going to move 300+ pound defenders against their own will. He's going to be most effective in a zone blocking scheme at the next level. If the Eagles draft him and successfully convert him into a guard, having additional experience at OT will give him some versatility, which the Eagles crave.
Also, imagine the training camp jokes when Beavers has to block Fletcher Cox.
On CBS Sports' draft prospect list, Ehinger is listed as the 168th best prospect overall, and the 10th best guard. I don't agree with that placement on two fronts. To begin, I believe Ehinger is being criminally underrated in his overall projection, but also, I believe he can absolutely hang at OT at the next level.
In 2014, Ehinger was the Bearcats' RG, but he moved to LT for the 2015 season. So, you know, versatility.
At left tackle, he looks like a natural. This is a big boy who carries his height and weight well, looking not just coordinated, but athletic. And in addition to his impressive height-weight combination, he has long, powerful arms that keep opposing pass rushers at bay. In the run game, he is capable of moving defenders against their will.
Here's his game against Memphis. While Memphis doesn't have any truly notable pass rush prospects who are locks to play in the NFL, watch Ehinger pass protect with ease because of his size, technique, awareness, and athleticism. This guy is unquestionably going to pick up steam as the draft season progresses, and probably as a LT.
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