January 12, 2015
Breaking: Chip Kelly likes Oregon players. And hey, the Ducks are playing in the National Championship game tonight against the Ohio State Buckeyes. There are a number of Oregon players who could be of interest to the Eagles, obviously, so we'll note them below. Ohio State, meanwhile, actually has a dearth of NFL draft-eligible prospects both in general, and in terms of who might make sense for the Eagles, so we'll skip them.
We've already covered Mariota at length, but the crux of it is that if NFL personnel people view Mariota as an elite QB prospect by the time the draft rolls around, the Eagles will have no shot of drafting him. If NFL personnel people determine he is not worthy of selecting in the top 10, then sure, the Eagles could have interest in making a move for the Heisman winner.
At 6'8, 290, "bigger people beat up little people" applies. Armstead was a highly recruited player out of high school because of his size and athleticism, and will continue to be coveted for the same reasons by pro scouts, even if he wasn't as productive a college player as many envisioned. For his 38 game college career, Armstead had just 4 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. The Eagles are fairly set along their defensive line. Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan and Cedric Thornton form a very good front three, with Vinny Curry serving as a quality passing down rush specialist.
Buckner may be the better of the two Oregon defensive ends. Again, the Eagles are fairly set along their defensive line, but quality depth in the trenches is never a bad thing.
Fisher is an athletic offensive lineman with experience at LT and RT, but will likely play right tackle in the pros. He is better in the run game than as a pass protector. Jason Peters is a human freak of nature who may be able to play into his 30s longer than a normal professional OT, but the Eagles are going to have to replace him at some point. Is the plan to move Lane Johnson over to LT and fill someone in at RT? If so, Fisher could serve along the Eagles OL as depth in the short term, and the RT of the future in the long term.
Grasu is a seemingly a perfect fit for the Eagles' offense. He's a smart, highly athletic center that Oregon loves to use on pulls and sweeps. However, the Eagles are already set at center for the foreseeable future with Jason Kelce in place.
Washington is a versatile linebacker who can make plays (13.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles the last two seasons), and also naturally drop into coverage. In the Eagles' defensive scheme, he could play the "Jack" role that Connor Barwin plays so well, but also potentially be an option at ILB in a pinch. In a lot of ways, he actually reminds me a little of (brace for it) Marcus Smith.
Dargan has ball skills, as he intercepted seven passes in 2014. He is a versatile player, in that Oregon asked to him play the slot, in the box, and centerfield. He was also a willing special teams player, and obviously, the Eagles value that.
Ekpre-Olomu won't play because he tore his ACL this season, but he's worth noting because many Eagles fans have mentioned him as a potential draft target. This is player I don't think the Eagles will target because of his short stature, which as we all know (cough, Brandon Boykin), the Eagles don't like. The only way I can see the Eagles drafting Ekpre-Olomu is if they view him as a slot corner only (or maybe even a safety?), and have determined that Boykin is not going to re-sign when his contract is up after the 2015 season. That said, he can play.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
