March 29, 2015
As we noted earlier this month, if the Eagles bring in a prospect for a pre-draft visit, their chances of being drafted by Chip Kelly go up drastically. Six of the seven Eagles draft picks a year ago were among the Eagles' 30 allotted pre-draft visits, which means that it is absolutely worthwhile paying attention to who stops by the NovaCare Complex this time of year.
The reported visits so far:
• Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State
• Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
• Chris Conley, WR, Georgia
• Randall Telfer, TE, USC
• Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State
• Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest
• Damarious Randall, S, Arizona State
Previously, we profiled Strong, Agholor, and Randall. Later we profiled McKinney and Johnson. Today we'll profile Conley and Telfer.
Conley lit up the 2015 NFL Combine. In addition to running a 4.35 40 at 6'2, 213, he tied for the third highest vertical leap at the Combine (any position) since 1999, and the second best broad jump. Oh, and his arms (just under 34 inches) give him even more length to add onto that 6'2 frame, and his hands are huge at just under 10 inches. Conley's measurables in spider chart form:
Here's Mike Mayock and Rich Eisen talking about Conley's Combine:
Here's a sick catch by Conley on an end zone fade route in 2013:
Conley's production (or lack thereof) at Georgia is unimpressive, but understandable. His senior season, Conley had 36 catches for 657 yards (18.3 yards per catch) and 8 TDs. However, when you have Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb in your backfield, you're going to run the ball a lot, which is exactly when Georgia did. In fact, Georgia ran the ball 555 times. They had 322 pass attempts. As a result, Conley's numbers suffered.
Some have identified Miami's Phillip Dorsett and Ohio State's Devin Smith as potential Eagles targets because of their ability to stretch the field, which is something the Eagles don't currently have at wide receiver. Conley could be in that same mold, and could be off the board as high as the second day of the draft.
As noted by Brandon Gowton of BleedingGreenNation.com, Telfer's strengths sound exactly like Brent Celek's strengths. Via Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
STRENGTHS Aggressive and determined run blocker who says he learned his aggressiveness from former Trojan tight end Rhett Ellison. Uses outstanding hand placement to strike and sustain in run game. Able to base block or work in zone scheme. Plays with football intelligence. Shows willingness to do whatever it takes to get his guy blocked. Willing to play and practice through pain. Gets all the meat off the bone in catch-and-run situations, looking to put his shoulder down and finish rather than juke.
While Telfer may be a good blocker, he never had much in the way of production as a pass catcher at USC:
| Randall Telfer | Catches | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2011 | 26 | 273 | 10.5 | 5 |
| 2012 | 12 | 100 | 8.3 | 4 |
| 2013 | 6 | 78 | 13.0 | 1 |
| 2014 | 21 | 197 | 9.4 | 2 |
Here are highlights of Telfer from his freshman year, which was his best as a receiver at USC. You can see what Zierlein is referring to when he says he gets all the mat on the bone once he has the ball in his hands:
Brent Celek's receptions, yards, and first down catches have declined (or stayed the same) in each of the last four years.
| Brent Celek | Catches | Yards | First downs |
| 2011 | 62 | 811 | 35 |
| 2012 | 57 | 684 | 32 |
| 2013 | 32 | 502 | 22 |
| 2014 | 32 | 340 | 16 |
Celek is the best blocking tight end on the team, but his blocking ability doesn't warrant the $4.8 million he'll count against the cap in 2015, and it certainly won't warrant the $5 million he'll count against the cap in 2016 if he continues to be less and less productive as a receiver. Telfer could be a far cheaper option.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
