January 08, 2024
During the college football season each year, as long as you're watching the games, we point out five players each week to keep an eye on who make logical sense for the Philadelphia Eagles in the following year's draft.
The college football season will conclude Monday night with National Championship Game, between (1) Michigan and (2) Washington.
During the season, we profiled three Michigan players, and two Washington players. If you'd like to catch up on them, you may do so by clicking on the following names:
Here are five fresh new names.
Jenkins' dad (also Kris), played 10 seasons in the NFL for the Panthers and Jets. He made four Pro Bowls, and was an All-Pro three times. His uncle is Cullen Jenkins, who played 14 seasons in the NFL, including two with the Eagles in 2011 and 2012.
Jenkins came in at No. 6 on Brice Feldman's "Freaks" list this past summer:
The former three-star recruit, the son of former NFL star Kris Jenkins, arrived in Ann Arbor at 257 pounds, and he played last season in the mid-280s. He made 54 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and had 20 QB pressures. According to PFF, he led all defensive linemen in the country in run stops. But people inside the Michigan program think he’s now ready to take a huge step forward as an impact guy. He’s up to 307 pounds and is more powerful and explosive than ever. He did 32 reps of 225 on the bench and did 760 pounds on the combo twist.
Jenkins is probably a Day 2 guy. Would it surprise anyone if the Eagles just kept adding to the interior of the defensive line, especially with the way they have disappointed down the stretch?
Colson led Michigan's defense with 89 tackles, 28 more than the next-closest Michigan defender. He's a good run defender, as shown below:
Colson is also a good athlete, especially for a big linebacker, by today's standards, at 6'3, 247. He has the height-weight-speed combination to run with tight ends get them to the ground after the catch. Day 2 guy.
Zinter was a First-Team All American at RG for Michigan this season, but he broke his fibula and tibia in a win over Ohio State, ending his season. They were "clean breaks," so Zinter should be ready to go for training camp. He played his entire career at RG, and could be a reliable starter in the pros. He was a key piece on a great Michigan offensive line who is a brawler in the run game, and who has good length in pass pro.
There are a couple knocks:
• Zinter won't remind anyone of Jason Kelce athletically. He's just OK in that regard.
• As noted above, his entire college career was spent at RG, so he's lacking in versatility. If you draft him and slot him in at guard and he hits, cool. If he doesn't hit as a starter, he won't have much value as a backup either because he is probably a guard only.
For the Eagles' purposes, if Kelce retires and Cam Jurgens moves to center, the Eagles will have an opening at RG. Depending on what they think of Tyler Steen, they may or may not be looking for a starting guard. If Zinter can be had at a discount in the draft because of his injury and his lack of versatility, then he would make sense on Day 3.
Washington has a pair of star receivers in Rome Odunze (87 catches, 1553 yards, 17.9 YPC, 13 TDs) and Polk (65 catches, 1122 yards, 17.3 YPC, 9 TDs). Odunze is a first-round lock, and Polk is likely to go Day 2.
Polk has good size, great hands, he's a contested catch beast, and he has some physical ability after the catch.
The Eagles still need a No. 3 receiver, and Polk would cause matchup issues for opposing defenses along with DeVonta Smith and A.J .Brown.
Fautanu is the Huskies' starting LT but he has also played some guard for them as well. He has the necessary agility to mirror and match pass rushers on the edge, but he does not possess ideal length to play there in the pros. In that sense, his profile reminds me a little of Peter Skoronski, who draft analysts frequently (and oddly) mocked to the Eagles at 10th overall last year. Fautanu has good athleticism, and he's a finisher.
Why yes, I wouldn’t mind the #Panthers drafting Washington OL Troy Fautanu (#55) at No. 33 overall.
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) December 30, 2023
Early Rd2 grade. Moves very well. Ample power and mobility. Older prospect. Biggest strengths lie on pass protection. pic.twitter.com/StNTCAAVQL
It wouldn't be a stretch for the Eagles to draft another interior offensive lineman with a second-round pick, which would be very good value for Fautanu, who may not make it out of the first round.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
