January 11, 2016
The Alabama Crimson Tide will take on Brian Dawkins' Clemson Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game tonight, and as you might imagine, both teams are loaded with NFL prospects. Let's take a look at some who might interest the Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft.
To note, these are draft-eligible players only. In other words, we did not forget guys like Clemson QB DeShaun Watson, who may eventually be the best prospect in this game.
Alabama always seems to have an impressive stable of running backs. In fact, they've had one selected in the first two rounds in each of the last four drafts. Obviously, there are some hits and misses here at the pro level:
| Year | Player | Round | Overall |
| 2011 | Mark Ingram | 1 | 28 |
| 2012 | Trent Richardson | 1 | 5 |
| 2013 | Eddie Lacy | 2 | 61 |
| 2014 | T.J. Yeldon | 2 | 36 |
Henry actually led the Crimson Tide in rushing in 2014, and T.J. Yeldon was still picked 36th overall by the Jaguars. In 2015, he won the Heisman Trophy Award. Henry's numbers at Bama:
| Year | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2013 | 36 | 382 | 10.6 | 3 |
| 2014 | 172 | 990 | 5.8 | 11 |
| 2015 | 359 | 2061 | 5.7 | 25 |
| TOTAL | 567 | 3433 | 6.1 | 39 |
DeMarco Murray is under contract with the Eagles on a five-year deal, but for practical matters they're probably locked in with him for the next two years. Ryan Mathews is under contract for three, but he's essentially locked in through 2016. Murray turns 28 in February, Mathews is 28, while Darren Sproles will turn 33 in June.
At 6'3, 242 pounds, Henry is an absolute load, but with speed to boot. Henry wouldn't make much sense in the short term, but if the new regime feels like they want to get rid of Murray the first chance they get, Henry could make sense as the workhorse back of the future. However, it would be hard to justify taking him at 13th overall. A highlight reel:
In case you missed our list of 10 players the Eagles could consider with their first round pick, Robinson made the cut. Here's what we said:
This is extreme athleticism for a 325-pound dude:
That's a 325-pound beast jumping over the line to block the kick pic.twitter.com/l7qXXwGzxS
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) November 8, 2015
At 6'3, 325, he's big, obviously strong, and an immovable object. A season ago, the Eagles couldn't stop the run. Robinson does an outstanding job of eating up blockers while giving up no ground and letting the linebackers behind him make plays.
Here's Robinson's game last year against Mississippi State. I laughed out loud at the 5:54 mark, when the MSU running back tried to chip Robinson, and got swatted to the ground like a gnat. Watch him win at the line of scrimmage. You simply can't move him.
At Alabama, Robinson played DT in four down linemen sets, and he played both DE and NT in three down linemen sets, depending on the situation. Cedric Thornton is a free agent, and if he were to move on from the Eagles, Robinson could join Cox and Bennie Logan to form what could be an incredibly dominant interior defensive line.
As we've noted, one of the Eagles' biggest team strengths (perhaps their biggest, actually) is their defensive line, so it's not as if they need to reach for a need here. Some think that Reed is better than Robinson, and he might be, although I feel that Robinson has a higher ceiling. Reed and Robinson two are run-stuffer extraordinaires.
While Robinson and Reed are run stuffers along the Crimson Tide front line, Allen is Bama's best pass rusher, as he had 12 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and four batted passes. I did not perceive Allen to be a fit in the Eagles' 3-4 front, so I never specifically watched him closely, however, there are many who believe he is a first round talent.
Ragland was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, which obviously, is no small accomplishment. Ragland is always around the football, as he led Bama with 97 tackles, and tacked on an impressive seven pass breakups from his linebacker spot. I like this description of Ragland:
Clemson guard Eric Mac Lain said of Reggie Ragland, "It seems like he has a GPS for the ball"
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 9, 2016
The concern with Ragland is that some think he does not have elite athleticism. The Combine will be a big test for him.
Howard has a huge frame at 6'6, 242, and very good athleticism to go along with it. He was the 16th ranked high school recruit in the country by Rivals.com when Alabama was able to sign him for their 2013 enrollment. However, through his first three years in college he has been unproductive, catching just 64 passes and two touchdowns his three years at Bama, combined.
The Eagles are set at TE with Zach Ertz as their starter, but Brent Celek is scheduled to make $5 million next season, which is an unwarranted figure for a player whose production has been in a steady decline for years, quality blocker or not. Ertz and Howard paired together could pose significant matchup problems for opposing defenses, assuming Howard's lack of productively is a result of the system he's in.
Kelly is probably "just" a pure center, as opposed to a guy who can play all three positions along the offensive line, and he is regarded by some as the best center in the country. With Jason Kelce in place, Kelly will likely not be an Eagles target, but he is certainly NFL-bound.
Because he's only 5'10 and thus an unlikely fit with Chip Kelly's Eagles, I never bothered watching him. But, he makes plays:
Coker is a mid-late round prospect. Since the offseason, we've been conducting detailed profiles on each draftable quarterback. I have not yet gotten around to Coker yet, but he is scheduled to compete at the Senior Bowl, where I'll get an up-close look.
Alexander is thought of by some as a potential top 10 pick. I'm not quite there with him, as he does not have a single interception in his career at Clemson. Then again, it's hard to rack up INT numbers when quarterbacks don't often throw your way. But he is a clear first-round talent.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but again, Lawson is not someone I have zeroed in on just yet, as he projects to a 4-3 DE, and therefore not a fit in the Eagles' 3-4 front. Depending on the new defensive scheme, he could be a target as high as pick #13 for the Birds. In 2015, Lawson had 10.5 sacks.
Kearse has enormous size for a safety, and is freakishly gifted athletically, like his uncle, "The Freak," Jevon Kearse. He is a good hitter with good speed, but is thought to be raw in terms of his understanding of the position. He would not have been a fit in the Eagles' former defensive scheme, as they require safeties who excel at covering slot receivers. That's not Kearse. With the new regime ... who knows?
Unlike OJ Howard above, Leggett had good numbers in 2015. He had 35 catches for 447 yards, and 7 TDs, and is good red zone target. He is also an ACC academic Honor Roll member, which would have impressed the former regime. If the Eagles draft Leggett, it will be the fourth consecutive year they will have drafted a Jordan. #Analysis.
Tankersley is the lesser known of Clemson's outstanding corners, with Alexander being thought of as the better player of the two. However, he's 6'1, 195, and was originally brought to Clemson to play safety before being moved to corner, much like Eric Rowe.
Tankersley leads Clemson with five picks, but 2015 was his first season as a starter. He'd probably be better served to stay at Clemson next year for his senior season and build on 2015, but if he comes out, the Eagles could try to develop him to eventually take over for Byron Maxwell whenever the Eagles can get out of Maxwell's prohibitive contract.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
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