Eagles Draft: Previewing Day 3

after a very very productive Thursday night and Friday night. Yeah, we've got a lot of fun, some moves to be made, and another unpredictable day I think for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, the Eagles have four selections on this day. Their pick in the fourth round, of course, no picks in round number five having traded them to the Miami Dolphins in the deal that netted the Eagles Eric Row. And then we see two picks in round number six, one pick in round number seven. We don't know how that's going

to look at the end of the day. As we get you caught up with our Eagles Draft track or Meryl. Three picks in and on paper anyway, four picks to go. Who do you like today? Well, you would think that at least one of these picks has to be devoted to an offensive lineman, at least one, maybe two. Maybe If you're drafting for need, you better make sure that

they're the highest rated players in the play. I know that, but I can't imagine that there are in some offensive lineman who will be among the highest rated players in the third, fourth, or six rounds. I think there has got to be somebody out there. I mean, Trey Jackson is still out there. The interesting name is t J. Clemmings,

who is the big offensive lineman from Pitt. There's been some talk about a stress fracture, but I remember years and years and years ago Buddy Ryan called the guy by the name of Keith Buyers and medical reject, and he went onto a long and productive NFL career. He had a stress fracture. So we'll see, Yeah, we'll see an Eagles with those four picks, and certainly some needs that we identify the offensive line, and then you're really looking for measurables at this point in the draft, your

highest rated players. We've got you covered all the way through today. Our third day of this draft, the final day, Merrill and myself here in the Extrinity studio in our fancave. We've got Bo Wolf and Greg Cosell who will get us the exes and ohs and nuts and bolts, and they are ready to go on this beautiful Saturday in Philadelphia, and we're going to start with that right now. Eric Rowe really was maybe the most popular of the three

picks here for the Eagles. They made the move up to get Row, the defensive back from the University of Utah, big range, physical, does what the Eagles like defensively, and bow Wolf and Greg coach Cell break down a little bit about Eric Row and what he's all about, how he might fit into this Bill Davis defense inside the film room. But I'll tell you who's anything but casual on the football field. That's Eric Rowe, the Eagles second

round pick at the top. Had a chance to watch him at the Senior Bowl, and you can see here we talked about yesterday the demands of the cornerback position in the Eagles offense to be physical. Let's watch Eric Row. Yeah, he's right here at the top of the screen. And we talked yesterday Bow about playing two kinds of press man, where you can use your hands or you can just mirror and shadow. Here Eric Rowe, as you see, will

use his hands very effectively to disrupt the route. And the important thing here, which the NFL is different than college, you can only do that in a five yard area in the NFL, which he did really effectively right there. In college you can carry that a little further and some corners have to learn that. But there you saw Eric Rowe do a great job with physical press man.

Now here is a very critical part of the game, obviously, red zone where teams play a ton more man coverage because the field is so constricted, And here you'll see Row do an excellent job reacting to the route. The thing I've always liked about him watching him on tape is he's very patient, and you saw there he waited for the receiver to declare his route before he reacted.

Very important to be patient as a press corner. The other thing we always talk about with Row is that length of course, in addition to the willingness to be physical in the red zone, where the windows are even smaller, you know the difference between half an inch of arm length could be the difference between deflecting a pass or no. That is absolutely true because quarterbacks are always told that you have to be quicker and throw into tight windows

in the red zone. So as a corner, you also have to be quicker and arm length matter is because you just have to reach in. That's all you do. We just saw that. Now here's Row and here's another part of playing man coverage, playing off man where you're not in press position. And this is something that he did in college as well. And you'll see right here. He's very comfortable. He's very smooth in his movement, comfortable in his back pedal. Look at his feet, they're not

quite pissed and like, but they're very smooth. He's an easy mover and then he reacts. And by the way, I think you'll see him playing man to man on some tight ends this year for you. We talked about that yesterday, the ability to move Eric Row around for Bill Davis. In this defense. You can see here working against the tight end. All right, the last one, we're gonna just take a look at him, willing to be nasty against Time Montgomery here and he'll beat the block.

And one of the notes I made when after I finished watching my five or six games of Eric Row, was that he embraced the physical part of the game. He was used. He predominantly played on the left side in Utah's defense, and that meant there were times he was the boundary corner and the boundary corner the short side of the field. They have to be physical, and he was used as a blitzer. He would tackle in the run game, so he embraced the physical part of

the game. Very excited about what Eric can bring to this Eagles defense. Just a small taste there, looking forward to seeing more during training camp and then of course in his rookie season for the Eagles. Back to you guys, all right, thanks very much, guys. You know, it was

an interesting time for the Eagles merrill. After a very quiet first round only two trades made, the NFL got busy on Friday trades at the top of round number two in the Eagles getting in the mix, jumping up to forty seven, taking Row, and the announcement came from Chicago and former Eagles offensive lineman John Runyan was there to announce the pick. With the forty seventh pick to the twenty fifteen NFL Draft, The Philadelphia Eagles select Eric Rowe defensive back U tall Well, that is the guy

we were looking for them to select. It's a guy that they had ridged very, very highly, and as a matter of five Dave, he was selected as the defensive back with the best athletic skills at the entire combine. I am very interested to hear from Chip Kelly whether he plans to use him as a cornerback or a safety. He has considered to be a corner with safety skills, which we're looking for. We're looking for safeties that can cover.

And this kid played actually corner, you know, so he's got those skills and um, he can play corner, you know. So we'll we'll we'll figure out exactly where he fits. But he may start out at corner force. You know. We we've got we've got a lot of time here. But you know, it's it's it was getting what we felt was the best secondary guy out there for what we do, and that's what we was. He was a guy we targeted since the draft ended last night, that was a guy. That's the guy who wanted. And so

Eric row comes into Philadelphia. He has arrived at the Novacare Complex, both he and Jordan Hicks. We'll have press conferences later today. We'll have the fore live, of course, here on Philadelphia Eagles dot Com. When we return to Eagles Draft Central, presented by Diets and Watson, we talk about Jordan Hicks, the third round draft pick from Texas, an inside linebacker, a position that last year ravaged by injuries.

All of us sudden is chock full of talent. And then we check in with Tony Pauline, one of our draft insiders. He's up in New York. He missed the flight to Chicago, so he's giving us all of his intel from New York City. We'll find out what's ahead for the Eagles. Day three of the NFL Draft underway, and you're live here at thean Ovicare Complex with Eagles Draft Central, presented by Diets and Watson. Spend the day

with Eagles players and coaches Athanovicare Complex. Create unforgettable memories with your friends and family as you experience a day in the life of an Eagles player. Eagles Academy for Women will be held Saturday, June sixth and Sunday, June seventh. Go to Philadelphia Eagles dot Com slash Women's Academy to get your tickets. Now we welcome you back to an overcare complex. Eagles Draft Central, presented by Diets and Watson,

Dave Spidero and Caryl Reese eagerly awaiting Day three. It begins in just a few minutes here, Merrill and I know we talked a little bit about the names before we get into what happened yesterday. How about the safety you got, Well, there's one a Penn Stater and Nitney Lyon by the name of Adrian Amos. I don't know about his tackling, but he covers very very well, but there's a name. Okay, that is a name, and Adrian Amos.

Eagles fans of the Ears have come to rely on Merrill rethe end names well from time to sign from that indeed, there's all right. There's another dB out there too. Um he's the one who's a specialist of jumping off the balcony from the UFC. His name is Josh Shaw. And then he concocted some kind of story about saving his nephew. But look, when you go back and find out that man Tai Tao invented a girlfriend a couple

of years ago, that's this is not so bad, all right? Well, yes, today, Eagles feeling really good about what they did in rounds two and three, and it was a really festive occasion

in Chicago as the fans got into the action. Who would the Eagles pick round three, pick number eighty four, with the eighty fourth pick in the twenty fifteen NFL Draft, My Philadelphia Eagles select Jordan Hicks, linebacker, University Texas, A young man who's battled through a lot of injuries and I'm just so happy for him for him to come back and have a senior year that he had. I was talking telling our players, you know, like you go through a season and there's some guys you wish that

you could out back. Yep, he's one of those guys. But I think he plays the run very well. He's got a feel for working through traffic and finding the ball. The thing that really stood out to me and now you have to think about your sub packages, and that's the way defensive coordinators think is he was a very good pass defender. He played a lot of zone at Texas, but he's got the skill set to play man to man,

which the Eagles play a lot of. But I think he's a complete linebacker who checks pretty much most of the boxes. This was he was our highest rate it gat you know, we had him rated in the second round. You've seen him playing a four three defense, You've seen him playing the three down defense. That's really lend you

to show you what his versatility is. And again, we think he's a three down linebacker and for us, that's what we're looking for, separated us from some of the other linebackersh we're pretty good in this draft, but their first and second down guys, you gotta take him off the field on third downe He's a type of player like a Michael Kendricks and like Akiko Linza that you don't have to take off the field and say done. Jordan Hicks is the topic. Time now to send it

over to the fan cave. Bo Wolf Greg co Sell a little breakdown if an Eagles inside linebacker, how does he fit into this defense? Well, thanks, Dave. We're here once again with NFL Film Senior producer Greg co Sell and Gregg. Once again, we had the foresight to check out the guys at the Senior Bowl, expecting that they might land on the Eagles. This time it's the Eagles third round pick, Jordan Hicks, the linebacker in the middle. Here.

Of course, you'll see Eric Rowe at safety. That's not who we're gonna watch, though, We're gonna watch Jordan Hicks diagnosed this run play and you get after it and you'll notice he's in a stacked linebacker position. That's the position he would play for the Eagles. The key thing here, look at his eyes, go right to the ball, play off the block, and then take the most direct path to the ball carry. That's one of the most overlooked elements playing linebacker is taking the most direct path to

the ball. And it sounds simple. Not everybody does that. Hicks did that very well at Texas. All right, let's look a look at the next play here now, and you'll see some of the things that Jordan Hicks will be asked to do in this Eagles defense, being able to play in space because of the two gapping defensive line for the Eagles. Will see him do that here.

Facts you're going to see there's the D lineman and there's Hicks, and you're going to see the D lineman Davis take on the two blocks, which allows Hicks to run free. But you have to be able to recognize that and fill quickly. And you're going to see Hicks do that right here. Really good job, you don't. It's how he stepped up right away. He didn't wait, he read the play, he stepped up, he filled, and therefore was able to make the play at the line of

scrimmage basically, which is what you want to do. You don't want to sit back and let the runner get to you on your side of the ball. Let's watch him do it again, this time behind Danny Shelton in the middle. Yeah, there's Shelton, there's Hicks, number fifty three, and you're going to see the same thing happen right here. You'll see that Shelton sort of holds the center and

allows Hicks to freely flow to the football. That's what you have to do when you're an inside stacked linebacker in a three four defense, and that is sort of the idea of this Eagles defense is to allow the linebackers to roam free, untouched if possible. And now let's take a look at Jordan Hicks in coverage, being very fluid, probably one of the better coverage inside linebackers in this trap yeah, and I think that's what really stood out.

And Chip Kelly talked about that at the press conference as well, that Hicks was very very good in pass coverage. That stood out when you watch Hicks on film at Texas, really aware and Zones has the physical tools to play man to man. Just a very natural coverage defender and you're going to see that here because his movement is very easy. Again, look how poised and comfortable he is and didn't overreact. He allowed the back to declare the out so he was able to react to it. Very

very comfortable coverage player. And the critical part here again Coach Kelly talked about this a three down linebacker. That's what Jordan Hicks can be. That's exactly right, can do it all. A three down linebacker for this Eagles defense. That's what Chip Kelly he's looking for. We look forward to breaking down whoever the Eagles pick on Day three here inside the film room. Eagles Junior Pro Day is the ultimate experience for young Eagles fans and it's only

a few weeks away. Kids ages five to twelve have the chance to run through football drills with Eagles players, meet Swoop and check out the team's practice facility. Don't miss your chance to share this great experience with the young fans in your life. So go to Philadelphi Eagles dot com slash Junior Pro Day and get your tickets. Today it's Dave Spidero with Merrill Reese. It's Day three of Eagles Raft Central, presented by Dieton Watson and Meryll.

I'm gonna ask you a question. Do you know how many draft picks have been made since the Eagles selected Lane Johnson number one overall? I would say, all the top of my head, somewhere in the neighborhood of seventeen. You're amazing. Sixteen is actually the number sixteen because you didn't listen to the questions doesn't include Lane. But the point we all think that offensive line could be addressed, it's one of these two to be I mean, there's

the offensive line is a key to the offense. We all focus on the quarterback, and we all talk about Sam Bradford having to stay healthy. To keep Sam Bradford healthy, you cannot have a porous offensive line. And there are two question marks on this offensive line at each guard spot. Now, Chip Kelly may feel comfortable with Alan Barber, with Matt Tobin, but this is not a proven thing. Barber was out most of last year. He was hurt in the opener

against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Eagles did have some depth, Andrew Gardner playing quite a bit, David Mulk playing a lot when Jason Kelsey was down town. They've developed some depth. How do they feel about the offensive line? Well, Chip Kelly said on Friday Night, but only Todd Harriman's has gone. Everybody else has returned, so they still feel good about what they have upfront. But might the Eagles dip into

the talent pool along the offensive line? We go to Tony Pauline to give us a preview of some Day three possibilities up front. Sean Hickey Serac uses a name to remember if the Eagles continue to fourtify the offensive line on the final day of the draft. The senior left tackle has got a versatile game and plays smart, fundamentally sound football. He's not overly athletic, he doesn't have great footwork. He's not a dominant rumblocker, but he's very

good in all areas of the game. He can play either right tackle or bulk guard positions and would add depth to the offensive line. A former defensive lineman, p J. Clemings has done well the past two years on the offensive line, playing right tackle for Pittsburgh. He's all an athlete with a great amount of upside, but he's also

a player that needs a lot of work. People are torn on whether he's going to stay at the tax position or move inside to guard, but a team that's a patient with him and helps develop his skills on the offensive line could have a very good player down the road. West Virginia's Mark Lewinsky is next. Not too many offensive lineman this year's draft or as mean or nasty as Mark Lewinsky of West Virginia. He's a pass protector in the West Virginia system that also showed himself

to be a dominant rum blocker. He doesn't have a great upside, but his game is NFL ready and he'd be a solid pick for any team on the second day of the draft. San Diego State left tackle Terry Pool has got a great deal of versatility, as people feel he can line up and protect the edge at the next level or move into guard. He's tough, he's strong, and he plays with the nasty attitude. He's also fundamentally sound. He's not a great athlete, but the proper system pool

can have a long NFL career. Boston College's Andy Gallick is next. A very understated offensive center. Andrew Gallick of Boston College reminds me of Tom now and Round, picked by the Dever Broncos, who went on to have an All Pro career in the NFL. He's not over the athletic, he's not dominant, but he's outstanding in every aspect. He plays smart, fundamentally sound football, and he's a type of late round lineman that could eventually start in the NFL.

Virginia Tech left tack Lawrence Gibson is one of the more athletic offensive line prospects in this year's draft, and as a solid developmental prospect. He can play tackle, he can play guard. He can be used in a variety of systems, but he'll need some work on his game before he's NFL ready. A few offensive linemen work harder than b. J. Finney, the center from Kansas State who

slugs it out in the middle. He's not an athletic guy, and he's not pretty to watch, but he consistently gets the job done with solid blocking fundamentals and good football intelligence. Auburn's Reestismus is one of those players that doesn't have great physical skills but gets the most from his assets. He plays smart, tough football, knows where he is on the field, and would add depth to any offensive line

in the NFL. If the Eagles look at quarter father offensive line on the final day of the twenty fifteen draft, those are the names to remember. Well, there's certainly more than the offensive line to consider today. Merrill is considering safety as well. What about outside linebacker? What about quarterback? What about some of the players that we heard might go on Day one? Early in this conversation about the draft, who are still on the board in day three? Let's

bring Tony Pauline onto the show via Skype. Tony Foulian from TEA from Draft Insiders dot Net. I got some numbers for I got some names for you, got some questions for you. Let's start with a quarterback position. Hunley and Petty are out there. I don't believe Eagles will make a move for them. But what kind of prospects are they and why are they still on the board. Oh, basically, you look at Hunley. He's a great physical specimen. He's got all the tools to play at the next level.

But the fact is this, mechanically he's poor as changes his point of release, really does not do a good job with his reads, very indecisive in the pocket, makes adverse throws not accurate, I mean, makes wide open receivers will all too often work too hard to make the reception, which leads to a loss of opportunity running after the catch. Bryce Petty, you know, he's a pretty thrower, fundamentally sound,

he's got a good arm. But the fact is is, you know, those Baylor quarterbacks have not worked out well in the NFL. People who talked about their concern with Marcus Mariota moving from a spread system into a into an NFL type of offense, You've got a time sap by ten when you're talking about Bryce Petty. So you know, humbly, you're looking at the decision making the fundamentals Bryce Petty, You're looking about the time it will take before to get him ready, before he's able to step under center

in the NFL. Tell me there's an offensive lineman who was expected to go higher. T J. Clemings is listening all about a medical concern. Two things about t J. Clemings, So actually the three things. Number one, he was overrated to begin with. I mean people had him in the first round in January. That was ridiculous. He was never

really a first round prospect. Then he went to the Senior Bowl and he performed poorly that he showed a lot of holes in his games, and NFL scouts and team said, you know what, this guy may take a little bit of time before he's NFL ready. Then the medical comes into play. Still a legitimate prospect, he's good value right now. It's just that people were expecting too much from him early on, and he's more of a work in progress than the guy that you're gonna plug

and play from day one. Also on the offensive line, lall Collins is still there. Will a team make a run here? I mean, have teams now done their work on him and found something serious in this police issue, this investigative matter, Well, I don't think the police are going to be sharing any information with NFL teams. What I had heard on the Thursday was that, you know, they were looking into communications between Collins and the victim and potentially collins sister and the victim in the form

of text messages. I don't know how true that is, but that's what NFL teams were told. Now, first thing is is NFL teams were not going to draft Lall Collins until this is over, and it's not going to be over anytime soon. And then Collins comes out yesterday and says if he's not selected in either the second or third round, he's going to re enter the draft twenty sixteen, which he has the right to. Now Collins

is not gonna get drafted. I'd be shocked if anyone based on what happened Thursday and will actually what happened Wednesday and the statement yesterday that he's not gonna play if he's not drafted a second or third round, I'd be shocked if any team, you know it takes a fire round him. Maybe somebody does in the seventh round, but then Collins has to sign a three year deal with that team for seventh round money. I don't think he's gonna do it. What about some of the prospects

that the Eagles won't consider in one thirteen. The Eagles have a fourth round pick, no picks in round number five two in the sixth round one, in the seventh round, we look at it and say, the Eagles need offensive line help, potentially maybe a safety, maybe somebody off the edge. Tony give us a couple of possibilities. You know, we already talked about TJ. Clemings. I think he's good value. Trey Jackson, Laida State revery athletic offensive guard, did a

terrific job blocking for Jameis Winston. A little bit of inconsistent in his game. I think he fits the Philadelphia Eagles scheme, but doesn't always play up to his level of ability, which I don't think Chip Kell would like. But still, if you get him in there, you light a fire underneath him, and you get him to hit on all cylinders, you could have a player safety that I really like. Jane Sample out of Louisville. Guy who can cover the past, guy who's tough against the run.

It's not the greatest athlete, but really has a well rounded, complete game. I think he's more than the straight line type downhill safeties that the Eagles have on their roster right now. Really can be a three down defender. Sample out of Louisville thought he was gonna go last night in the third round. I think he's good value right now in the fourth frame, Tony another name, Mark Lewinsky, offensive line, West Virginia University. Could he be somebody the

Eagle Schools zero in on. I have him as a later round pick. I mean he is a nasty blocker, sort of a Jason Kelsey type. Not as good on his feet as Jason Kelsey, but really a tough, slug it out type of guy. You know, played in that on the West Virginia system, which rarely uses a tight end, is more of a passing system. Yeah. I like his attitude. I like his fundamentals. Not a great athlete, but the type of guy that gets the most out of his

ability Tony, regardless of physician. Look, we know that in the NFL Draft rounds four through seven there are going to be some Pro Bowl players drafted. Here. Who do you like who's got that kind potentially that kind of upside in the draft? On Day three? Well, you know, here's one name for you. And as I look at my board to the left, here Eifel ray Alomo, the

cornerback from Oregon. I mean, here's a guy who was coming into the season was legitimately considered a mid first round pick, was the highest rated cornerback by NFL scouts. Has got a great body of work, was solid during his senior season as Oregon was training for that semi final game for the National Championship against Florida State. Tory need ligament. So he's kind of behind the A Bowl right now. If you're patient with him, he's got terrific

ball skills and shutdown corner. Doesn't have great signs, but he's one of those guys that you take him in the sixth round, you give him time to rehab two or three years down the road, he's gonna be a very good player. Also, like Darryl Williams, the offensive tackle for Oklahoma, sort of a right side type of player, the right tackle, a right guard Schwangmaller type. I don't know that he's all pro, but I think at this point in time he's good value. Could be a starter

really relatively early into his rookie season. All right, Tony, let's let Eagles fans find out what you think. So far? Three picks in with Aguilar, with Row and with Hicks. How are the Eagles doing overall? I think they've done a good job. I was not that high in the Aguilar selection. I understood why they took it, although you know, I didn't think he was worth a mid first round choice. Then again, there were a lot of players taken in the bottom half of Round one that weren't first round value.

We knew that going in. I thought Eric Rowe could be a potential steal in round two. He's got the physical skills to play at a variety of system. He's a coachable guy, He's got the football intelligence that coach Kelly like. So I think that could be a major steal. I also like Jordan Hicks. Jordan Hicks was a player who has a sophomore Texas, looked like a star in the making, had a run of injuries which kept him

on the sideline, came back as a senior formed. Well, I think you'll do very well on the inside of the thirty four defense that they play to riprick run defender who also can cover. I mean, he's a three down defender. It's just a matter of Jordan Hicks showing durability and being able to stay on the field. That could be a real steal for the Eagles. Well, if you are echoing the thoughts of one Chip Kelly, who said exactly that about Jordan Hicks last night. Three down linebackers,

that's what we want on the Philadelphia Eagles. Tony will check in with you a little later on today as Day three moves along. Thanks so much, Tony Pauline Draft Insiders dot Net. Merrill, the stage is set. Your prediction round four. I'm going to stay with the offensive lineman. I'm going to say that in the round four they will hit an offensive lineman. Maybe it's Jackson, maybe it's Lewinsky, maybe it's somebody we haven't thought of. But the odds

are my favor. Since they've gone sixteen straight picks with that on OEL, I would think that this could be the pick. Yeah, I would tend to agree with you. Offensive line, possibly a safety at this point. And but we're just guessing. We're down here in the Xfinity studio, Chip Kelly and Ed Manowitz are upstairs, and I don't think they're tuned in to Eagles Draft century they were. They'll watch the archive, okay, all right, they'll review us

on tap. We'll be back in a bit after each pick. Now, um, we're gonna be live again when the Eagles turn in the pick um, and then we will continue through the analysis and the Chip Kelly press conference as well. We don't know a time that will be, so make sure you check your social feed for that. Also, at one thirty we hear from Eric Rowe and Jordan Hicks. They'll

have their press conference meeting the Philadelphia media today. We thank you for joining us on our first portion of today's Eagles Draft Central, presented by Deeton Watson for the great Merril Reason. I'm Dave Spidero and we will talk to you in just a little bit as Day three of the twenty fifteen NFL Draft begins.