I wonder just how highly rated Kelly had Agholor?

[deerpathdave]

- Chip has been quoted as saying they were anxious to see if Agholor would last til their pick.
- It's been reported that Denver tried to trade up with the Eagles and they declined.
- Chip has been quoted as saying that ODB was the top player on his board last year.
- ODB athletically, is very similar to Agholor. Not overly tall, large or fast, but more than adequate in each. Other receivers were rated and drafted higher.

Now I know he doesn't want to put pressure on the guy, so he wouldn't be saying, but it really sounds all together possible that Kelly considered Agholor as the best WR in the draft.

It also seems obvious they really liked. Rowe. Must have to trade up like they did to get him.

And they evidently had a very high grade on Hicks. Maybe they weren't look for another ILB, but when a guy you rate as a second rounder and future starter is sitting there, you take him.

Sometimes you look at a draft and think that it went anywhere but planned. Last year's seemed that way. This time around, my impression is they got exactly what they wanted, outside of some OL depth.

 

[old duke]

I think you're right about the 3 high picks. I think that Chip will trade for a starting guard by TC. he knows he needs a very good O-Line to make the O succeed. That's if no one steps up with what we have.

 

[WIZ]

That's what the Eagles would like you to believe. It will be years before we get any leaks.

 

[Deano]

Reports were that the Eagles had Agholor as their second rated 'NFL-ready receiver. That's not based on talent but ready to contribute immediately.

 

[deerpathdave]

I think you're right about the 3 high picks. I think that Chip will trade for a starting guard by TC. he knows he needs a very good O-Line to make the O succeed. That's if no one steps up with what we have.

I think they view Barbre as their starting guard and think that their starting 5 is a very good offensive line. No need to trade for a starter.

Depth is the issue, but I think they are less worried about it than some of us. If they really were worried about it, they would have signed an Orlando Franklin, or Wisniewski in FA, or drafted a guy in the 4th rather than trading away the pick.

I hear they really like Tobin, and they must like some combination of Gardner, Graf and Kelly as well.

The question that you have to ask on draft day is whether the guy available in the 3rd or 4th round was going to be good enough to be an active game day starter? And if he wasn't, why pick him over Hicks (in the 3rd round), or why use your 4th on him when you may get a better player with Detroit's 3rd next year.

 

[Birds4life81]

We don't need a starter on the O-line, we needed depth and future replacements -- but you can't fill every need through FA and the draft. Realistically we only lost Herremans, who had lost a few steps and was below average anyway. Barbre should be able to step in and play better than him, or at worst at the same level. Hopefully we will have better luck with the health of our starters at that positional group than we did last year.

Agholor was the perfect fit for this scheme and culture. And yes, he's one of the most pro-ready WRs that was in this draft class. Regardless of combine numbers or size measurements, ODB is on another level athletically. ODB glides when he runs and his cuts are effortless -- he was one of the smoothest runners I had seen in a while. He also had a rare ability to explode vertically to fight for jump balls -- some of the best body control I've ever seen. He also possess more straight line speed on the field than his combine 40 would indicate.

 

[old duke]

I guess that Cooper was the most NFL ready WR.
I loved Agholor after I saw the video when he was @ USC. I could tell what character and intelligence this kid has.
Barbre may be a good enough starter, but he is coming off an injury year, so one of the others better be good. I'm not very high on any of those - Gardner, Tobin, Kelly, or Graf. I hope a couple of UDFA's pan out.

 

[deerpathdave]

This term "pro ready" receiver seems to be a nice way of explaining the difference between the guys that have already demonstrated the skills and the guys that could. Kelly seems to be shying away from the players that have the nice statistics to the ones that have shown he can do what he wants done. Who gives a frick if Breshard Perriman is 6'3" and runs a 4.2 if he doesn't play football as well, and maybe doesn't show the same "wiring" to get better?

My impression is he is doing....for better or for worse...what a Head Coach/GM does....Focusing more on immediate contribution than future success. He wanted no part of Marcus Smith last year because he knew they would get nothing out of him immediately. Now in year two, he may be quite happy to have the Sophomore version of the guy.

He also has no problem fully spending the cap, even on players that may not contribute much. Salary Cap space doesn't win games, while Bradford and Ryan Matthews and Miles Austin may prove useful.

 

[Screamin Eagle]

Agholor had some pretty spicy numbers in college and the tape shows well but ignoring the OL will come back to haunt Kelly.

 

[deerpathdave]

Agholor had some pretty spicy numbers in college and the tape shows well but ignoring the OL will come back to haunt Kelly.

Well, so if your drafting for depth on the OL rather than needing an immediate starter, and your not excited about the OL left on the board in the 4th, why not trade with Detroit? You gotta figure you will get a better OL with next year's third then you will with this year's 4th, and you don't need one immediately.

It would have been sweet though to draft Collins in the 7th. If you figure he is a southern boy, and he won't sign here as a FA, either he backs down and ends up here cheap (which his agent has already admitted was a bluff), or at a minimum you keep him out of Dallas.