Eagles News: Philadelphia had the NFL’s most athletic draft class

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2022 NFL Draft Results: Eagles welcome 5 new rookies (and A.J. Brown) to Philadelphia – BGN
The Philadelphia Eagles entered the 2022 NFL Draft with 10 picks and ended up with five new rookies … and A.J. Brown! Here’s an overview of this year’s draft class.

At the Podium: Kyron Johnson and Grant Calcaterra express their excitement for being drafted by the Eagles – BGN Radio
Eagles Day 3 draft picks LB Kyron Johnson and TE Grant Calcaterra talk with the Philly media on Saturday.

The final 2022 NFL Draft grades for all 32 teams – SB Nation
Philadelphia Eagles. Best pick: Nakobe Dean, LB (83)Worst pick: Grant Calcaterra, TE (198). This was a huge haul for the Eagles, especially when you factor in that they managed to trade for, and extend A.J. Brown. Philadelphia got better on both sides of the offensive line, picked up mega value in Nakobe Dean, who is going to be a difference maker despite his size, and really maximized their picks to improve in major ways. Great draft. Grade: A.

2022 NFL Draft grades for all 32 teams – PFF
Cam Jurgens is a prospect that PFF is lower on than the consensus, as he was barely a top-100 player on the big board. The Nebraska Cornhusker is an uber-athlete, but he has to do a much better job playing with better balance. Jurgens was a poor performer during his first two years at the position in 2019 and 2020 with 44.1 and 42.7 PFF grades, but he showed some modest growth in 2021 with a 71.4 overall mark. Still, there’s a long road ahead to refinement for the center, but the Eagles are in a position to get him there.

Analyzing the Eagles’ reported 2022 undrafted free agent class – PhillyVoice
Blankenship is a player that we profiled in each of the last two seasons, so he’s a guy from a small school who has been on our radar for a while. He played five seasons at MTSU. His first three were highlighted by his takeaway numbers (8 INTs), while his last two were noteworthy for his high number of tackles (186 of them in 22 games). In 2021, Blankenship compiled 110 tackles (10 for loss), a sack, an INT, 8 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 recoveries, one of which he returned for a score. He’s an active safety who can cover a lot of ground. The Eagles have some obvious needs at safety, and Blankenship felt to me like a late-round type of player who can contribute immediately on special teams and grow into a role in the regular defense. And yet, he’s probably the lowest rated player among the Eagles’ undrafted free agent class. Sleeper.

Eagles Add LB, TE on Day 3 – Iggles Blitz
6 – 198 – TE Grant Calcaterra – SMU. I remember watching Oklahoma games and seeing this young TE making big catches. He wasn’t draft eligible, but I filed the name away for down the road. Unfortunately Calcaterra had injury issues and ended up transferring to SMU for his senior season. He posted his best numbers, going 38-465-4. He is a good athlete who can run (4.62) and catch the ball. Calcaterra will need a lot of work as a blocker. The Eagles have a star TE in Dallas Goedert. They have second year player Jack Stoll, who is more blocker than receiver. If Goedert gets hurts, the Eagles need someone that can get open and catch the ball. Calcaterra can be that guy. Calcaterra is 6-4, 241 so he’s not a big TE, but that’s okay size for someone who is primarily a receiver. He can bulk up to 250 as he gets ready for the league. Solid pick.

Linebacker boom or injury bust? Why the Eagles were able to draft Nakobe Dean in the third round. – Inquirer
Dean returned for his final season and seemingly played without lingering issues. But he has battled through knee tendinitis and various soft tissue injuries for years. And the concern, two league sources from other teams said, was that the shoulder and knee were chronic and related to various muscle strains.He tore his pec while training for the bench press early in the offseason and missed drills at the combine and Georgia’s pro day. “I went to doctors, got second opinions and everything, and nobody, nobody said I should have surgery,” Dean said. “Nobody had told me I had to have surgery.” Roseman said that Dean doesn’t need surgery and that he will be able to participate in the Eagles’ two day rookie camp which starts Friday. Practices will be light, though, and while the GM said that he doesn’t “anticipate missed time,” the medical staff is likely to be cautious with the rookie.

Best NFL draft 2022 value picks, steals for all 32 teams: Todd McShay names his favorite selections, including instant-impact receivers – ESPN+
I had heard plenty of rumblings that Nakobe Dean would likely slide out of Round 1. There were concerns about his 5-foot-11 and 229-pound size and his shorter 32-inch arms. Some worried about his lingering injuries. Others wished he had tested in the pre-draft process at the combine or Georgia’s pro day. But Round 3? Really? Have you guys seen Dean’s tape? It was a treat to watch. He was one of 23 players I had a first-round grade on, and the rangy, instinctive linebacker ended up No. 19 on my final board. Philadelphia had to have a linebacker, too. T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White are both free agents after the 2022 season, and the Eagles haven’t had a true impact linebacker up the middle in a long time. We all know GM Howie Roseman isn’t one for drafting linebackers in the first round, but what about drafting a first-round linebacker in the third? You can’t go wrong there. Roseman stacked Dean up the middle behind former Georgia teammate Jordan Davis, whom the team took at No. 13. That’s how you improve the interior. Dean’s effort on every single down pops on tape, and he has great burst and explosiveness. He is a reliable tackler and can match with running backs in coverage — though his size might limit him against most tight ends. His six sacks in 2021 serve as evidence of something else I saw on Dean’s tape: He’s improving as a push-rusher and can locate and exploit gaps. I love this pick. It might be the steal of the draft when it’s all said and done. Dean was the heart and soul of the Bulldogs’ defense, and I think he is going to be a leader for the Eagles now, too.

Beat writers’ favorite 2022 NFL Draft picks: One intriguing player from all 32 teams – The Athletic
Philadelphia Eagles: Linebacker Nakobe Dean, if the Eagles are correct in their medical evaluation. Dean was Dane Brugler’s 29th-ranked player who fell to the third round (No. 83 overall) purportedly because of concerns about an injured shoulder. GM Howie Roseman said Dean will participate in minicamp next weekend, does not require surgery and that the Eagles are expecting him to play this season. If that’s the case, then the Eagles just landed a player who was named the top linebacker in college football last season and was the captain of Georgia’s national champion team.

New Eagles receiver sets a Penn Relays record – NBCSP
Devon Allen hasn’t had his first practice with the Eagles yet but he’s already a winner in Philadelphia. On Saturday afternoon at the Penn Relays, the new Eagles receiver and Olympian won the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.11, which is a new record for the event. Allen’s personal record in the event is 12.99, which he ran in 2021. But 13.11 ain’t too shabby. It’s the new fastest time in the world this year, breaking his mark of 13.12 a week ago.

2022 Eagles Draft Recap: Scouting reports, stats, and more – PE.com
WR A.J. Brown, trade with Tennessee. Head Coach Nick Sirianni knows Brown well, having coached against him in the AFC. And Sirianni understands just how dominating Brown can be and how much he and second-year man DeVonta Smith will complement each other in this passing game. Said Sirianni: “He’s a bigger guy with a lot of play strength. Like I said, this is one of the stronger receivers in the NFL. I was on the opposite sideline of him twice a year in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. So, I saw it up close and personal, and then obviously we did our due diligence on tape. “There’s a lot of different things that because of his skill set, because of that play strength, because of that body quickness that he has, and just the major – the biggest asset that he has is the one that’s so vital to the position. If you can’t catch the ball, you can’t play. And this guy catches everything. We can see him on a lot of different routes that fit our offense that uses that play strength, that uses that quickness, and that’s where he’s so tough. You want guys that can win one-on-one matchups. And this guy has shown in the NFL that he will win one-on-one matchups. Again, I know I keep saying it, but it just sticks out. The way he wins with his play strength, the way he wins with his quickness.”

UPDATE: Carson Strong signs with Philadelphia Eagles as UDFA – MWC Connection
Last season, Strong led the Mountain West in passing yards (4,175), completion percentage (70.1) and touchdown passes (36), while ranking second in passer rating (156.7) and third in yards per attempt (8.0). He was the fifth player since the conference’s inception in 1999 to be a back-to-back Mountain West offensive player fo the year award winner, joining Bradlee Van Pelt, Andy Dalton, Derek Carr and Donnel Pumphrey.

It wasn’t how he planned it, but Brown QB EJ Perry lands in the NFL – The Providence Journal
Perry was vying to become the first quarterback selected from the Ivy League since 2005 and just the second in the long history of Brown’s program. Ryan Fitzpatrick was picked out of Harvard by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round and has spent the last 16 years with nine different teams. Bob Bateman was tabbed by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round in 1976 after a lone standout season with the Bears. Perry put himself on the NFL radar thanks to a strong fifth season with Brown. He won the Bushnell Cup as the top offensive player in the conference, totaling 3,435 yards from scrimmage and 30 touchdowns. Perry was reliable both in terms of production and leadership for a Bears team that went just 2-8. Perry continued to shine at the East-West Shrine Bowl, earning Most Valuable Player honors at one of the premier college postseason all-star games. He passed for 241 yards and three scores against some of the nation’s best graduating talent. Perry was also named his team’s practice player of the week and earned an invitation to the NFL Combine.

Philadelphia Eagles sign Alabama cornerback Josh Jobe – Roll Bama Roll
After the tackling-averse catastrophe of the 2018 Alabama secondary, Josh Jobe’s arrival was a welcome change in Tuscaloosa. For the better part of two seasons, No. 28 served as the enforcer in the Alabama defensive backfield. Teams looking for someone who can set the edge on the outside, and who want an overall aggressor in the secondary, can do far worse than Jobe. Because no one has ever accused Josh of not being able to lay the lumber. Despite just being 5’11”, 182-pounds, Jobe uses his aggression well, and possesses some solid outside skills to run his man out of bounds. He is particularly at his best when he can put his hands on a receiver, and outwork them using his body. He is a lot stronger, and plays a lot bigger, than his frame would indicate. That is borne out by both his strong tackling skills and very aggressive on-ball coverage. He does have limitations, however, including his size, off-ball coverage skills, and experience.

Miami Hurricanes 2022 Path to the NFL Draft: OL Jarrid Williams – State Of The U
At an otherwise statless position, the seventh year senior had his ups and downs but graded out nicely according to PFF. Williams has an NFL-ready frame for tackle standards at 6’5”, 323 pounds. It is really just a matter of whether his mechanics can be relied upon as a right tackle on NFL teams – the position he is most experienced at and equipped to handle there. One of Williams’ biggest strengths, his experience, could also be deemed an issue as he enters the NFL with a lot of wear at 25 years old. That being said, he has ample length and strength, and also proved durable after using his medical redshirt in 2019 due to a season-ending leg injury.

Fantasy Fallout: Eagles Shock the World with A.J. Brown Trade – Establish The Run
The Eagles were among the run-heaviest teams in football last season, especially over the second half of the year. Philadelphia was 29th in pass attempts, 31st in wide receiver yards per game, and last in wide receiver targets per game. Brown goes from one low-volume passing attack to another, and his efficiency may suffer catching passes from Jalen Hurts instead of Ryan Tannehill. Furthermore, Brown has more target competition on the Eagles with Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and a solid stable of pass-catching running backs. We also typically don’t want to be overly aggressive in projecting a target share for a player on a new team, although that mindset shifts somewhat with an elite talent like Brown. All told, we have Brown with a 22.1% target share on the Eagles, whereas he was at 24.8% with the Titans.

2022 NFL Draft Debrief: A.J. Brown trade fallout; draft winners and losers; rookie WR projections – NFL.com
The Titans could have kept Brown if they wanted. They just couldn’t have kept the 24-year-old on his rookie contract or the ridiculously below-market offer of $16 million per season that Brown said the team offered him before trading him to the Eagles. For comparison, Titans receiver Robert Woods signed a contract with the Rams for a similar average yearly salary two years ago, at the age of 28, before the Rams essentially dumped that contract on the Titans this offseason. Yes, the Titans are tight to the salary cap. Yes, they would have had to pay a lot of guaranteed money and reached the upper tier of cash spending for the 2022 season. But they could have found a way to make it work if they valued Brown enough and were willing to shell out enough cash up front. As it stands now, it looks like they were either too cheap or didn’t plan well enough (or both).

Bears to release Nick Foles – Windy City Gridrion
According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Chicago Bears are going to release veteran quarterback Nick Foles. The Bears have been looking to trade the 33-year old QB this offseason, but instead of continuing to pursue a deal, general manager Ryan Poles decided to allow Foles to pick his next destination as a free agent. Chicago will save $3 million in cap space this year with the move, and they will incur about a $7.6 million dead cap hit.

Stephen Jones: Cowboys considered running back during draft, says ‘Zeke’s making a lot of money’ – Blogging The Boys
This is the first time that someone within the Cowboys brain trust has said something like this about Ezekiel Elliott’s future. Obviously Elliott is one of the higher-paid running backs in the NFL based off of the deal that Dallas gave him three years ago, but 2023 is the team’s first real out of that contract. Time will tell if the Cowboys decide to move on Zeke a year from now, but this was about as public of a declaration could be that they want to adjust that figure.

NFL Draft grades 2022: How did the New York Giants do? – Big Blue View
The 2022 NFL Draft is over. The 2022 NFL Draft grades, the annually ridiculous exercise of passing judgment on a team’s draft class before selected players have even stepped on the practice field, has begun. Let’s check out the grades for the New York Giants’ 2022 draft class.

The Washington Commanders 2022 draft class is complete! – Hogs Haven
The 2022 NFL Draft is officially over and Washington has added 8 new players to their roster. The Commanders entered the draft with 6 picks, but committed to added more picks in a draft they felt was strong in the middle rounds. They went in missing their 3rd round pick(Carson Wentz trade) and 5th round pick(Eagles trade last year), but ended up picking in both of those rounds.

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