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This offseason has been a perplexing one for the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite a handful of needs going into the offseason the Eagles haven’t addressed a single one. The moves the Eagles have made only filled holes that they created this offseason. Even though I believe that Stacy Andrews and Sean Jones can each be an upgrade over Jon Runyan and Brian Dawkins respectively, I do not consider either move as a step towards addressing the team’s needs as they stood at year’s end.


At the onset of this offseason, I considered the Eagles biggest needs to be RB, TE, and WR as well as depth added to the safety position and the offensive line, possibly replacing Dawkins and either Runyan or Thomas with somebody younger. I did not expect a blow out on all older models, which is exactly what we got. Andy Reid has done this before, released veterans when their contracts were up despite a tide of popular opinion going the other way. I don’t remember anything quite like the furor that arose from Brian Dawkins’ departure, but there is a very clear precedent for this cycle of retooling and reaction.

The addition of Sean Jones is a nice pick-up, and I am on record as a Quentin Demps supporter. I am on record as saying that after Jordon Gross, Stacy Andrews was the best tackle due to hit free agency this offseason, and I include Runyan and Thomas in that group. The problem is that despite adding these pieces, you haven’t considerably improved your team. Jones and Demps will never be the player Dawkins was, but either man is capable of replicating, and possibly improving on, what Dawkins has been the last few seasons. Stacy Andrews gives you a boost over the aging Jon Runyan, but it’s hardly night and day.

So what have the Eagles done to get better? The answer is not very much; all they’ve done is make moves that allow them to be as good for longer. However routine maintenance is not sexy and it sure isn’t going to appease the angry mob that is storming the Lincoln Financial Castle. The Eagles now have five glaring needs as I see them RB, TE, WR, LT for the long-term, and PR, and that’s public relations before you ask, I’m quite happy with DeSean fielding punts.

Neither Jones or Andrews’ signing is big enough to put this team over the top, so while they may be good moves unto themselves, they remain unpopular. Unpopular because they aren’t a part of a larger, flashier overhaul as much as they’re unpopular because of the fans’ love for Brian Dawkins. I think Dawkins’ departure would have caused a much smaller uproar if the Eagles had made a big addition like Boldin or Houshmandzadeh in the days leading up to his signing with Denver. To fix this blitz of criticism the team is facing, the answer is to be aggressive. The Eagles simply cannot draft a RB, TE, WR, and OT with their first four picks in the draft and call it a day. They have two options; they can trade up in the first round to land a player at one of these positions, preferably not at LT as it just isn’t the flashy skill position that will help mend the hurt feelings of Eagles Nation. If they decide against moving up for a skill position guy, the alternative is to trade away a handful of the dozen picks they hold in the upcoming draft, and land a prize in return that will cure what ails this offense.

If the Eagles decide to trade up in the first round to land a player, who might they pursue? I think it may be easiest to assess their option by position.

WR: Well the cream of this year’s crop at WR is Michael Crabtree, who projects as the next Larry Fitzgerald, and won’t make it past the top-8 despite a broken bone in his foot. Following Crabtree is another probable top-ten pick in Jeremy Maclin of Missouri. Maclin is a burner, and at 6’ 200lbs. would give you basically a slightly bigger version of DeSean Jackson, which would hardly be a bad thing. The problem is that to land a top ten pick in this draft the Eagles would have to trade both of their first round picks as well as something else. Another option at WR, that would come at a much lower price tag to trade up for, would be Percy Harvin of Florida, who doesn’t project as a traditional WR as much as a Reggie Bush type hybrid. The problem is that you already have one small fast receiver, so why add a second. If the Eagles do move up to get a WR it would probably be Darrius Heywood-Bey of Maryland who is a lot like Maclin in that he’s slightly above 6’ tall, and he runs as fast as anyone in NFL. Heywood-Bey was reported to have given the Eagles a private workout, a sure sign of at least modest interest. If the Eagles stick with the numbers 21 and 28 picks when it’s all said and done, then options at the end of the first round include former Tarheel Hakeem Nicks or Rutgers’ Kenny Britt. Britt is intriguing due to him being about 6’3” which would make him the Eagles tallest threat at WR. I can say that, because despite being 6’4”, Hank Baskett is certainly not a threat.

TE: If the Eagles move up to add a TE, it will be Brandon Pettigrew. This kid has had trouble in the past including a charge of assaulting a police officer, but his talent is unquestionable. The kid can run, catch, and BLOCK, something I haven’t seen an Eagles TE do well since Jason Dunn headed out west. Anyway if Pettigrew gets past Buffalo at 11, then there’s a chance he slides into the late teens where the 21st pick and a third selection should get you to where you need to be to get him.

RB: Four running backs have come up in conversation as 1st round selections. In some mocks they would have to move up to land one guy or another, often they are projected just to select one at either 21 or 28, so let’s just compare the talent. There is Chris “Beanie” Wells, who is the biggest of the group and probably the popular choice among fans, the problem is that you would have to sacrifice the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield a bit to get that size, which makes him less likely to be able to take over once B-West retires. (By retires, I mean gets released before a roster bonus and the fan base goes crazy about it.) Knowshon Moreno is a better receiver but there are questions about his size and versatility, I’m not sure we need another guy listed as questionable every week. There was talk of Pitt back LeSean McCoy being among the 1st rounders, but his stock seems to be falling, so the Eagles won’t have to move up to get him. Another guy the Eagles shouldn’t have to move up to get is UConn RB Donald Brown, who I was unfamiliar with until Mel Kiper interjected this young man into the picture by projecting the Eagles to take him at 21. If they were to do that it would be a disaster, the fans want a name they know like Wells or Moreno. They may not have seen either man play more than 2 college games, but they know they want one or the other.

OT: Then there’s offensive tackle, which there is a ton (literally) of talent at this year in the 1st round. I read Dave Spadaro’s chat on Monday, and he called Oher’s toughness into question. If they had any interest they wouldn’t be insulting the guy on their website. The rest of the guys who project as 1st round picks are:
• Jason Smith, Baylor, 1-3 overall
• Eugene Monroe, Virginia, 2-7 overall
• Andre Smith, Alabama, 4-15 overall
• Michael Oher, Mississippi, 11-29
• Eben Britton, Arizona, 28-40
I can’t really offer too much in terms of talent or scouting, but Andre Smith was the consensus #1 OT before questions about his motivation and staying in shape caused him to drop from as high as #1 overall to as low as the teens. If he falls past the top ten, the Eagles would be foolish not to take a chance on a great athlete, and make the necessary move to land him.

The tough thing about projecting draft picks is that by the time the draft actually arrives the Eagles may have no picks left in the first round at all. If the Eagles are going to trade for help, they won’t do it to get a TE, if they passed on Tony Gonzalez for a second round pick, and didn’t get into the Winslow talks, then there isn’t another TE in the league they would trade for outside of Antonio Gates or Jason Witten. I can’t think of a RB available currently that is young enough to make the sacrifice for, yet good enough that it would justify moving a first round pick to acquire that player. So that leaves OT and WR as holes that the Eagles may make trades to fill.

Obviously the WR everybody is watching is Anquan Boldin, who may or may not be on his way out of Arizona. If he is in fact available, it would make a lot of sense both in football and public relations terms to do whatever it takes to make a deal happen. Other possible WRs worth exploring would be anyone on a team with a new head coach, such as Brandon Marshall in Denver, Braylon Edwards of Cleveland, Calvin Johnson in Detroit, or Dwayne Bowe on Kansas City; I doubt any of these guys would be considered for a trade by their current employers, but then again look at Jay Cutler. Apparently coaches like bringing in their own guys, so it’s at least worth a phone call.

As far as OTs go, I’d have no leads if it weren’t for John Clayton telling Mike & Mike in the morning the he believes the Eagles have interest in the Buffalo Bills’ two-time pro bowl LT Jason Peters. If true, it would be both an upgrade over Thomas, and an aggressive move, so maybe these fans would cut the Birds some slack.

Whatever the plan is, The Eagles had better set it in motion soon. The inaction of this offseason is creating a panic among their fan base, and, as we covered, there aren’t a ton of options outside of the draft. Until the Eagles play a game where either Todd Herremans or Shawn Andrews plays effectively at LT, or until they fill that hole with a legit player or prospect, they have to be considered worse than when we last saw them. We last saw them leaving the NFC title game in defeat, seemingly just a few plays or players short of being a Super Bowl team. For them to take three steps backwards, and only two steps ahead, leaves me thinking that they surely can’t be done adding proven talent. The problem is, as I said at the top, they don’t seem to have anything in the works despite these glaring needs. Although I have faith in this front office to realize the situation and address it, the public is growing frustrated with this inaction. To the fans it seems as if the Eagles are content with having nothing to do about much.

Greg