2008 Draft Eagles Day 1 Picks

Trevor Laws

College: Notre Dame
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 304
40 Yrd Dash: 5.09
20 Yrd Dash: 2.90
10 Yrd Dash: 1.72
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 35
Vertical Jump: 30 1/2
Broad Jump: 8'7"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.49
3-Cone Drill: 7.37
Arms: 33-3/8"
Hands: 9-3/4"

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Plays with outstanding motor. Is at his best when on the move. Will never give up on a play and makes a lot of tackles in pursuit for an interior defensive lineman. Plays with very good leverage, discipline and technique. Gets good forward lean in stance, anticipates the snap well and can get into the backfield. Moves well laterally, slants well and runs line stunts well. Works from snap to whistle and takes sound angles to the ball. Very good spin move. Shows great awareness. Reads keys fairly well and can sniff out screens. Stays balanced, uses hands to protect legs and rarely gets knocked to the ground by cut blocks. Wraps up upon contact, shows good body control and is an effective open field tackler. Hands are active, flashes good power at the point of attack and flashes effective rip move. Times jumps well and gets hands up when isn't going to get to the quarterback.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal height and lower body strength. Can get driven back when he doesn't win with first step and struggles to hold ground against double teams. Though never stops working, lacks the power to consistently collapse the pocket and isn't a great bull rusher. Is very quick but lacks great closing burst and there are concerns about ability to get to the quarterback at the NFL level. Sat out the 2003 season with an injury and durability is somewhat of a concern.

Overall: Laws arrived at Notre Dame in 2003 but sat out the entire season because of an injury. In his first three active seasons (2004-'06), he played in 37 games (25 starts) and amassed 112 tackles (14.5 for losses), six sacks and three blocked kicks. He was a terror as a senior last season, starting all 12 games and turning in 112 tackles (eight for losses), four sacks, five pass breakups and three blocked kicks. Laws was college football's only defensive lineman to record 100 or more tackles in 2007. Laws is a three-technique prospect that lacks ideal height but makes up for it with good quickness, technique, upper-body power and a non-stop motor. Laws built on a strong senior season by turning in impressive showings at both the Senior Bowl and the NFL scouting combine. His draft stock is soaring as a result. In a weak class of defensive tackles, Laws could come off the board as high as the second round.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- luis castillo
- kelly gregg





DeSean Jackson

College: California
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 178
40 Yrd Dash: 4.35
20 Yrd Dash: 2.52
10 Yrd Dash: 1.53
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 34-1/2"
Broad Jump: 10'00"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.19
3-Cone Drill: 6.82
Arms: 29-3/4"
Hands: 9-3/8"

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Possesses excellent top-end speed, does a good job of tracking the ball downfield and is a vertical threat. Changes directions smoothly, explodes out of cuts and can run crisp short-to-intermediate routes. Reads defenses well and locates seams working against zone coverage. Drives corners off the line with excellent initial quickness and does a nice job of getting turned around when running come-back routes. Has excellent body control and can make the tough catch in traffic. Times jumps well and is tall enough to compete for jump balls. Isn't afraid to go over the middle and flashes the ability to hold onto the ball after taking a big hit. Makes defenders miss in traffic and is fast enough to go the distance. Runs with balance, flashes an effective spin move and can pick up yards after contact. Is a dangerous return man that reads blocks well and shows a second gear when gets a seam.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal bulk and can get pushed around by bigger corners. Appears to lose focus at times and drops too many passes that he should catch. Footwork is inconsistent and rounds off cuts at times. Effort is inconsistent and appears to pull up when isn't going to get the ball. Doesn't lock onto defenders and struggles to sustain blocks. Doesn't play with a mean streak, doesn't deliver a powerful punch and isn't going to knock defenders back at the point of attack. Missed 2005 Washington State game with an injury, hindered by a thumb injury in 2007, hindered by a thigh injury in 2007 and lack of ideal bulk makes durability that much more of a concern.

Overall: Jackson started ten of the 11 games he played in during his true freshman season in 2005 finishing with 38 catches, 601 receiving yards, seven receiving touchdowns, eight carries and 48 rushing yards. He also returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown that year. Jackson started all 13 games of the 2006 season finishing with 59 catches, 1,060 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns, five carries and 19 rushing yards. He also returned 25 punts for a total of 455 yards and four touchdowns that year. Jackson started 11 of the 12 games he appeared in during the 2007 season finishing with 65 catches, 762 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 11 carries, 132 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. He also returned 12 punts for a total of 129 yards and one touchdown last year. Jackson would benefit from adding some weight and needs to show the thumb injury played a big role in his numerous drops in 2007. However, there's a reason he should be one of if not the first receiver to come of the board. Jackson can stretch the field vertically, he excels at turning catches underneath into long gains and he is the most dangerous punt return specialist in the 2008 class. It may take Jackson a year or two before emerging as a No. 2 starter on offense, but he should make an immediate impact on special teams.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- santana moss
- steve smith

Trade Down?

for the second year in a row, the birds traded out of the first round today. i'm scratching my head as much as anyone right now. while they did receive *very* good value in getting a 1, 2, and 4 for a mid-level 1, it seems especially curious is that jeff otah and devin thomas -- two players who were reported to be targets -- were both still on the board when they traded out.

here are some possible reasons off the top of my head:

- this draft is supposed to be short on difference makers but deep in overall talent pool while the 2009 draft is supposed to be very strong. so a possible reasoning here is that the eagles trade down to get essentially the same player they could have gotten with their mid-first round pick, and as a bonus, end up with 2 first rounders next year.

- we're all fixated on wideout and finding replacements for dawkins, thomas, and runyan, but if you think about it, the biggest problem area with the birds last season (aside from shoddy QB play) was special teams. the coverage teams were awful and the return teams were worse. if you listen to the media chatter on and on about how the eagles finished in "last place" in the nfc east you'd never guess that they finished ranked 6th on offense and 10th on defense. those are pretty good rankings. they couldn't score in the red zone, but maybe if they had shorter fields to work with, their points/yard output would have been better. maybe the birds are trading down because they expect to turn over a fairly significant number of players this season -- purely based on ability to play special teams. since there are few difference makers in the draft anyway, why pay someone first round salary when you are targeting special teams players?

- the bengals, cardinals, and lions have stated that chad johnson, anquan boldin, and roy williams are not going to be traded. at least one of those teams is going to come around and end up trading their guy. who'd be in a better position to trade for that player than the birds, sitting with 2 first rounders and lito sheppard as trade bait?

of course, it is possible that they're just idiots, but i highly doubt it. i know it's human nature to think that people are screwing up when you don't have insight into what's happening inside the black box, but andy still has more hits than misses on his track record and you have to give him the benefit of the doubt until we see what happens. i'm sure they have some reason for doing it, but we'll be in the dark until it plays out.

Lito Trade Coming?

lots of chatter about lito's visit to the bucs yesterday:

- jay glazer reports that it will take second pick and another pick or player to get the trade done

- les bowen reports that lito didn't deny a possible trade to tampa, and that eagles message boards speculate that michael clayton would be coming to the birds as part of the trade

- bob grotz says that st. louis is also interested and would be offering the 33rd pick in return

- roy cummings of the tampa tribune says that the bucs would be reluctant to part with more than just a single second round pick

i don't know about you, but i'm not that excited about the prospect of michael clayton suiting up for the birds. he has some size, but in the 3-4 times i've seen him play, he's been more or less invisible. he didn't have enough catches last season to be ranked by footballoutsiders, but his DVOA would have placed him at #73.

still, i guess the worst that can happen is that they'd cut him in training camp (or they cut greg lewis finally). also, with 12 picks, i don't have any doubts that the birds will be looking to aggressively move up to get the players they want. let's hope they're targeting the right players.

no more jerome mcdougles, please.

Eagles Targeting 3 Players?

gcobb is reporting via blast magazine that the eagles are targeting three players for their top pick:

- chris williams, OT, vanderbilt
- jeff otah, OT, pitt
- devin thomas, WR, michigan state

here are some scouting reports for these three guys:

Chris Williams

College: Vanderbilt
Height: 6-6
Weight: 315
40 Yrd Dash: 5.13
20 Yrd Dash: 2.91
10 Yrd Dash: 1.75
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 21
Vertical Jump: 25"
Broad Jump: 08'07"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.85
3-Cone Drill: 7.95
Arms:
Hands:

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Possesses a massive frame; is tall with good bulk, adequate arm length (33.5) and big hands (10). Displays very good overall mobility for his size, including quickness in his pass pro set. Does a very good job of using his long arms to ride pass rushers wide while he's still getting set. Displays great footwork and gets excellent hand placement. While he may not jar defenders at the point of contact, he can lock on and then sustain his blocks. He can engulf bigger defenders once he's in position and engaged. Displays versatility with experience at guard and tackle. He has been durable throughout his career.

Weaknesses: Still too much of a finesse player. Lacks explosive upper-body power. Does not jar defenders at the point of attack. Lacks the base and lower body power to drive defenders off the line of scrimmage in the run game.

Overall: Williams redshirted in 2003 and was ineligible in 2004, when he changed majors and didn't qualify to play football under Vanderbilt's stringent academic standards. In his first active season (2005), he appeared in 11 games and started the final nine at left guard, also taking game reps at left tackle. Williams moved to left tackle for good as a junior, starting all 24 games at the position over his final two seasons (2006-'07). Williams is a left tackle prospect with great feet but a bit too much finesse to his game at this point. He lacks ideal upper-body strength, which was confirmed in only 21 reps on the bench press. He also lacks ideal physicality. However, Williams possesses very good mobility for his big frame and he typically can overcome below-average strength by using excellent technique and positioning. Thanks to a productive senior season, followed by excellent showings at the Senior Bowl and combine; Williams has built tremendous momentum heading into the 2008 draft. He should be one of the top-five offensive linemen selected likely in the middle of the first round.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- d'brickashaw ferguson
- matt light




Jeff Otah

College: Pittsburgh
Height: 6-6
Weight: 322
40 Yrd Dash: 5.55
20 Yrd Dash: 3.10
10 Yrd Dash: 1.83
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 27
Vertical Jump: 22 1/2
Broad Jump: 08'06"
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms:
Hands:

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Is a massive, mauling right tackle type. Has a huge frame with very long arms (35.3 inches). Not a great athlete but does play with good balance. He has a massive base. Will get low and uproot DL. Does an excellent job of anchoring versus the bull rush. Shows very good overall strength. Rarely loses a battle once he is locked on. Will drive his legs and create a new line of scrimmage as a run blocker. Still learning technique but is intelligent and continues to improve with more experience and coaching.

Weaknesses: Below average athlete. The more space he's in the less effective he becomes. Lacks ideal initial quickness out of his stance and struggles to get set in time versus speed edge rushers. Struggles to reach the second level ass a run blocker. Will have trouble hitting moving targets in space. Hands are smaller than ideal (9.2 inches).

Overall: Otah was born in Nigeria, came to the United States when he was seven years old and did not play organized football until his senior season of high school. He attended Valley Forge (Pa.) Military College in his first two years out of high school (2004-'05), making 17 consecutive starts at left tackle. He also averaged nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Valley Forge basketball team. Otah transferred to Pitt in 2006 and made an immediate impact, starting all 24 games of his junior and senior seasons with the Panthers. He was an All-Big East first team selection in 2007. The Nigerian-born Otah lacks ideal playing experience and is still unpolished. While he is not a great athlete, he is not as slow as his combine workout numbers might indicate, as he participated despite an ankle injury. Otah is a massive mauler with the size, power and short-area quickness to develop into a good starting right tackle in the NFL, which is why we grade him as a mid-to-late first round prospect.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- max starks




Devin Thomas

College: Michigan State
Height: 6-2
Weight: 215
40 Yrd Dash: 4.40
20 Yrd Dash: 2.50
10 Yrd Dash: 1.47
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 28
Broad Jump: 10'06"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.26
3-Cone Drill: 7.15
Arms:
Hands:

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Possesses adequate-to-good height with a sturdy build for a wide receiver. Very smooth and fluid. Displays outstanding hands. Can consistently catch over his head. Strong hands to pluck in traffic. Can snatch the ball on the run with very little wasted motion. Is a treat after the catch. Does not possess elite initial burst but he does display a second-gear to run away from defenders once he gets going (see 2nd quarter vs. Wisconsin). He is a silky smooth runner with excellent vision and body control. Sees the entire field and shows the change-of-direction ability to make sharp cuts without losing speed. Is strong and will drag some defenders for extra yards after the catch. Was effective in the times we saw him take hand offs in the backfield and might have a future as a kick return man in the NFL. Has bulk and strength to sustain blocks when he's in position. Also flashes a mean streak.

Weaknesses: More dangerous after the catch than he is as a vertical route runner. Lacks ideal experience at the highest collegiate level. Still needs polishing as a route runner. Rounds off many of his routes. Not crisp enough to consistently separate from tight man-to-man coverage. Needs to improve his array of release moves versus press coverage at the line of scrimmage. Takes a bit too long to reach top speed. Doesn't always sell routes on play-action runs. Can sustain his blocks once locked on but takes some poor angles and doesn't always get in good position. Effort as a blocker is inconsistent.

Overall: After proving his explosiveness and versatility by averaging 105.5 all-purpose yards at Coffeyville CC in 2005, Thomas enrolled at Michigan State. He played 10 games in his first season in East Lansing, but finished with just six receptions, 90 receiving yards and a touchdown. He broke out as a junior last season, playing in all 13 games and delivering 79 catches, eight TDs and a Big Ten-best 1,260 receiving yards for a Spartans offense that relied heavily on the run. He added 177 rushing yards on 27 carries and starred as a return man, averaging 29.1 on 39 kickoff returns. Compared to most prospects, there's very little information to go off of when evaluating Thomas. He only played one year at the FBS level and, as an underclassman entry, he was not able to compete in a post-season all-star game. His inexperience and lack of exposure naturally creates some doubt. However, the more film we study of Thomas the more impressed we are with his overall physical tools. He possesses the size, athleticism and hands of a future starter in the NFL, which is why we graded Thomas out in the second round. He will fit best in a West Coast system, where his run-after-catch ability will be maximized.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- koren robinson
- dwayne bowe

2008 Draft Preview

for eagles fandom, i think the upcoming draft represents a greater unknown than almost any other draft during the andy reid era. by this time in the offseason, fan and radio speculation has typically converged on specific players or positions that they are sure the eagles need to draft. not so much this season. to be sure, the constant whining about the wideout position is there, but with the lack of true gamebreakers in the wideout draft pool this season, it's more of a low simmer than the violent boil it usually it around this time of year.

one big reason is probably the uncertainty around lito sheppard's status, which likely directly impacts where the birds will be drafting. just like everyone else in town, i think lito is going to be traded. for what i'm not so sure. the birds likely don't want any more draft picks -- already having 11 for this year's draft -- so trading him for another player or better picks is probably what they're trying to do. i don't think they're going to get the first round pick they seem to want for him because of his salary demands, but i'm sure they're going to try. one thing i'd like to consider is trading him for a first rounder in next year's draft. next year's pick is worth less than this year's pick so more teams may be open to it, and many of the teams that are likely to need lito will have a better pick than the eagles in next year's draft.

another reason is that while the birds can definitely improve their depth, they're solid or better at almost every position on the field. really.

QB - mcnabb
RB - westbrook
FB - klecko?
TE - smith
WR - brown, curtis
T - thomas, runyan
G - andrews, herremans
C - jackson

DE - cole, abiamiri
DT - patterson, bunkley
OLB - gaither, gocong
MLB - bradley
S - dawkins, mikell
CB - samuel, brown

it would definitely be nice if the eagles can upgrade their wideout corps, but i don't think the draft is the place to do it. with a few rare exceptions, it takes wideouts a long time to adjust to the pro game, and that isn't what this team needs. they need players who may be lower ceiling but who can make an impact quickly -- especially on special teams.

my sense is that the eagles are going "all-in". they're making a push this season and it probably will determine whether it's mcnabb's last with the team. i haven't heard anyone talking about it, but their attempts to sign randy moss and trade for larry fitzgerald indicate to me that they think this team is ready to contend for a championship. they view WR as one of the last pieces to the puzzle, not one of the first, and their flirtations at bringing in a big-time wideout indicate to me that they think they're just about there. it all depends on mcnabb's health really.

as far as draft needs, they need immediate help on special teams -- coverage and return -- so some of the draft hopefully addresses those areas. they also need some heir apparents to brian dawkins and john runyan/tra thomas (depending on where andrews ends up) and depth at DT, RB, and CB (if lito gets traded or holds out).

More Reid as a Drafter

ok, so the debate has evolved from "reid is a bad drafter" as we discussed/debunked here, here, here, and here, to:

I am not down on Reid's drafting as much as I used to be, but his forte is definitely not Playmakers, especially offensively (outside Westbrook of course)

the original analysis showed andy reid drafts to be more than competitive against the teams originally identified to be very good at drafting, but this is a more specific concern so let's take a look at his playmaker drafting vs other top teams.

NOTE: there is some noise in this because position assignments were based on what the player played in college or how they were listed in the draft rather than where they ended up in the pros (e.g. shawn andrews and todd herremans are both classified as tackles)

Hit Percentage by Position (offense)

	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
QB	25.0%	33.3%	25.0%	0.0%	0.0%	50.0%	20.0%	0.0%
RB	28.6%	20.0%	0.0%	40.0%	33.3%	25.0%	14.3%	66.7%
WR	0.0%	10.0%	22.2%	10.0%	0.0%	25.0%	16.7%	100.0%
TE	50.0%	33.3%	20.0%	25.0%	20.0%	0.0%	12.5%	50.0%
T	100.0%	50.0%	28.6%	66.7%	0.0%	37.5%	28.6%	0.0%
G	0.0%	0.0%	50.0%	50.0%	25.0%	25.0%	50.0%	33.3%
C	25.0%	0.0%	0.0%	60.0%	0.0%	33.3%	100.0%	0.0%

Average Rating by Position (offense)

	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
QB	1.50	2.33	1.50	1.40	1.00	2.25	1.80	1.00
RB	2.14	1.80	1.50	2.20	2.00	2.25	1.57	2.67
WR	1.38	1.50	1.67	1.40	1.33	1.75	1.67	4.00
TE	2.25	2.00	1.60	1.75	1.80	1.67	1.38	2.00
T	3.00	2.33	1.71	2.33	1.25	2.00	1.71	1.00
G	1.00	1.17	2.00	2.00	1.50	1.75	2.50	1.67
C	1.75	1.00	1.00	2.20	1.50	1.67	3.00	1.00

the small sample sizes preclude a definitive conclusion, but they haven't fared all that well at some skill positions. the birds are competitive at QB, TE, and T, but RB, WR, G, and C not so hot. the birds fare significantly better on average rating than hit percent on offense, which is interesting, possibly indicating that they don't draft as many 1s as other teams but also don't draft as many 3s, 4s, and 5s.

Draft Analysis #3

some final summary stats and conclusion to the analysis of the initial 8 teams

Average Rating of Drafted Players by Team

Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
1.69	1.82	1.75	1.85	1.56	1.70	1.69	1.75

Overall

Average of All Drafted Players	Correlation (Round-Rating)
1.73	-0.56

Bubble Graph - size of bubble reflects count

Conclusions
based on the initial set of draft ratings and summary data, the eagles do not jump out as the best of the initial set of 8 teams... but they're not the worst either. they're better at some things than others, but overall, my conclusion is that they're somewhere in the middle of the top 8 teams and that tentatively puts them somewhere among the top 5 drafting teams (assuming that our instincts were correct in the initial identification of best drafting teams). while they are certainly not perfect nor consistent, as a whole, the andy reid draft era has probably been the best i've seen for any eagles era and is competitive with the best of his peers.

some observations:

- one of the areas the eagles didn't do as well as one would hope -- and probably why they are perceived to be worse at drafting than the overall picture indicates -- is drafting in the first and second rounds. in the first and second rounds, the birds average player rated at 3.0 and 2.2, tying for 5th and sitting alone in 6th among the 8 teams. in hit rate, the birds only hit on 75% of their first rounders and 40% of their second rounders, again ranking 5th and 6th among the 8 teams. they do make up for it somewhat by ranking 3, 3, 2, 5, 1 for rounds three through seven, but you'd like to see them do better in the early rounds because (as the bubble graph shows) that's where you get the bulk of your top players. i'd like to see where 75% and 40% places them among the broader pool of nfl teams as we add more to the analysis.

- the best early drafting team is clearly the colts, who hit on 100% of their first rounders and 50% of their second rounders, ranking first and second in those categories. their average player rating in the first round is 3.43, easily the best among the 8 teams.

- in terms of average player rating by year, the birds ranked 2, 6, 2, 1, 7, 5, 5, 3 for the years 1999 through 2006, which averages out to just under 4, placing them at the top of the middle. the best team here was the ravens (whose drafts ranked 1, 1, 1, 5, 4, 8, 3, 4), and the worst team was the cowboys (whose drafts ranked 6, 8, 8, 8, 1, 7, 1, 7).

- the eagles ranked 4th in overall hit percentage behind the ravens, colts, and steelers. the ravens hit on an amazing 30% of their drafted players.

- the eagles ranked 2nd in ability to find pro-bowl caliber players (1 in 11), behind only the ravens (1 in 10)

- most of the teams were between 15-18 hits overall, indicating that teams should expect to get about 2 good starters per draft. well, except for the cowboys, who only hit on 10 players overall and were consistently toward the bottom in every measure except for success in the first round. of course, the cowboys also have generally drafted much higher than the other teams on this list during that time, so some of that first round success is expected.

- bumble holds the fact that the birds had just one "great" draft against them, but i don't see why that should be held against them. i think it makes sense to hold that against them if you believe that one draft was luck, but the data shows that's simply not the case. even if you eliminated two of the all-pro caliber players from that draft (making it an average draft in terms of players produced), the eagles would still be competitive with the other teams reviewed. their ranking would go down, certainly, but they'd still be better than the cowboys and the broncos by most measures.

the devil's in the details, so obviously all of these are based on the notion that the player ratings were done reasonably accurately and without bias. i'm fairly confident i've done that, and since there has been a reasonable amount of traffic visiting the site and just a few corrections/ongoing discussions, i'll assume and we can use this as a basis moving forward.

next steps will be to rate the drafts for the second group of teams -- cardinals, lions, bills, rams, saints, bengals, 49ers, texans. (on phil's suggestion, i'm including the rams, but will leave the bengals in and take out the raiders)

Draft Analysis #2

continuing the discussion about drafting success we started here and here

"Hit" Percent by Round (players rated 3, 4, or 5)

Round	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
1	71.4%	75.0%	87.5%	66.7%	83.3%	71.4%	77.8%	100.0%
2	45.5%	40.0%	42.9%	50.0%	18.2%	60.0%	37.5%	50.0%
3	11.1%	28.6%	30.0%	20.0%	33.3%	28.6%	14.3%	11.1%
4	18.2%	23.1%	37.5%	55.6%	10.0%	12.5%	16.7%	22.2%
5	0.0%	12.5%	9.1%	11.1%	0.0%	0.0%	12.5%	20.0%
6	30.0%	0.0%	0.0%	16.7%	0.0%	0.0%	10.0%	10.0%
7	0.0%	11.1%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	9.1%	0.0%	0.0%

"Hit" Percent Overall

	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
Hits	16	17	17	18	10	15	15	17
Total	67	66	64	60	62	61	68	60
%	23.9%	25.8%	26.6%	30.0%	16.1%	24.6%	22.1%	28.3%

Pro-Bowl Caliber or Higher

	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
PBC	2	6	3	6	3	5	6	4
Total	67	66	64	60	62	61	68	60
%	3.0%	9.1%	4.7%	10.0%	4.8%	8.2%	8.8%	6.7%

Draft Analysis #1

following up on the post about rating andy reid drafts, here is the first wave of draft analysis. i'll post more as i'm able to look at this. i've also received a few requests to do this for all 32 teams, so i'll try to do more teams as i'm able to find time.

Average Player Rating by Round

Round	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
1	2.71	3.00	3.00	3.22	3.17	3.00	3.11	3.43
2	2.36	2.20	2.14	2.33	1.73	2.60	2.25	2.50
3	1.44	2.14	2.20	1.60	1.83	1.86	1.57	1.33
4	1.64	1.69	1.88	2.22	1.40	1.38	1.50	1.56
5	1.00	1.63	1.36	1.33	1.40	1.11	1.25	1.50
6	1.70	1.09	1.00	1.50	1.18	1.00	1.40	1.30
7	1.09	1.33	1.10	1.00	1.08	1.27	1.14	1.00

Count of Players by Rating

Count	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
1	39	35	36	34	40	39	44	36
2	12	14	11	8	12	7	9	7
3	14	11	14	12	7	10	9	13
4	2	6	3	5	3	4	4	4
5	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	0

Average Player Rating by Draft

Year	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
2006	1.86	1.75	1.56	1.67	1.38	1.43	1.33	2.00
2005	1.80	1.82	1.50	1.86	2.13	2.00	1.86	1.44
2004	1.40	1.40	1.63	1.14	1.38	2.10	1.88	1.75
2003	1.30	1.33	2.00	1.82	2.29	1.43	2.00	1.63
2002	1.75	2.63	2.13	1.78	1.56	2.00	1.83	1.75
2001	2.00	2.00	1.71	2.29	1.11	2.00	1.78	1.86
2000	1.80	1.43	1.89	2.00	1.20	1.25	1.45	1.71
1999	1.83	2.10	1.70	2.75	1.50	1.17	1.50	2.00

Number of "Insignificant" Players by Round

Round	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
1	1	1	1	1	0	1	1	0
2	2	3	2	1	5	3	2	1
3	6	3	2	3	4	3	4	7
4	6	7	4	3	7	6	9	6
5	8	4	8	7	3	8	7	7
6	6	10	10	9	9	9	9	8
7	10	7	9	10	12	9	12	7

Andy Reid Drafts vs. Other "Top" Teams

UPDATE: updated ratings for logan mankins and shaun phillips.
-----

UPDATE: added colts (good thing because they're looking like the top drafting team of the group). updated ratings for antonio bryant, rob petitti, ovie mughelli, and elvis dumervil.
-----

ok, bumble, here is my first (highly unscientific) pass at rating the drafts of the "top" teams we mutually identified. i've scored every player from every draft since 1999 for the eagles, cowboys, broncos, patriots, steelers, chargers, and ravens using this scale:

1 - insignificant
2 - good backup to below average starter
3 - decent starter to good starter
4 - pro-bowl caliber player
5 - superstar

i'll post the summary and analysis after people have had a chance to critique the scores i've assigned to the players.

NOTE: 2007 drafts are not scored as it's too early to judge those players and all kickers are excluded as i don't believe they are relevant to this analysis

Year	Team	Round	Player	Pos	Rating
2007	Broncos	1	Jarvis Moss	DE	n
		2	Tim Crowder	DE	n
		3	Ryan Harris	OT	n
		4	Marcus Thomas	DT	n
2006	Broncos	1	Jay Cutler	QB	3
		2	Tony Scheffler	TE	2
		4	Brandon Marshall	WR	2
		4	Elvis Dumervil	DE	3
		4	Domenik Hixon	WR	1
		5	Chris Kuper	G	1
		6	Greg Eslinger	C	1
2005	Broncos	2	Darrent Williams	CB	3
		3	Karl Paymah	DB	2
		3	Domonique Foxworth	CB	2
		3	Maurice Clarett	--	1
		6	Chris Myers	G	1
		7	Paul Ernster	K	k
2004	Broncos	1	D.J. Williams	OLB	3
		2	Tatum Bell	RB	2
		2	Darius Watts	WR	2
		3	Jeremy LeSueur	CB	1
		5	Jeff Shoate	CB	1
		6	Triandos Luke	WR	1
		6	Josh Sewell	--	1
		7	Matt Mauck	QB	1
		7	Brandon Miree	RB	1
		7	Bradlee Van Pelt	QB	1
2003	Broncos	1	George Foster	T	3
		2	Terry Pierce	LB	1
		4	Quentin Griffin	RB	2
		4	Nick Eason	DT	1
		4	Bryant McNeal	DE	1
		5	Ben Claxton	C	1
		5	Adrian Madise	WR	1
		6	Aaron Hunt	--	1
		7	Clint Mitchell	DE	1
		7	Ahmaad Galloway	RB	1
2002	Broncos	1	Ashley Lelie	WR	2
		2	Clinton Portis	RB	4
		3	Dorsett Davis	DT	1
		4	Sam Brandon	DB	1
		5	Herb Haygood	WR	1
		6	Jeb Putzier	TE	3
		7	Chris Young	DB	1
		7	Monsanto Pope	DT	1
2001	Broncos	1	Willie Middlebrooks	CB	1
		2	Paul Toviessi	DE	1
		3	Reggie Hayward	DE	3
		4	Ben Hamilton	C	3
		4	Nick Harris	P	k
		6	Kevin Kasper	WR	2
2000	Broncos	1	Deltha O'Neal	CB	3
		2	Ian Gold	LB	3
		2	Kenoy Kennedy	SAF	3
		3	Chris Cole	WR	1
		4	Jerry Johnson	DT	1
		4	Cooper Carlisle	G	1
		5	Muneer Moore	WR	1
		6	Mike Anderson	RB	3
		7	Jarious Jackson	QB	1
		7	Leroy Fields	--	1
1999	Broncos	1	Al Wilson	MLB	4
		2	Montae Reagor	DE	3
		2	Lennie Friedman	C	2
		3	Chris Watson	CB	1
		3	Travis McGriff	WR	1
		4	Olandis Gary	RB	2
		5	David Bowens	LB	1
		5	Darwin Brown	DB	1
		6	Desmond Clark	TE	3
		6	Chad Plummer	WR	1
		7	Billy Miller	WR	2
		7	Justin Swift	TE	1
2007	Eagles	2	Kevin Kolb	QB	n
		2	Victor Abiamiri	DE	n
		3	Stewart Bradley	LB	n
		3	Tony Hunt	RB	n
		5	C.J. Gaddis	SAF	n
		5	Brent Celek	TE	n
		6	Rashad Barksdale	CB	n
		7	Nate Ilaoa	FB	n
2006	Eagles	1	Brodrick Bunkley	DT	3
		2	Winston Justice	T	2
		3	Chris Gocong	LB	2
		4	Max Jean-Gilles	G	1
		4	Jason Avant	WR	2
		5	Jeremy Bloom	WR	1
		5	Omar Gaither	LB	2
		6	LaJuan Ramsey	DT	1
2005	Eagles	1	Mike Patterson	DT	3
		2	Reggie Brown	WR	3
		2	Matt McCoy	LB	1
		3	Ryan Moats	RB	1
		4	Sean Considine	DB	2
		4	Todd Herremans	T	3
		5	Trent Cole	DE	3
		5	Scott Young	G	1
		6	Calvin Armstrong	T	1
		7	Keyonta Marshall	DT	1
		7	David Bergeron	LB	1
2004	Eagles	1	Shawn Andrews	T	4
		3	Matt Ware	DB	1
		4	J.R. Reed	DB	1
		4	Trey Darilek	T	1
		5	Thomas Tapeh	RB	2
		6	Andy Hall	QB	1
		6	Dexter Wynn	DB	1
		7	Adrien Clarke	G	1
		7	Bruce Perry	RB	1
		7	Dominic Furio	C	1
2003	Eagles	1	Jerome McDougle	DE	1
		2	L.J. Smith	TE	3
		3	Billy McMullen	WR	1
		4	Jamaal Green	DE	1
		6	Jeremy Bridges	G	1
		7	Norman LeJeune	DB	1
2002	Eagles	1	Lito Sheppard	CB	4
		2	Michael Lewis	SS	3
		2	Sheldon Brown	CB	4
		3	Brian Westbrook	RB	4
		4	Scott Peters	C	1
		5	Freddie Milons	WR	1
		6	Tyreo Harrison	LB	1
		7	Raheem Brock	DE	3
2001	Eagles	1	Freddie Mitchell	WR	2
		2	Quinton Caver	LB	1
		3	Derrick Burgess	DE	4
		4	Correll Buckhalter	RB	2
		5	Tony Stewart	TE	1
		5	A.J. Feeley	QB	2
2000	Eagles	1	Corey Simon	DT	3
		2	Todd Pinkston	WR	2
		2	Bobbie Williams	G	1
		4	Gari Scott	WR	1
		6	Thomas Hamner	RB	1
		6	John Frank	--	1
		6	John Romero	--	1
1999	Eagles	1	Donovan McNabb	QB	4
		2	Barry Gardner	OLB	2
		3	Doug Brzezinski	G	2
		4	John Welbourn	T	3
		4	Damon Moore	SS	3
		4	Na Brown	WR	1
		6	Cecil Martin	FB	2
		6	Troy Smith	WR	1
		7	Jed Weaver	TE	2
		7	Pernell Davis	DT	1
2007	Steelers	1	Lawrence Timmons	LB	n
		2	LaMarr Woodley	LB	n
		3	Matt Spaeth	TE	n
		4	Daniel Sepulveda	P	n
		4	Ryan McBean	DE	n
		5	Cameron Stephenson	G	n
		5	William Gay	CB	n
		7	Dallas Baker	WR	n
2006	Steelers	1	Santonio Holmes	WR	3
		3	Anthony Smith	DB	2
		3	Willie Reid	WR	2
		4	Willie Colon	T	2
		4	Orien Harris	DT	1
		5	Omar Jacobs	QB	1
		5	Charles Davis	TE	1
		6	Marvin Philip	C	1
		7	Cedric Humes	RB	1
2005	Steelers	1	Heath Miller	TE	3
		2	Bryant McFadden	DB	3
		3	Trai Essex	T	1
		4	Fred Gibson	WR	1
		5	Rian Wallace	LB	1
		6	Chris Kemoeatu	G	1
		7	Shaun Nua	DE	1
		7	Noah Herron	RB	1
2004	Steelers	1	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	3
		2	Ricardo Colclough	CB	2
		3	Max Starks	T	3
		5	Nathaniel Adibi	DE	1
		6	Bo Lacy	T	1
		6	Matt Kranchick	TE	1
		6	Drew Caylor	C	1
		7	Eric Taylor	DT	1
2003	Steelers	1	Troy Polamalu	DB	4
		2	Alonzo Jackson	LB	1
		4	Ike Taylor	CB	3
		5	Brian St. Pierre	QB	1
		7	J.T. Wall	--	1
2002	Steelers	1	Kendall Simmons	G	3
		2	Antwaan Randle El	WR	2
		3	Chris Hope	DB	3
		4	Larry Foote	ILB	3
		5	Verron Haynes	RB	2
		6	Lee Mays	WR	1
		7	LaVar Glover	CB	1
		7	Brett Keisel	DE	2
2001	Steelers	1	Casey Hampton	NT	4
		2	Kendrell Bell	ILB	3
		4	Mathias Nkwenti	T	1
		5	Chukky Okobi	C	1
		6	Rodney Bailey	DE	1
		6	Roger Knight	LB	1
		7	Chris Taylor	--	1
2000	Steelers	1	Plaxico Burress	WR	3
		2	Marvel Smith	T	3
		3	Kendrick Clancy	NT	2
		3	Hank Poteat	CB	2
		4	Danny Farmer	WR	1
		5	Clark Haggans	LB	3
		5	Tee Martin	QB	1
		6	Chris Combs	DE	1
		6	Jason Gavadza	TE	1
1999	Steelers	1	Troy Edwards	WR	1
		2	Scott Shields	DB	1
		3	Joey Porter	LB	4
		3	Kris Farris	T	1
		3	Amos Zereoue	RB	2
		4	Aaron Smith	DE	3
		5	Jerame Tuman	TE	2
		5	Malcolm Johnson	WR	1
		7	Antonio Dingle	DT	1
		7	Chad Kelsay	LB	1
		7	Kris Brown	K	k
2007	Ravens	1	Ben Grubbs	G	n
		3	Yamon Figurs	WR	n
		3	Marshall Yanda	G	n
		4	Antwan Barnes	LB	n
		4	Le'Ron McClain	FB	n
		5	Troy Smith	QB	n
		6	Prescott Burgess	LB	n
		5	Jared Gaither	T	n
2006	Ravens	1	Haloti Ngata	DT	3
		2	Chris Chester	C	3
		3	David Pittman	DB	1
		4	Demetrius Williams	WR	2
		4	P.J. Daniels	RB	1
		5	Dawan Landry	SS	2
		5	Quinn Sypniewski	TE	1
		6	Sam Koch	P	k
		6	Derrick Martin	CB	1
		7	Ryan LaCasse	LB	1
2005	Ravens	1	Mark Clayton	WR	2
		2	Dan Cody	LB	1
		2	Adam Terry	T	3
		4	Jason Brown	C	3
		5	Justin Green	RB	1
		6	Derek Anderson	QB	2
		7	Mike Smith	LB	1
2004	Ravens	2	Dwan Edwards	DT	2
		3	Devard Darling	WR	1
		5	Roderick Green	LB	1
		6	Josh Harris	QB	1
		6	Clarence Moore	WR	1
		7	Derek Abney	WR	1
		7	Brian Rimpf	T	1
2003	Ravens	1	Terrell Suggs	OLB	4
		1	Kyle Boller	QB	2
		3	Musa Smith	RB	2
		4	Jarret Johnson	DE	1
		4	Ovie Mughelli	FB	3
		5	Aubrayo Franklin	DT	1
		5	Tony Pashos	T	3
		6	Gerome Sapp	DB	1
		7	Trent Smith	TE	1
		7	Mike Mabry	C	1
		7	Antwoine Sanders	--	1
2002	Ravens	1	Ed Reed	SS	5
		2	Anthony Weaver	DE	2
		4	Dave Zastudil	P	k
		4	Ron Johnson	WR	1
		5	Terry Jones	TE	1
		6	Lamont Brightful	WR	1
		6	Javin Hunter	WR	1
		6	Chester Taylor	RB	3
		6	Chad Williams	DB	1
		7	Wes Pate	QB	1
2001	Ravens	1	Todd Heap	TE	4
		2	Gary Baxter	DB	3
		3	Casey Rabach	C	3
		4	Edgerton Hartwell	LB	3
		5	Chris Barnes	--	1
		6	Joe Maese	C	1
		7	Dwayne Missouri	DE	1
2000	Ravens	1	Jamal Lewis	RB	4
		1	Travis Taylor	WR	1
		3	Chris Redman	QB	1
		5	Richard Mercier	G	1
		6	Adalius Thomas	DE	4
		6	Cedric Woodard	DE	1
1999	Ravens	1	Chris McAlister	CB	4
		4	Brandon Stokley	WR	3
		4	Edwin Mulitalo	G	3
		7	Anthony Poindexter	DB	1
2007	Cowboys	1	Anthony Spencer	LB	n
		3	James Marten	OT	n
		4	Isaiah Stanback	WR	n
		4	Doug Free	OT	n
		6	Nick Folk	K	n
		6	Deon Anderson	FB	n
		7	Courtney Brown	CB	n
		7	Alan Ball	CB	n
2006	Cowboys	1	Bobby Carpenter	LB	2
		2	Anthony Fasano	TE	2
		3	Jason Hatcher	DE	1
		4	Skyler Green	WR	1
		5	Pat Watkins	FS	2
		6	Montavious Stanley	DT	1
		7	Pat McQuistan	T	1
		7	E.J. Whitley	C	1
2005	Cowboys	1	DeMarcus Ware	OLB	4
		1	Marcus Spears	DE	3
		2	Kevin Burnett	LB	2
		4	Marion Barber	RB	2
		4	Chris Canty	DE	2
		6	Justin Beriault	DB	1
		6	Rob Petitti	T	2
		7	Jay Ratliff	DE	1
2004	Cowboys	2	Julius Jones	RB	3
		2	Jacob Rogers	T	1
		3	Stephen Peterman	G	1
		4	Bruce Thornton	CB	1
		5	Sean Ryan	TE	1
		7	Nate Jones	CB	1
		7	Patrick Crayton	WR	2
		7	Jacques Reeves	CB	1
2003	Cowboys	1	Terence Newman	CB	4
		2	Al Johnson	C	2
		3	Jason Witten	TE	4
		4	Bradie James	LB	3
		6	B.J. Tucker	CB	1
		6	Zuriel Smith	WR	1
		7	Justin Bates	--	1
2002	Cowboys	1	Roy Williams	FS	3
		2	Andre Gurode	G	3
		2	Antonio Bryant	WR	2
		3	Derek Ross	CB	1
		4	Jamar Martin	FB	1
		5	Pete Hunter	CB	1
		6	Tyson Walter	C	1
		6	Deveren Johnson	--	1
		6	Bob Slowikowski	TE	1
2001	Cowboys	2	Quincy Carter	QB	1
		2	Tony Dixon	DB	1
		3	Willie Blade	DT	1
		4	Markus Steele	OLB	1
		5	Matt Lehr	C	2
		6	Daleroy Stewart	DT	1
		7	Colston Weatherington	DE	1
		7	John Nix	DT	1
		7	Char-ron Dorsey	T	1
2000	Cowboys	2	Dwayne Goodrich	DB	1
		4	Kareem Larrimore	CB	1
		5	Michael Wiley	RB	1
		6	Mario Edwards	CB	2
		7	Orantes Grant	LB	1
1999	Cowboys	1	Ebenezer Ekuban	DE	3
		2	Solomon Page	G	1
		3	Dat Nguyen	LB	3
		4	Wane McGarity	WR	1
		4	Peppi Zellner	DE	1
		6	MarTay Jenkins	WR	1
		7	Mike Lucky	TE	1
		7	Kelvin Garmon	G	1
2007	Chargers	1	Craig Davis	WR	n
		2	Eric Weddle	SAF	n
		3	Anthony Waters	LB	n
		4	Scott Chandler	TE	n
		5	Legedu Naanee	WR	n
		7	Brandon Siler	LB	n
		4	Paul Oliver	CB	n
2006	Chargers	1	Antonio Cromartie	CB	1
		2	Marcus McNeill	T	4
		3	Charlie Whitehurst	QB	1
		5	Tim Dobbins	LB	1
		6	Jeromey Clary	T	1
		6	Kurt Smith	K	k
		7	Chase Page	DT	1
		7	Jimmy Martin	C	1
2005	Chargers	1	Shawne Merriman	OLB	4
		1	Luis Castillo	DE	3
		2	Vincent Jackson	WR	3
		4	Darren Sproles	RB	1
		5	Wesley Britt	T	1
		6	Wes Sims	G	1
		7	Scott Mruczkowski	C	1
2004	Chargers	1	Eli Manning	QB	3
		2	Igor Olshansky	DE	3
		3	Nate Kaeding	K	k
		3	Nick Hardwick	C	3
		4	Shaun Phillips	LB	3
		5	Dave Ball	DE	1
		5	Michael Turner	RB	2
		6	Ryan Krause	TE	1
		7	Ryon Bingham	DT	1
		7	Shane Olivea	T	3
		7	Carlos Joseph	--	1
2003	Chargers	1	Sammy Davis	CB	2
		2	Drayton Florence	CB	3
		2	Terrence Kiel	SS	1
		3	Courtney Van Buren	T	1
		4	Matt Wilhelm	LB	1
		5	Mike Scifres	P	k
		6	Hanik Milligan	DB	1
		7	Andrew Pinnock	FB	1
2002	Chargers	1	Quentin Jammer	DB	3
		2	Toniu Fonoti	G	4
		2	Reche Caldwell	WR	2
		3	Ben Leber	OLB	2
		4	Justin Peelle	TE	2
		5	Terry Charles	WR	1
		6	Matt Anderle	--	1
		7	Seth Burford	QB	1
2001	Chargers	1	LaDainian Tomlinson	RB	5
		2	Drew Brees	QB	4
		3	Tay Cody	CB	1
		4	Carlos Polk	LB	1
		5	Elliot Silvers	T	1
		5	Zeke Moreno	LB	1
		7	Brandon Gorin	T	2
		7	Robert Carswell	DB	1
2000	Chargers	2	Rogers Beckett	SAF	1
		3	Damion McIntosh	T	3
		4	Trevor Gaylor	WR	1
		4	Leonardo Carson	DT	1
		6	Shannon Taylor	LB	1
		6	Damen Wheeler	CB	1
		6	JaJuan Seider	--	1
		7	Jason Thomas	G	1
1999	Chargers	2	Jermaine Fazande	RB	1
		3	Steve Heiden	TE	2
		4	Jason Perry	DB	1
		5	Adrian Dingle	DE	1
		5	Reggie Nelson	G	1
		6	Tyrone Bell	CB	1
2007	Patriots	1	Brandon Meriweather	SAF	n
		4	Kareem Brown	DT	n
		5	Clint Oldenburg	T	n
		6	Justin Rogers	LB	n
		6	Mike Richardson	DB	n
		6	Justise Hairston	RB	n
		6	Corey Hilliard	OT	n
		7	Oscar Lua	LB	n
		7	Mike Elgin	G	n
2006	Patriots	1	Laurence Maroney	RB	3
		2	Chad Jackson	WR	2
		3	David Thomas	TE	1
		4	Garrett Mills	RB	1
		4	Stephen Gostkowski	K	k
		5	Ryan O'Callaghan	T	1
		6	Jeremy Mincey	LB	1
		6	Dan Stevenson	G	1
		6	Le Kevin Smith	DT	1
		7	Willie Andrews	CB	1
2005	Patriots	1	Logan Mankins	G	4
		3	Ellis Hobbs	CB	2
		3	Nick Kaczur	T	3
		4	James Sanders	SAF	1
		5	Ryan Claridge	LB	1
		7	Matt Cassel	QB	1
		7	Andy Stokes	TE	1
2004	Patriots	1	Vince Wilfork	NT	4
		1	Benjamin Watson	TE	3
		2	Marquise Hill	DE	2
		3	Guss Scott	SAF	2
		4	Dexter Reid	SAF	1
		4	Cedric Cobbs	RB	1
		5	P.K. Sam	WR	1
		7	Christian Morton	CB	1
2003	Patriots	1	Ty Warren	DE	3
		2	Eugene Wilson	FS	3
		2	Bethel Johnson	WR	1
		4	Dan Klecko	DT	2
		4	Asante Samuel	CB	4
		5	Dan Koppen	C	3
		6	Kliff Kingsbury	QB	1
		7	Spencer Nead	TE	1
		7	Tully Banta-Cain	LB	1
		7	Ethan Kelley	NT	1
2002	Patriots	1	Daniel Graham	TE	2
		2	Deion Branch	WR	3
		4	Rohan Davey	QB	1
		4	Jarvis Green	DE	3
		7	Antwoine Womack	RB	1
		7	David Givens	WR	1
2001	Patriots	1	Richard Seymour	DT	5
		2	Matt Light	T	4
		3	Brock Williams	CB	1
		4	Kenyatta Jones	T	1
		4	Jabari Holloway	TE	1
		5	Hakim Akbar	DB	1
		6	Arther Love	TE	1
		6	Leonard Myers	CB	1
		7	Owen Pochman	K	k
		7	T.J. Turner	LB	1
2000	Patriots	2	Adrian Klemm	T	1
		3	J.R. Redmond	RB	1
		4	Greg Randall	T	1
		5	Dave Stachelski	TE	1
		5	Jeff Marriott	--	1
		6	Antwan Harris	CB	1
		6	Tom Brady	QB	5
		6	David Nugent	DT	1
		7	Casey Tisdale	--	1
		7	Patrick Pass	RB	2
1999	Patriots	1	Damien Woody	C	3
		1	Andy Katzenmoyer	MLB	1
		2	Kevin Faulk	RB	2
		3	Tony George	DB	1
		5	Derrick Fletcher	T	1
		6	Marcus Washington	--	1
		7	Michael Bishop	QB	1
		7	Sean Morey	WR	2
		4	J'Juan Cherry	DB	1
2007	Colts	1	Anthony Gonzalez	WR	n
		2	Tony Ugoh	T	n
		3	Dante Hughes	CB	n
		3	Quinn Pitcock	DT	n
		4	Brannon Condren	DB	n
		4	Clint Session	LB	n
		5	Roy Hall	WR	n
		5	Michael Coe	CB	n
		7	Keyunta Dawson	DE	n
2006	Colts	1	Joseph Addai	RB	3
		2	Tim Jennings	CB	2
		3	Freddie Keiaho	LB	3
		5	Michael Toudouze	G	1
		6	Charlie Johnson	T	1
		6	Antoine Bethea	SS	3
		7	T.J. Rushing	CB	1
2005	Colts	1	Marlin Jackson	DB	3
		2	Kelvin Hayden	DB	3
		3	Vincent Burns	DE	1
		4	Dylan Gandy	G	1
		4	Matt Giordano	DB	1
		5	Jonathan Welsh	DE	1
		5	Robert Hunt	C	1
		5	Tyjuan Hagler	LB	1
		6	Dave Rayner	K	k
		7	Anthony Davis	--	1
2004	Colts	2	Bob Sanders	DB	4
		3	Ben Hartsock	TE	1
		3	Gilbert Gardner	LB	1
		4	Kendyll Pope	LB	1
		4	Jason David	CB	2
		5	Jake Scott	G	3
		6	Von Hutchins	DB	1
		6	Jim Sorgi	QB	1
		7	David Kimball	K	k
2003	Colts	1	Dallas Clark	TE	3
		2	Mike Doss	SS	1
		3	Donald Strickland	FS	1
		4	Steve Sciullo	G	1
		5	Robert Mathis	DE	3
		5	Keyon Whiteside	LB	1
		6	Cato June	DB	2
		6	Makoa Freitas	T	1
2002	Colts	1	Dwight Freeney	DE	4
		2	Larry Tripplett	DT	2
		3	Joseph Jefferson	CB	1
		4	David Thornton	LB	3
		6	David Pugh	DT	1
		6	James Lewis	--	1
		6	Brian Allen	RB	1
		7	Josh Mallard	DE	1
2001	Colts	1	Reggie Wayne	WR	4
		2	Idrees Bashir	FS	2
		3	Cory Bird	DB	1
		4	Ryan Diem	G	3
		5	Raymond Walls	DB	1
		6	Jason Doering	DB	1
		7	Rick DeMulling	G	1
2000	Colts	1	Rob Morris	LB	3
		2	Marcus Washington	LB	3
		3	David Macklin	DB	2
		4	Josh Williams	DT	1
		5	Matt Johnson	--	1
		7	Rob Renes	DT	1
		7	Rodregis Brooks	DB	1
1999	Colts	1	Edgerrin James	RB	4
		2	Mike Peterson	OLB	3
		3	Brandon Burlsworth	--	1
		4	Paul Miranda	DB	1
		5	Brad Scioli	DE	2
		7	Hunter Smith	P	k
		7	Corey Terry	DE	1

Eagles Offseason Review

eagles certainly had an interesting offseason to say the least (in a good way). there was a mini-controversy at QB and big red's kids went insane, but mostly it was just good old-fashioned roster upgrading. let's start off with a comparison of what i was hoping the birds would do this offseason vs. what they did do.

QB
the qb was at the center of a short firestorm for a while. at the end of last season, i assumed the birds were going to resign garcia and head into this season with the same QB trio, giving mcnabb some cushion to focus on getting his mcknee mchealthy. unfortunately, garcia wanted starter money after what he "proved" last season (more on that later) and big red never even gave bringing jeff back a second thought -- choosing instead to trade for kelly holcomb to provide additional veteran backup insurance. at this point, we were looking at mcnabb/feeley/holcomb and still feeling ok about the QB position. enter kevin kolb. the birds were targeting safeties in the first round of the draft only to see every first round grade safety taken before their pick. with none of their first round graded players left on board, the birds traded down and selected kolb. don't know much about him, but as i wrote just after the draft, if big red likes him and mornhinweg thinks he's the best worst coast offense QB in the draft, then i'm a believer.

bottom line is that we're looking at mcnabb, feeley, and kolb as our QB corps this season (which football outsiders' ranks 3rd in the nfl)

RB
the birds addressed their RB needs this offseason by drafting a tough runner in tony hunt and adding intriguing fat guy nate ilaoa. expect the birds to drop mahe and either moats or buck as a result. a lot of people are going to list ilaoa as a FB, but i think the birds see him as a bowling ball of a third down back with great hands.

i expect the roster to be - westbrook, hunt, ilaoa, buck (FO rank 7th in NFL)

FB
tapeh seemed to be an upgrade over parry (shudder), but as i think about it more, i wonder if he's not getting the credit he deserves? the running game couldn't have been successful last season if the FB wasn't at least competent, if not pretty good, at blocking. i'll have to pay more attention to him this season (assuming he's on the team)

i expect the birds to go into the season with tapeh as the lone FB, but wouldn't be surprised if they went with no true fullbacks and instead went with a combo of hunt and ilaoa as a platoon since hunt is a terrific blocker and ilaoa is great out of the backfield.

WR
i liked the combo of stallworth, brown, baskett, avant, and lewis and was expecting donte' to re-sign. losing stallworth resulted in the birds probably overpaying for kevin curtis, but i think kevin and donte' are equivalent players.

receiving corps of curtis, brown, baskett, avant, lewis (FO rank 21st in NFL)

TE
big news here is LJ's sports hernia. the birds needed to replace the retired mike bartrum and did with a chad lewis clone in brent celek.

smith, schobel, celek

OL
no OL draft picks for the first time in a while. that's a bit of a surprise big red is usually good for a couple every season, but not really because this is the best OL i've seen in eagles green both in terms of depth and talent. not only do i have no complaints about them, they're one of my favorite units on the team. they have personality, grit, toughness, a mean streak, fat guys, they blow people off the ball... pretty much everything you want to see in an OL.

i'd be surprised to see any changes here - ex-tra thomas, runyan, herremans, andrews, jackson, mccoy, justice, gillies, young, fat nick cole (FO rank 7th in NFL)

DL
an unexpected flurry of activity here. though the draft pick at DE (abiamiri) was expected, darwin walker and truck driver out/ian scott and montae reagor in wasn't. still, the big question is whether bunkley can play at a high level. if he can, this unit can be a force. if he can't this unit will continue to have issues. patterson is not suited to playing on the nose like he did most of last season.

significant change here - kearse, howard, trent cole, abiamiri, juqua thomas, patterson, bunkley, reagor, scott, ramsey (FO rank 8th in NFL)

LB
major, major upgrades at LB... finally. the long nightmare that has been the birds linebacking corps seems to be ending. let's start with takeo spikes. TAKEO SPIKES! this is not the sixers getting chris webber. this is a legitimate warrior with gas still left in his tank. i've been trying to be conservative and keep expectations low until we see him play, but as the season gets closer i can't help but get excited thinking about him in eagles green. TAKEO SPIKES! combine that with addition by subtraction in dumping the bowtied banjo player, moving gaither back to the middle, and drafting a backup plan in case gocong can't play, i think the birds did pretty well. TAKEO SPIKES!

i'm pretty happy a linebacker corps that consists of spikes, gocong, trotter, gaither, mccoy, bradley, and probably daniels, especially compared to past rosters (FO rank 24th in NFL)

DB
safety was a big focus on draft day, but the birds didn't come away with any of the top safeties. instead drafting converted corner cj gaddis from b-dawk's alma mater. sean considine supposedly put on 15 lbs of muscle in the offseason (i'll believe it when i see it). rod hood left as expected, but unexpectedly, will james is back. thankfully, we're not looking at joselio hanson at nickel corner. center fielder rashard barksdale has practice squad written all over him. still, can't complain too much when you have lito, b-dawk, and sheldon roaming in the defensive backfield.

roster looks to be - sheppard, sheldon brown, james, hanson, dawkins, gaddis, considine, mikell (FO rank 2nd in NFL)

ST
hoping for/expecting big contributions from new punter and ex-aussie rules football player saverio rocca and fresh of IR jeremy bloom. akers looks to rebound from a sub-par 2006. coverage teams were solid last season. hopefully they don't take a step back with harbaugh's promotion to defensive assistant. hopefully rocca can beat out incumbent horrible punter dirk johnson.

my hope - akers, rocca, bloom (FO rank 18th in NFL)

Phillies 2007 Draft

not sure what is going on with phuturephillies.com (seems to be down), but here is what baseballamerica.com has to say about the phils picks:

19. Joe Savery, lhp
School: Rice Class: Jr.
B-T: L-L Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 215 Birthdate: 11/4/85
Scouting Report: Area scouts have projected Savery as a 2007 first-rounder since he came out of Lamar High in Houston three years ago. He was the top two-way player in the state, but it would have taken a $1 million bonus to dissuade him from following Jeff Niemann's path from Lamar to Rice. As with Niemann in 2004, Savery hasn't been 100 percent in his draft year following offseason surgery. He didn't pitch for the Owls last June, then had minor surgery to shave down a bone growth in the back of his shoulder that was causing some fraying in his labrum. Savery has taken a regular turn in the Rice rotation this spring, but he has been less than dominant, as his 44-30 K-BB ratio through 68 innings would attest. Savery's velocity was improving in early May, as he was showing a 90-94 mph fastball for a couple of innings and still touched 90 after 100 pitches. In his initial starts this season, he worked more often at 85-89 mph. His changeup is a plus pitch, and his hard, slurvy curveball can get strikeouts when it's on, though he hasn't used it as much as in the past. Savery has continued to pull double duty for the Owls, playing first base and leading the club with a .353 average and 43 RBIs through 52 games. Once he regains full health, he could take off after he focuses his energy and efforts on pitching. The recent litany of Rice pitching prospects who have needed surgery after turning pro concerns scouts, but Savery could be a steal if he slides into the second half of the first round.

club could be trying to hit the lottery again and see him as another cole hamels (top flight talent dropping in the draft due to injury concerns)? difference here is that hamels was a consensus "can't miss" prospect if healthy. reviews on this guy seem mixed. apparently, the player the phils really wanted was kevin ahrens, who went at 16.

37. Travis d'Arnaud, c
School: Lakewood (Calif.) HS Class: Sr.
B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 180 Birthdate: 2/10/89
Scouting Report: In several ways, d'Arnaud resembles his older brother Chase, a two-year starter at third base for Pepperdine, and Travis has also committed to play for the Waves. Chances are he won't get to school, though, because he's a more athletic version of his brother with premium catch-and-throw skills behind the plate and a more advanced bat. While he's still a streak hitter, d'Arnaud has showed an improved ability to stay inside the ball and drive it to all fields. It's a quick, line-drive swing for the most part, but he has shown some loft power, with seven home runs, and he ranked among state leaders in RBIs. Defensively, he grades as above-average as both a receiver and thrower, with a plus arm, soft hands and quick feet. While he's athletic enough to play an infield spot, he's too good behind the plate--consistently getting his throws to second base in 1.9 seconds--to move.

the good news? seems like the phils have their first real catching prospect in years. the bad news? the last real prospect was mike lieberthal. this guy's scouting report looks very similar to how lieby was described as a prospect. hopefully this guy doesn't come with lieby's "whatever" attitude.

83. Travis Mattair, ss/3b
School: Southridge (Wash.) HS Class: Sr.
B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 215 Birthdate: 12/21/88
Scouting Report: While Washington prep righthanders Greg Peavey and Julien Sampson (breaking ball went backward) vexed scouts this spring, Mattair came off the basketball court and onto the baseball diamond and emerged as the state's top high school prospect. He's athletic to a fault, in that he's never focused on baseball, and he was good enough as a basketball point guard to attract Division II scholarship interest. His power potential makes him a much better prospect in baseball. He has leverage and obvious strength in his swing and has shown power to all fields. His lack of experience was exposed at showcase events by pitchers with consistently better stuff than any he had seen in southeast Washington, but scouts are confident his athleticism will allow him to adjust once he focuses on baseball. He's a shortstop now who profiles as a third baseman as a pro. He's committed to Oregon State.

107. Brandon Workman, rhp
School: Bowie (Texas) HS Class: Sr.
B-T: R-R Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 195 Birthdate: 8/13/88
Scouting Report: On the right day, Workman can look like a first-rounder. He'll show a low-90s fastball that tops out at 95 mph to go with a plus 12-to-6 curveball, and that stuff comes from a projectable 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame. He's still growing too, having added two inches and 20 pounds since last summer. But the problem is poor arm action that scares scouts and robs Workman of any consistency. His mechanics will need an overhaul, and though he has enticing raw arm strength, it's going to be difficult to draft him high enough to lure him away from Texas. He's a top student and scouts don't think he'll sign for less than third-round money.

113. Matt Spencer, of/lhp
School: Arizona State. Class: Jr.
B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 225. Birthdate: 1/27/86.
Scouting Report: In terms of tools, Spencer is the same player who was part of a banner 2004 draft class in his home state of Tennessee. He went to North Carolina for his first two college seasons and helped the Tar Heels reach the College World Series last season, often playing center field despite his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and finishing second on the team with 15 stolen bases. Spencer returned to UNC for his junior year after a poor performance in the Cape Cod League (.197, one extra-base hit) and lost his job, so he transferred between semesters to Arizona State. He burst back on the prospect scene with a pair of homers at an early-season tournament in Houston with most of the industry's scouting directors in attendance, but his season was plagued by as much inconsistency as his Tar Heels career. Spencer has above-average raw power and profiles as a right fielder if he can make consistent contact. After pitching just five innings for North Carolina, Spencer had worked into a set-up role with Arizona State. Though he lacked command (16 walks in 10 innings), he has hit 94 mph, and some scouts who doubt his hitting savvy like him better on the mound. Either way, he's still far from a finished product, just as was the case out of high school.

Draft Grade

i don't think you can grade this draft higher than a 'C', but then again, i know little to nothing about most of the guys they drafted this year.

HOWEVER, history has shown that they know a heck of a lot more about personnel than i do, or you do, or WIP does, or many/most of the other NFL teams do. every team has draft busts. look at the analyses and you'll see that 30-50% of first round picks are busts every year. i don't recall any specific links off the top of my head, but every analysis i've seen puts the birds in the top 5 teams in drafting talent since big red took over.

do you recall that big red targeted don with the 2nd pick in the draft when all of the draft "experts" had him slated going in the 20s? like him or not, mcnabb was BY FAR the best QB to come out of that draft. if big red says this kolb guy can play, i tend to believe him. he's actually been pretty good with his first rounders.

Year	Pick	Hit/Miss	Pro-Bowl
1999	Donovan McNabb	hit	x
2000	Corey Simon	hit	x
2001	Freddie Mitchell	miss
2002	Lito Sheppard	hit	x
2003	Jerome McDougle	miss
2004	Shawn Andrews	hit	x
2005	Mike Patterson	TBD
2006	Brodrick Bunkley	TBD
2007	Kevin Kolb	TBD

i'm not saying this to indicate that i support how they went in this draft, but there's no way anyone out there -- talking head, fan, or morning idiot -- can judge this draft for several years.

at any rate, i'm certainly not upset about it. am i disappointed that they weren't able to grab one of the first round worthy safeties? yes. am i disappointed that they didn't panic and draft a jon harris-type guy because all of their targets were stolen in front of them? nope.

Kiper on Eagles Draft

kiper gives the birds a C- for their draft and writes:

First, they made a trade with the Cowboys, who used the pick on defensive end Anthony Spencer. Then, the Eagles used the 36th overall pick (their first pick in the draft) on Houston QB Kevin Kolb when QBs Drew Stanton, John Beck and Trent Edwards were all still on the board. I thought Kolb was a reach because he reminds me of Kyle Boller. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri was a good pick in the second round, and linebacker Stewart Bradley was a decent choice in the third round. Running back Tony Hunt was a good third-round pick; C.J. Gaddis, I thought, would have been a priority free agent instead of a fifth-rounder; Brent Celek is an average tight end prospect; and cornerback Rashad Barksdale will battle for roster spot.

kolb reminds kiper of kyle boller?

let's see, boller is the guy with questionable accuracy who pushed himself into the first round with a ridiculously strong arm (throwing through the uprights while down on one knee at the combine) who played himself out of a job with his inability to complete a 5 yard pass.

meanwhile, kolb is the guy with slightly above average arm strength and ridiculously good short ball accuracy who played in the all passing all the time run n' shoot offense.

yeah, i can see how one might remind you of the other.