Philadelphia Eagles 2019 Draft Picks
Round
1(22) Andre Dillard OT Washington State
Fills a need position with LT Jason Peters in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career
2(21) Miles Sanders RB Penn State
A great addition to complement the recent acquisition of veteran back Jordan Howard
2(25) JJ Arcega-Whiteside WR Stanford
Another big target for Carson Wentz in the same vein as Alshon Jeffery
4(36) Shareef Miller DE Penn State
Good depth pick for one of the best defensive lines in the NFL
5(29) Clayton Thorson QB Northwestern
A bit of a reach, but this could be a need position with the departure of Nick Foles
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Eagles' 2019 Draft Picks
The Eagles will have the following picks in the upcoming NFL Draft later this month:
RD (PK)
1 (25)
2 (21)
2 (25)
4 (25)
4 (36)
5 (25)
6 (24)
RD (PK)
1 (25)
2 (21)
2 (25)
4 (25)
4 (36)
5 (25)
6 (24)
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Eagles Confident That the Future Remains Bright
By: KO Kelly
The Future is Bright
In any other year last week’s loss to the Saints would have been absolutely crushing. After coming out strong and then fading in the middle after a slew of injuries, our Birds were still in the mix to pull off the biggest upset of the weekend. They were marching down the field against the Saints’ defense in rhythm for the first time since the first quarter. My only concern was that we were going to score too quickly and then suffer through a Brees to Thomas Hail Mary.
Instead the game slipped through Alshon Jeffery’s fingers (a player no one can be upset with given all he has done for the team over the past two years) and the season was all but over. In that moment, though, I felt relief and gratitude.
This team has been through so much over the season and with the injuries in the first half, it was not getting any easier. If they had won last weekend, my prediction for the LA rematch would not have been a confident one. Our Birds played there hearts out over the past several weeks and gave us a run almost as exciting as last year’s. They fought hard in this game and were able to go down swinging.
Another blogger compared this loss to the ending of the first Rocky movie. The Saints had to pull out all the stops – a fake-punt, multiple big-time 3rd Down conversions, and a last-minute interception – to defeat our “back-up” QB, 3rd-string RB, depleted defensive and offensive lines, guys-off-the-streets CBs. Our Birds were able to go toe-to-toe with the “best” in the Conference and demonstrated they belonged there. They may not have won the game but they proved they are perennial contenders with this coaching staff and core group of players.
The most disappointing part about last week’s loss is not the loss at a shot to hold onto their Championship title but that we will not see this band of brothers play together again. A lot of pieces will be in motion this off-season and some familiar faces will certainly be gone next year. If nothing else, this game should serve as a reminder to live in the present and appreciate those who are on this ride with you. Our time together is unknown, so live fully in those moments.
As far as this weekend’s match-ups, I will be rooting hard for Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh to make Brees’ afternoon a living nightmare. I now loathe the Saints more than the Cowboys and even the Giants. They are classless and with any luck will get completely embarrassed this weekend in the Dome.
In the AFC match-up I am torn. It would be great for Andy to make it back to the Super Bowl and get another shot at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy this February but given his track record in big games, I am hesitant to invest my faith in him this weekend. On the flip side, I am not opposed to the Patriots going all the way this year and winning a 6th ring. I know I know, that’s blasphemous for an Eagles’ fan but hear me out. If the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl, I do not want any other QB beating Tom Brady, I want Foles to be the last person to take him down. The better his record looks at the end of the day, the better our smudge on his record looks.
So while we will not be watching our Birds play this weekend, we can rest easy knowing they have a strong core of group players who will not give up and who will show up every week for Doug & Co. They certainly have work to do in the off-season but they are up for the challenge.
The Future is Bright
In any other year last week’s loss to the Saints would have been absolutely crushing. After coming out strong and then fading in the middle after a slew of injuries, our Birds were still in the mix to pull off the biggest upset of the weekend. They were marching down the field against the Saints’ defense in rhythm for the first time since the first quarter. My only concern was that we were going to score too quickly and then suffer through a Brees to Thomas Hail Mary.
Instead the game slipped through Alshon Jeffery’s fingers (a player no one can be upset with given all he has done for the team over the past two years) and the season was all but over. In that moment, though, I felt relief and gratitude.
This team has been through so much over the season and with the injuries in the first half, it was not getting any easier. If they had won last weekend, my prediction for the LA rematch would not have been a confident one. Our Birds played there hearts out over the past several weeks and gave us a run almost as exciting as last year’s. They fought hard in this game and were able to go down swinging.
Another blogger compared this loss to the ending of the first Rocky movie. The Saints had to pull out all the stops – a fake-punt, multiple big-time 3rd Down conversions, and a last-minute interception – to defeat our “back-up” QB, 3rd-string RB, depleted defensive and offensive lines, guys-off-the-streets CBs. Our Birds were able to go toe-to-toe with the “best” in the Conference and demonstrated they belonged there. They may not have won the game but they proved they are perennial contenders with this coaching staff and core group of players.
The most disappointing part about last week’s loss is not the loss at a shot to hold onto their Championship title but that we will not see this band of brothers play together again. A lot of pieces will be in motion this off-season and some familiar faces will certainly be gone next year. If nothing else, this game should serve as a reminder to live in the present and appreciate those who are on this ride with you. Our time together is unknown, so live fully in those moments.
As far as this weekend’s match-ups, I will be rooting hard for Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh to make Brees’ afternoon a living nightmare. I now loathe the Saints more than the Cowboys and even the Giants. They are classless and with any luck will get completely embarrassed this weekend in the Dome.
In the AFC match-up I am torn. It would be great for Andy to make it back to the Super Bowl and get another shot at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy this February but given his track record in big games, I am hesitant to invest my faith in him this weekend. On the flip side, I am not opposed to the Patriots going all the way this year and winning a 6th ring. I know I know, that’s blasphemous for an Eagles’ fan but hear me out. If the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl, I do not want any other QB beating Tom Brady, I want Foles to be the last person to take him down. The better his record looks at the end of the day, the better our smudge on his record looks.
So while we will not be watching our Birds play this weekend, we can rest easy knowing they have a strong core of group players who will not give up and who will show up every week for Doug & Co. They certainly have work to do in the off-season but they are up for the challenge.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Carson Wentz is the Eagles' Best Choice at Quarterback
Right off the bat, I want to start this post by saying that I was a huge Nick Foles fan during his first stint with the Eagles. I even wrote about him being the team's new franchise quarterback after guiding Philly to the NFC East Division title in Chip Kelly's first year as head coach. Kelly had other ideas and sent Foles packing and the rest is history.
Still in need of someone to lead the offense, new head coach Doug Pederson turned to Carson Wentz with the second overall pick of the 2016 draft. The rookie coach and rookie quarterback made their way through that initial season with a respectable record of 7-9. While there was some major room for improvement, there were enough highlighted moments to raise the bar for the 2017.
Wentz raised the bar through the roof as the frontrunner for MVP in his second season until he went down with a knee injury in Week 14. The Eagles turned to Foles and he delivered with his own MVP trophy in Super Bowl LII. Nobody questioned the fact that Wentz was the team's starter heading into this season. Super Bowl hangovers are real and the Eagles' aching head and upset stomach lasted deep into the 16-game slate. Even at 4-6 through their first 10 games, they were still in position to win the suddenly watered-down NFC East. Wentz was not at his best, but you cannot pin that disappointing start squarely on his shoulders.
Washington faded and Dallas got hot while the Eagles won enough games to stay in the hunt. Wentz went down again with a back injury and Foles rose to the occasion to lead another playoff run. Philly could have beaten the Saints, but the breaks did not its way. The offseason came quicker than we wanted, but all-in-all it can still be considered a successful season.
The way things played out with Wentz and Foles this time around has opened up the debate as to which player should be the starter in Philly. The Eagles have already made it clear that Wentz stays and Foles will most likely get another chance to start somewhere else in the NFL. I just hope that somewhere else is not Washington given its desperate situation at this position. The current buzz has the Eagles trading Foles to Jacksonville for Leonard Fournette. I would go with that deal in a New York minute.
The big question Eagles' fans should be asking themselves is Wentz's recent rash of injuries something to be concerned with moving forward. He will be heading into his fourth season with eight missed starts in two years not counting the playoffs. The question the fans should not be asking is can he lead this team back to the Super Bowl somewhere down the road. When healthy, he is a proven entity given his early career stats. The loss of Frank Reich to Indianapolis after serving as the team's offensive coordinator in that Super Bowl run cannot be discounted given his success this season as the Colts' new head coach. Wentz did not look nearly as comfortable running this season's scheme under Mike Groh.
There was no doubt that Foles was a better fit in this offense when he took over the starting role at the end of the year. He was also playing with a very high level of confidence given last year's success when the games were on the line. Nobody is talking about the team's 0-2 start with Foles under center. Once again, I believe in St. Nick, but not to the point where I would give up on Wentz so early in his career.
Let him get healthy this offseason. I mean fully healthy. Those fans touting Foles as the permanent solution at quarterback have no idea how severe Wentz's knee injury really was. In retrospect, he probably should have sat out the first half of the season. Maybe the back injury was a result of compensating for his knee? I still want to see what the big man from North Dakota State can do when everything is fully healed.
Over the course of this season, time after time across the entire league it was proven just how valuable a legitimate starting quarterback can be to the overall fortunes of his team. Wentz is that kind of guy!
Just go back to Week 14 of last season against the Rams and ask yourself who you would want to have under center. My answer at that point would have been Wentz as an obvious no-brainer and nothing has changed since that unfortunate touchdown blew out his knee.
Still in need of someone to lead the offense, new head coach Doug Pederson turned to Carson Wentz with the second overall pick of the 2016 draft. The rookie coach and rookie quarterback made their way through that initial season with a respectable record of 7-9. While there was some major room for improvement, there were enough highlighted moments to raise the bar for the 2017.
Wentz raised the bar through the roof as the frontrunner for MVP in his second season until he went down with a knee injury in Week 14. The Eagles turned to Foles and he delivered with his own MVP trophy in Super Bowl LII. Nobody questioned the fact that Wentz was the team's starter heading into this season. Super Bowl hangovers are real and the Eagles' aching head and upset stomach lasted deep into the 16-game slate. Even at 4-6 through their first 10 games, they were still in position to win the suddenly watered-down NFC East. Wentz was not at his best, but you cannot pin that disappointing start squarely on his shoulders.
Washington faded and Dallas got hot while the Eagles won enough games to stay in the hunt. Wentz went down again with a back injury and Foles rose to the occasion to lead another playoff run. Philly could have beaten the Saints, but the breaks did not its way. The offseason came quicker than we wanted, but all-in-all it can still be considered a successful season.
The way things played out with Wentz and Foles this time around has opened up the debate as to which player should be the starter in Philly. The Eagles have already made it clear that Wentz stays and Foles will most likely get another chance to start somewhere else in the NFL. I just hope that somewhere else is not Washington given its desperate situation at this position. The current buzz has the Eagles trading Foles to Jacksonville for Leonard Fournette. I would go with that deal in a New York minute.
The big question Eagles' fans should be asking themselves is Wentz's recent rash of injuries something to be concerned with moving forward. He will be heading into his fourth season with eight missed starts in two years not counting the playoffs. The question the fans should not be asking is can he lead this team back to the Super Bowl somewhere down the road. When healthy, he is a proven entity given his early career stats. The loss of Frank Reich to Indianapolis after serving as the team's offensive coordinator in that Super Bowl run cannot be discounted given his success this season as the Colts' new head coach. Wentz did not look nearly as comfortable running this season's scheme under Mike Groh.
There was no doubt that Foles was a better fit in this offense when he took over the starting role at the end of the year. He was also playing with a very high level of confidence given last year's success when the games were on the line. Nobody is talking about the team's 0-2 start with Foles under center. Once again, I believe in St. Nick, but not to the point where I would give up on Wentz so early in his career.
Let him get healthy this offseason. I mean fully healthy. Those fans touting Foles as the permanent solution at quarterback have no idea how severe Wentz's knee injury really was. In retrospect, he probably should have sat out the first half of the season. Maybe the back injury was a result of compensating for his knee? I still want to see what the big man from North Dakota State can do when everything is fully healed.
Over the course of this season, time after time across the entire league it was proven just how valuable a legitimate starting quarterback can be to the overall fortunes of his team. Wentz is that kind of guy!
Just go back to Week 14 of last season against the Rams and ask yourself who you would want to have under center. My answer at that point would have been Wentz as an obvious no-brainer and nothing has changed since that unfortunate touchdown blew out his knee.
Friday, January 11, 2019
Eagles Seek Redemption in New Orleans
By: KO Kelly
Redemption is Nigh!
As Cody Parkey lined up for his second attempt at what would have most likely been the game-winning field goal, I was at peace with this season. Our Birds did not fold after their brutal dismantling in New Orleans or the gut-wrenching overtime loss in Dallas. No, they rallied together and reminded us what they are capable of when they play as a team. I was even saying to myself this Bears’ team would be easy to root for during the rest of the playoffs. They are young and scrappy on offense, complimented by a ferocious turnover-generating defense.
Fortunately, Treyvon Hestor – who I have been writing off all year as the “nobody” next to Cox in our somewhat depleted front four – had other plans. He pushed his way through the Bears’ line and into the history books with his game-winning field goal block. A block that was not even recorded as a block until the next day because it was barely even noticeable in slow-motion and still shots. By the slimmest of margins, he altered the direction of that ball and kept our playoff run alive.
Quick note on Doug Pederson, only eight other head coaches in NFL history have won their first four playoff games and four of those eight are in the Hall of Fame. That is some pretty impressive company for Doug, here’s to him continuing that streak and climbing that list!
As far as the rest of last week’s game, Foles did not look his best in the first half of the game with two uncharacteristic interceptions but our defensive line has continued to get better each week and along with our young, aggressive secondary stymied the Bears’ offensive efforts. And for as rough as Foles looked in the beginning, his two-minute drill against the best defense in the league was nothing short of spectacular. I had a bit of hesitation after the first two ineffective run plays on the goal line but ultimately, I fully expected and trusted Foles to lead us to a touchdown. He is without a doubt the most clutch quarterback in Eagles’ history.
Now onto this week’s matchup. The Eagles get a shot a redemption this week against a formidable foe in the Big Easy: The New Orleans Saints. I still hear chants of “Who dat, who dat, who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” in my nightmares. However, I am about to say who is going to beat those Saints – Foles and friends – dat’s who!
The brutal November lashing was one of those anomaly games that occur from time to time, where one team can do no wrong while the other cannot get out of the gates. We were on the winning side of such a match-up last January against the Vikings. We were near flawless, and the Vikings never had a chance – not because they were a bad team, they just ran into one of those games at the worst time.
Luckily, our Birds ran into the buzz saw during the regular season and have had a chance to turn things around. They have not dwelled on the game but have certainly used it as a teacher and motivation. When Doug was wrapping up his locker room speech after the win against the Bears, he stoically stated, “I do not need to remind you where we are heading next.” The players smiled but with a deep understanding of what they need to do and how they need to prepare for their upcoming rematch.
Coach Payton is using cash and a trophy to motivate his team. That might work for some teams, but our Birds run on something different. They are fueled by disrespect and driven by brotherhood. They are playing for more than worldly possessions – they have set their course for the history books.
There will not be as many fireworks as the Eagles’ second playoff game last year but by the fourth quarter there will be no doubt the Eagles are moving onto the next round. Afterall, it is only fitting for the Saints to be taken down by the saint – St. Nick!
Eagles Win 24-16
Record 11-7
Redemption is Nigh!
As Cody Parkey lined up for his second attempt at what would have most likely been the game-winning field goal, I was at peace with this season. Our Birds did not fold after their brutal dismantling in New Orleans or the gut-wrenching overtime loss in Dallas. No, they rallied together and reminded us what they are capable of when they play as a team. I was even saying to myself this Bears’ team would be easy to root for during the rest of the playoffs. They are young and scrappy on offense, complimented by a ferocious turnover-generating defense.
Fortunately, Treyvon Hestor – who I have been writing off all year as the “nobody” next to Cox in our somewhat depleted front four – had other plans. He pushed his way through the Bears’ line and into the history books with his game-winning field goal block. A block that was not even recorded as a block until the next day because it was barely even noticeable in slow-motion and still shots. By the slimmest of margins, he altered the direction of that ball and kept our playoff run alive.
Quick note on Doug Pederson, only eight other head coaches in NFL history have won their first four playoff games and four of those eight are in the Hall of Fame. That is some pretty impressive company for Doug, here’s to him continuing that streak and climbing that list!
As far as the rest of last week’s game, Foles did not look his best in the first half of the game with two uncharacteristic interceptions but our defensive line has continued to get better each week and along with our young, aggressive secondary stymied the Bears’ offensive efforts. And for as rough as Foles looked in the beginning, his two-minute drill against the best defense in the league was nothing short of spectacular. I had a bit of hesitation after the first two ineffective run plays on the goal line but ultimately, I fully expected and trusted Foles to lead us to a touchdown. He is without a doubt the most clutch quarterback in Eagles’ history.
Now onto this week’s matchup. The Eagles get a shot a redemption this week against a formidable foe in the Big Easy: The New Orleans Saints. I still hear chants of “Who dat, who dat, who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?” in my nightmares. However, I am about to say who is going to beat those Saints – Foles and friends – dat’s who!
The brutal November lashing was one of those anomaly games that occur from time to time, where one team can do no wrong while the other cannot get out of the gates. We were on the winning side of such a match-up last January against the Vikings. We were near flawless, and the Vikings never had a chance – not because they were a bad team, they just ran into one of those games at the worst time.
Luckily, our Birds ran into the buzz saw during the regular season and have had a chance to turn things around. They have not dwelled on the game but have certainly used it as a teacher and motivation. When Doug was wrapping up his locker room speech after the win against the Bears, he stoically stated, “I do not need to remind you where we are heading next.” The players smiled but with a deep understanding of what they need to do and how they need to prepare for their upcoming rematch.
Coach Payton is using cash and a trophy to motivate his team. That might work for some teams, but our Birds run on something different. They are fueled by disrespect and driven by brotherhood. They are playing for more than worldly possessions – they have set their course for the history books.
There will not be as many fireworks as the Eagles’ second playoff game last year but by the fourth quarter there will be no doubt the Eagles are moving onto the next round. Afterall, it is only fitting for the Saints to be taken down by the saint – St. Nick!
Eagles Win 24-16
Record 11-7
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