San Tan Youth Football League Eagles

Tick tock… tick tock…. the Philadelphia Eagles are on the clock!  Ok, so I know this blog is dedicated to the STYFL Eagles and all, but I grew up in the Philadelphia area and Drew and I are HUGE Philadelphia Eagles fans!  It was only a stroke of luck that  Drew ended up on the Eagles team last year in his first tackle football season.  All that said, I’m pumped for the NFL draft tomorrow.

So what do the Eagles do tomorrow.  They have the 19th pick in the first round and have some trade bait in two-time all pro corner Lito Shepard.  Shep has been one of my favorite Birds over the years, but in the past few seasons he’s been on the training table as much as he’s been on the field.  Lito is a great cover corner and a play maker, but the Eagles pretty much drew the line in the sand when they picked up free agent corner Asante Samuel during the free agency period earlier this year.  The Birds brass has been somewhat non-descript as to whether or not they will ultimately trade Shepard, but the general consensus is that Lito will be traded tomorrow as the Birds look to move up in the draft or obtain the services of a veteran playmaker at the wide receiver position.

So, who’s on my wishlist?  I really think the Eagles are in a great position to take the best player available if they stick at 19.  They don’t have any glaring holes that need to be filled, so I think they truly can use this pick to get the highest rated player on their board if it comes to that.  the mock drafts are all over the board, but the general consensus is that they will take a WR or an offensive lineman.  I’d be happy either way, but to be honest I’m not too crazy about the wide receiver crop this year.  Devin Thomas from Michigan State is believed to be the top WR in this years draft, but he probably will be gone by 19 and I’m not too sure he’s good enough to pass on some of the other players who will likely be available at that stage in the draft.

The Eagles are supposedly very high on Jeff Otah, an offensive tackle from Pittsburgh.  I like Otah as he’s a mauler at the offensive tackle position and the Eagle’s tackles Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas are getting up there in age and both are in their last contract year.  The Eagles drafted Winston Justice from USC a couple of years ago, but he showed poorly in a nationally televised game against the NY Giants last year.  I happen to believe that Justice will prove to be a quality tackle, but the draft is deep for offensive tackle this year, so the Eagles would do well to draft this position early in tomorrow’s draft.

Another deep position in this year’s draft is cornerback.  The Eagles have quality corners… in fact, if Lito stays the Eagles arguably have the deepest cornerbck depth in the NFL… but if Lito goes then the Birds would do well to draft a young corner in the first or second round of this years draft.  If I had my way, we’d draft Antoine Cason from Arizona in the second round with the 49th pick.  I live in Arizona and have seen Cason play several times… he’s the real deal and a quality guy off the field as well.  He’s also a great punt returner… an area of need for the Eagles.

So, one homer pick… I’d absolutely be ecstatic to see the Eagles use the 19th pick to select Jonathan Stewart, a RB from Oregon.  Brian Westbrook, in my opinion, is the best all around back in the NFL.  Dude’s a stud and has a lot of football in front of him, but he’s not going to play forever and the Eagles need to add a little thunder to the RB position in my opinion.  Stewart goes 235 and would be a helluva short yardage back and a great change of pace for the Eagles.  He’s big, but he’s also lightning fast (4.4 forty) and has great hands out of the backfield.  He also has great kickoff return skills as he’s led the Pac 10 for years in this department.

The vast majority of Eagles fans are all hung up on drafting a wide receiver as they feel the Eagles lack a true #1 receiver.  This might be the case, but I just don’t think there’s a first round receiver in this class and I’d hate to see them stretch to bring in a receiver that isn’t an upgrade from the current receiver corp.  I happen to like Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown and honestly don’t feel that the draft will provide an upgrade.  I’d like to see the Eagles draft a receiver or two in the later rounds (the Eagles have 11 picks this year) and see if we can replace Hank Baskett or Greg Lewis.  Then, I’d like to see the Eagles make a run at Roy Williams next season after his contract with the Detroit Lions expires.

In the third round, with the 80th pick, I’d like to see the Eagles pick up the top safety available.  Preferably a safety who can cover.  The NFC boasts some of the most talented tight ends in the league and Brian Dawkins is nearing the end of his glorious career.

So… here’s my Day one wishlist:

Round 1 – #19:  Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon (or trade up to get OT Jeff Otah Pittsburgh)
Round 2 – #49: Antoine Cason CB Arizona

I guess we’ll see how it all works out.