Saturday, April 28, 2012

Eagles upgrade defense, grab quarterback on Day 2 of NFL Draft

On day 2, the Eagles continued their solid showing at the 2012 NFL Draft, focusing once again on upgrading the defense by taking the best available defenders in the second round.  The Birds also selected their next project quarterback in the third round.  Here is a look at the Eagles day 2 picks:

Round 2, Pick 14 (46): Mychal Kendricks, LB, Cal
The Eagles actually took a linebacker, something they don't often do in the draft, and it appears that they got themselves a good one.  Kendricks, the Pac-12 defensive of the year last season at Cal, has tremendous speed and could slide into a starting outside linebacker role with the Eagles.  While he is small (5 foot 11), he has a good motor and is a physical tackler.  The Eagles took the best available defensive player that fit their system so its hard to find fault with this pick.

Round 2, Pick 27 (59): Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall
The Eagles don't really need more defensive linemen but they couldn't resist taking Curry and his ability to rush the quarterback.  I'm not really sure where he fits into the Eagles stacked d-line rotation but they will make room for a guy who loves getting to the quarterback as much as Curry does.  He is yet another high-motor guy who Eagles fans will love.

Round 3, Pick 25 (88): Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
Foles is a bit of a question mark as the Eagles don't really need yet another project quarterback.  Does this selection mean that they have already soured on Mike Kafka?  Foles has a good arm but very little mobility and shouldn't be counted on to ever be anything more than a backup quarterback.  With the way Andy Reid can develop QB's, though, count on him eventually being traded for a second round pick.

The Eagles still have a few needs that need filling, including some secondary help and possibly a backup running back.  Luckily, they still have the following 5 picks remaining:

Round 4, Pick 28 (123)
Round 5, Pick 18 (153)
Round 6, Pick 24 (194)
Round 6, Pick 30 (200)
Round 7, Pick 22 (229)

I'll have more analysis on the remaining picks on Saturday.

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