Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 5/10/21.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Day Of The Dolphin—How Miami Fearlessly Trades Draft Picks To Set Up Success, Now And Later - FMIA
I think predicting the future of Deshaun Watson is fraught with, well, it’s impossible. I just think by a year from today he’ll have a new home. This is a gut feeling. It’s impossible to predict the future with so many legal issues involved. And depending on the outcome of the cases, several teams might not want to even think about Watson, and rightfully so. If he’s free to play football unencumbered by legal issues in 2022, here are my odds on Watson’s next football team, with a tie at the top: 3-1: Philadelphia. A likely need, plus Eagles are in perfect position to deal with three first-round picks (if Carson Wentz plays three-quarters of the Indy season). 3-1: Carolina. Owner David Tepper would find the resources to do a deal.

Eagles depth chart following the 2021 NFL Draft: Offense edition - BGN
DeVonta Smith has the potential to be a difference-maker from the jump; he’s that good. Nick Sirianni said he expects to use Smith at multiple receiver positions. Reagor needs to step up in Year 2 after a disappointing rookie campaign. Ward is the oldest player in his position group despite only turning 26 this summer. Ward can help move the chains but he’s far from dynamic. Maybe there’s still hope for Fulgham, who led the NFL in receiving during a four-week stretch last year, as a starting X? Watkins showed some juice late last year. Hightower had a good training camp last year and he’ll need another one to ensure his 2021 roster spot. This might be JJAW’s last offseason with the team. Grimes was thought to be a draftable talent so he could be an interesting player to watch this summer. Ausbon is likely a camp body. Tate is a developmental project considering he’s transitioning from quarterback to receiver.

Five things to watch for at Eagles rookie minicamp - PhillyVoice
3. How healthy is Landon Dickerson? The Eagles second-round pick suffered his second torn ACL back in December, and although he’s progressing nicely in his quest to return to the field, he’ll probably see very limited action during minicamp, if anything at all. If you’ve read anything about Dickerson’s personality since the Birds drafted him, then you know that the Eagles will likely have to physically restrain him to keep him off the field, but there’s obviously no sense in rushing him along unless he’s 100% healed and cleared to go. The real question with Dickerson is going to be how ready he is to contribute in Year 1, especially if he misses any considerable amount of time during the offseason program. Right now, the Eagles still have Jason Kelce at center and are set at guard with Brandon Brooks and Isaac Seumalo. That being said, Brooks has been injured several times in recent years and Kelce is getting up there in age, meaning the rookie could be forced into action at any point this season. Given his injury, we’ll likely have to wait until the summer to see how ready he is, but it’s certainly something worth monitoring.

2021 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Rankings - NBC Sports Edge
2. Devonta Smith, Eagles (1.10). Although Smith is built like he’s popping over from the office to pick his daughter up from pre-K, his technical dominance is matched by few in recent memory. That is not to undersell his jaw-dropping physical ability. The Heisman Trophy winner dropped just 7-of-268 catchable targets during his record-setting time in Tuscaloosa, and led the nation in both screen (304) and downfield yardage (589) in 2020. There is no need to galaxy brain this 22-year-old man’s weight.

Eagles mailbag: How much will DeVonta Smith help Jalen Reagor? - NBCSP
I really like this question because it’s also an astute observation. I think the mere presence of Smith will help Reagor quite a bit on and off the field. On the field is pretty obvious. You add another good skill player to the field, it takes the attention off Reagor and opens things up a little more for him. And Smith will just make the overall offense better. But the off the field component is just more interesting to me. Getting back to that competition aspect, Smith is an absolute competitor and comes from Alabama, where he played with three other first-round receivers who were all battling to be the alpha. That mentality will go a long way in the Eagles’ receiver room. In addition to that, Smith has a really high football IQ and his ability to gain edges through film study will hopefully rub off on his teammates

Inside the Lions’ Offseason Overhaul Plan and Authentic Draft Room Reaction - MMQB
Kerryon Johnson is a great example of what happens to running backs. For the last few years, Johnson’s been seen as a potential star early in his career—the 2018 second-round pick rushed for 641 yards at a clip of 5.4 yards per carry in just 10 games as a rookie. From there? An injury-marred 2019 led to the Lions’ drafting D’Andre Swift in the second round in 2020, and Johnson was phased out last fall. Then, the Fords blew up the front office and coaching staff, and Johnson was cut last week by new guys in charge. And now, at just 23, and after being claimed off waivers by the Eagles, he’ll have a hard time ever getting the big second contract every pro football player strives for. Now, here are some other names from that second round in 2018: Giants G Will Hernandez, Colts LB Darius Leonard, Broncos WR Courtland Sutton, Dolphins TE Mike Gesicki, Cardinals WR Christian Kirk, Eagles TE Dallas Goedert, Panthers CB Donte Jackson and Buccaneers CB Carlton Davis. What do they have in common? All of them are seen, going into Year 4, as ascending players. Only with running backs do we see guys get to that age and have so many think that their arrow is already pointing down. And Johnson is a great example of it, and why so many great teenage athletes are gravitating away from that position, and to other spots (like, most prominently, receiver).

NFC East betting odds: New York Giants being under-valued - Big Blue View
Valentine’s View: Nope. DeVonta Smith might become a star, but I’m not on the ‘Jalen Hurts can be a franchise quarterback’ bandwagon. Oh, and maybe Nick Sirianni is the 2021 version of Joe Judge, a surprise hire who proves to be a good one, but I can’t stop wondering if he got the job because he will play along with whatever the Eagles’ front office wants. No chance I would put a dime on the Eagles.

The one reason the Cowboys are the favorites in the NFC East - Blogging The Boys
The Philadelphia Eagles are hitching their wagon to Jalen Hurts, who is kind of the wildcard among NFC East quarterbacks. His small sample size makes it hard to project his future. The up-and-down nature of that sample size gives no clarity. He certainly has had glimpses of greatness, but nothing sustained as of yet.

Washington’s draft was packed with elite athletes. How has that worked out in the past? - Hogs Haven
If there was a single theme unifying the picks that the Washington Football Team made in the 2021 draft - beyond being “good culture guys” - it would be top-end athleticism. Mathematician Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb, on Twitter) developed a tool called “Relative Athletic Score” (RAS) to compare how players at various positions stack up against one another on key stature and athleticism metrics. Washington’s 2021 draft class is pretty impressive in that regard:

DK Metcalf runs 10.36 100 meter, does not advance to finals at Golden Games [VIDEO] - DraftKings Nation
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver ran the men’s 100 meters in the USA Track & Field Golden Games on Sunday and finished with a time of 10.36. It was an impressive time for the 6’3, 235 pound football player, but not enough to advance to the finals. Metcalf finished ninth out of nine racers in his heat and 15th overall in the two heats.

NFL Daily Kickoff, Monday - DK Metcalf is a very fast human being - The SB Nation NFL Show
Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf is literally one of the fastest human beings in the world and that is very cool to see! What’s more is that the Carolina Panthers have a new Assistant GM and NFL teams will be able to travel for training camp this summer. Check out the latest episode of NFL Daily Kickoff as we discuss it all.

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