Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 4/14/23.

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2023 NFL draft: Latest buzz, rumors, news, questions for all 32 teams - ESPN+
What we’re hearing about the Eagles’ draft: Running back comes up a lot when talking to both team and league sources about the Eagles’ draft plans. It might not be Bijan Robinson in the first round, but Philly should look to add to that position’s depth chart, despite signing Rashaad Penny to replace Miles Sanders. The Eagles did have a formal meeting with Jahmyr Gibbs (Alabama) at the combine and had Robinson to Philadelphia for an official visit. — Miller [...] What are the chances the Eagles draft defense with both of their first-round picks, and which positions could they target? It’s not hard to picture general manager Howie Roseman using that No. 30 pick to move up higher in the first round or flipping it for more picks later in the draft. If the Eagles keep both first-rounders, there’s a good chance they target defense. Safety and linebacker are the most glaring needs after losing two starters at each position in free agency, but they are more likely to use first-round picks on positions they place higher value on: defensive line and cornerback.— Tim McManus

Stop mock drafting Bijan Robinson to the Eagles - BGN
Miles Sanders is the highest draft pick Howie Roseman has ever used on a RB, at 53rd overall, and the Eagles let him walk in free agency after a career year. Sanders is the only RB in the Roseman era the team has used a day 1 or 2 pick on either to draft or trade for. They drafted Donnel Pumphrey in the 4th round in 2017, and later that season traded a 2018 4th for Jay Ayaji. They drafted Wendell Smallwood in 2016 and Kenneth Gainwell in 2021 with 5th round picks and traded a 5th for Darren Sproles, Jordan Howard was acquired for a 6th round pick, and Bryce Brown was drafted in the 7th. Boston Scott was signed off a practice squad, Corey Clement and Josh Adams were undrafted free agents, LeGarrette Blount and now Rashaad Penny were veteran free agents on inexpensive, one-year contracts. Howie Roseman does not spend resources or money on RB, and it’s worked out pretty well for him.

2023 BGN Draft #11: Full first round mock draft - BGN Radio
Shane Haff, Mark Henry Jr. and Chris Deibler play out scenarios that might happen during the first round of the draft.

NFL Draft offensive analysis: Where Pro Bowlers come from and this year’s outliers - The Athletic
There’s no real discernible pattern to the later-round hits at running back aside from there being so few of them. Two went undrafted (Lindsay and Arian Foster) while only four were taken after pick No. 100, none later than Round 5. In lieu of an obvious choice, we’ll tab Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez, who is a hard-charging power back at 5-foot-11, 217 pounds. His 4.51-second 40-yard dash is in line with the successful players around his projected draft range, as are his 6.2 yards per carry.

The Other Jalen - Iggles Blitz
“Nolan Smith on the field with Haason Reddick for at least two seasons of football is something I would be banging the table for in the Eagles’ draft meetings. If you can’t get Jalen Carter, Smith provides the most intriguing schematic possibilities of anyone else, in my opinion.” That’s kind of where my head is at right now. I see special potential in both Carter and Smith. Pick 10 feels a bit early for Smith, but if you trade down, you risk losing Smith. He is an explosive athlete, good leader and talented pass rusher. Lukas Van Ness is the other guy I keep trying to figure out. I love his versatility and athleticism. Pick 10 just feels early for a guy who never started in college. There is no questioning his talent. He’s a bigger, more athletic version of Josh Sweat. That’s intriguing as heck. If Carter is gone, trading back would make a lot of sense. There are some good mid-round targets I’d love to be able to add. Howie needs to add picks in the Rounds 3-5 area to be able to get some of those guys. Only a couple of weeks left, but still a lot of unknowns. Should be a fun three days.

Revisiting the 2014 NFL Draft - Over The Cap
[BLG Note: The Eagles’ picks from this class had the third-lowest net earnings in the league.]

3 free agent options for the Cowboys at 1-tech defensive tackle - Blogging The Boys
Ndamukong Suh. Suh is probably at the top of the list of available names who can play the position and why not? He’s a decorated veteran with an established track record of producing at a high level. In recent years, he has declined but is still a worthwhile addition if the Cowboys can come to an agreement with the former All-Pro. Suh’s interests are simple. He wants to play for a contender. His last few stops include time with the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Suh and the Cowboys coming to an agreement shouldn’t be complicated. If they can convince Suh that they are serious about building a champion, that should be enough to persuade Suh to sign with the team. He shouldn’t demand a lot of money, playing for a salary of 2M last season. Plus, he’s thought about it before.

Giants mock draft tracker: Nobody really knows what the Giants will do - Big Blue View
If we have learned anything during the process of compiling weekly New York Giants mock draft trackers it has to be that the Giants can do almost anything in the 2023 NFL Draft, and no one really has a grip on what GM Joe Schoen actually intends to do. Oh, sure, it seems like almost every draft analyst believes wide receiver is in play for the Giants at 25. Twenty-eight of this week’s 58 mock drafts (48.3%) have the Giants taking a wide receiver. Zay Flowers of Boston College (10 selections, 17.2%) was this week’s most-often selected player. TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston was chosen seven times (12.1%). Jalin Hyatt (4), Jordan Addison (3), and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Josh Downs, Cedric Tillman and Jonathan Mingo (one each) were also mocked to the Giants. Nine mock drafts (15.6%) had the Giants selecting Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz, and one gave the Giants Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann.

Washington Commanders Sale: The Josh Harris group has reached an agreement to buy the team for $6.05 billion - Hogs Haven
The long, national nightmare is almost over for fans of Washington’s NFL franchise. Dan Snyder has agreed to sell the team to the Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group for $6.05 billion. The Snyders announced the hiring of Bank of America Securities on November 2, 2022 to explore potential transactions involving the franchise. They wouldn’t confirm that a full sale was happening throughout the process, but that was always seen as the end goal.

Josh Harris’ group reaches agreement to buy Washington Commanders for $6 billion - Liberty Ballers
In the wake of the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, Sixers fans just don’t want to hear that the organization is worried about the second luxury tax apron line or something like that because Josh Harris went out and bought a shiny, new $6 billion toy. Make James Harden an offer this summer based on what he deserves from an on-court perspective, not from a cash flow perspective for the Harris family estate. If those things happen, no one will care that Josh isn’t doing an E-A-G-L-E-S chant when the division rivals meet.

The Commanders’ new ownership group and their NBA connections, explained - SB Nation
A 58-year-old Maryland native, Harris made his money in private equity. A former employee of Blackstone Inc, Harris went on to start his own company “Apollo Global Management,” which is where he made his fortune. A key investment of $2B Apollo made in 2008 was sold for $9.6B in 2013. As a result of his various business deals, Harris has his hands in dozens of business ventures. In the realm of sports he’s the managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Devils, and Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Harris also has a minority ownership stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, which he will have to sell as part of closing the deal for the Commanders. Harris has also flirted with politics. In 2017 he met with the Trump family about an appointment in the White House, and was named in a New York Times report for lending Jared Kushner $184 million following the meeting.

Top 101 NFL free agents of 2023: Yannick Ngakoue, Shaquill Griffin among best available - NFL.com
Poona Ford. One big mistake I see in free agent evaluations is overrating the previous year instead of considering the full body of work over a player’s career. Like tight end Mike Gesicki, Ford is hitting free agency after a down year. Neither player fit in new schemes in 2022, but Ford previously showed enough traits as a high-level penetrator for me to believe there are more good seasons to come. [BLG Note: Ford was with Sean Desai in Seattle last year.]

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