Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 4/27/23.

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2023 NFL Draft Buzz: Latest league news, rumors from Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s Round 1 - NFL.com
Top-class Texas running back Bijan Robinson continues to draw buzz as to just how high he could possibly go in the draft. The Philadelphia Eagles have been a team associated with Robinson and NFL Network’s James Palmer reported Wednesday that “the interest is real” for Philly to select the talented tailback at No. 10 overall. Palmer added though that the Eagles are “not the only team in that range that is interested in Robinson.” The Eagles also have interest at that spot in Ohio State offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. and are looking at pass rushers, as well.

Bijan or bust: Why the Eagles should go all-in on the best running back in the NFL draft in years - Inquirer
Depending on whom you talk to, there are six offensive tackles among the top-30 draft prospects. After Johnson, none outshines with the others the way Robinson dwarfs the rest of the RBs. You want to draft-and-stash a lineman? Cool. Take Cody Mauch at No. 30. Those guys from North Dakota State never miss, right? The Eagles are in a once-in-a-century situation. They have no real needs. Certainly, it’s tough for a team with no starting spots available to not add along the defensive line, but there are eight or nine promising pass rushers available on Day 1. There might be five more available among the first 16 picks of Day 2. This time, the Eagles can afford to wait to make their offensive and defensive lines deeper. They cannot afford to pass on a running back like Bijan Robinson.

Look: Radio Host Threatens To Retire If Eagles Draft 1 Player - The Spun
One Philadelphia Eagles radio host is ready to call it a career if the Eagles draft Texas running back Bijan Robinson with the No. 10 overall pick. Howard Eskin, who does sports talk radio for 94 WIP, said he will retire if the Eagles select Robinson. “If they draft Bijan Robinson at 10, I WILL RETIRE,” Eskin said.

2023 NFL draft buzz: Latest rumors, notes on teams, picks, QBs - ESPN+
Many around the league believe the Texas running back could go as high as No. 8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons, where general manager Terry Fontenot and coach Arthur Smith have shown a pattern of taking the best player available regardless of position. Tyler Allgeier was a 1,000-yard rusher a season ago, but he’s not a game-changer like Robinson. With the emphasis on running a ball-control offense, Smith could favor using Robinson similarly to how he used Derrick Henry during Smith’s time as offensive coordinator in Tennessee, but Robinson provides much more versatility and juice in the passing game. The Falcons still need help off the edge and in the secondary, but don’t be surprised if they stick to their best-player-available theory by drafting Robinson. I am hearing a lot about Robinson to the Falcons as well, but I’m watching to see whether they try to slide down a couple of spots to get him. For example, if the draft gets to No. 8 and one or more of the top quarterbacks is still available, would Tennessee try to come up from No. 11? Would Houston try to come up from No. 12? Atlanta could pocket an extra pick or two, slide back a couple of spots and still get their guy a little cheaper.

NFL Draft Rumors: Eagles “setting the ground work” to trade up “if they could get one of the pass rushers” - BGN
‘Tis the night before the 2023 NFL Draft. And by this point, the rumors we’ve heard about the Philadelphia Eagles suggest they could go one of eleventy billion different ways in the first round. Some reports are more consistent and credible than others. One common theme that’s shown up lately is a purported plan to move up from No. 10. Tony Pauline added more fuel to that fire (or smoke to that smokescreen?) on Wednesday afternoon.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.109: The NFC East Mixtape Mock Draft - BGN Radio
RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton conduct a mock draft on behalf of all four teams in the division.

Mailbag: Placing percentages on who the Eagles will select with their first draft pick - PhillyVoice
If the Eagles stick and pick at 10, I believe that Smith is the player who checks the most boxes for the Eagles, in terms of need, ceiling, positional importance, and character. In my opinion, he is an easy player to turn in a card for. Put me down for 30% on Smith. Van Ness is a possibility, too, but in my opinion doesn’t check as many boxes. Give me 8% on him. I can only see the Eagles drafting Skoronski or Jones after a move back. Put me down for 3% on Skoronski, and 1% on Jones. And finally, there’s Bijan Robinson. Give me 1% on him at 10, and 4% on the rest of the field with some trade back from 10 into like the 20s or something. Jalen Carter: 37%, Nolan Smith: 30%, Lukas Van Ness: 8%, Will Anderson: 5%, Paris Johnson: 4%, Tyree Wilson: 3%, Peter Skoronski: 3%, Christian Gonzalez: 2%, Broderick Jones: 2%, Devon Witherspoon: 1%, Bijan Robinson: 1%, The field: 4%.

2023 Eagles Draft Preview - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles do not have a compelling set of RBs. There is potential with Rashad Penny. Kenny Gainwell looked good in the playoffs, but nothing is certain. The team could take Bijan Robinson 10th overall, any number of guys in the middle of the draft or possibly wait to sign a UDFA. This will be all about value and fit. Do they want a physical back, speedy back or good receiver?

Will Anderson Jr. Has Unclear NFL Fit Despite College Stardom - SI
It’s well-established that the Eagles could move down from Nos. 10 or 30, with GM Howie Roseman being one of the draft’s most skilled on-the-clock movers. But I’m told they’ve also at least explored what it would take to move up with teams in front of them. It still seems sort of unlikely, since Philadelphia’s got just six picks, I don’t know who it’d be for, and Roseman’s always aggressive about checking in with other clubs before the draft. Still, worth noting.

2023 NFL Mock Draft: Trevor Sikkema’s final mock, including Will Levis to the Texans at No. 12 - PFF
10. Philadelphia Eagles (via NO): EDGE Nolan Smith, Georgia. Rumors are that the Eagles have been doing a lot of homework on three players: Peter Skoronski, Bijan Robinson and Nolan Smith. Robinson isn’t on the board here. Skoronski is, but ultimately, if they believe Skoronski is more of a guard (which many in the NFL do), I think they’d rather go for the athletic pass rusher.

The Eagles’ shockingly bad history drafting 1st-round RBs - NBCSP
Nine of them never played a game for the Eagles. Six more didn’t rush for more than 85 total yards total in their Eagles career. Of the 13 who actually made it onto the field for the Eagles, only one averaged 4.0 yards per carry and seven averaged 3.0 or worse. It’s the shockingly terrible history of Eagles 1st-round running backs. The Eagles have drafted 22 running backs in the first round – 20 of them before 1970 – and only one ever became a decent NFL ball carrier. That’s Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren. Of the 21 others, only seven spent more than two years with the Eagles and none of them rushed for 600 yards in a season. Only two even rushed for 400 yards in a season. The most rushing yards in a season by an Eagles 1st-round pick other than Van Buren? Donovan McNabb’s 629 in 2000. You won’t believe this franchise’s track record drafting running backs.

Spadaro: 10 Eagles Draft storylines to follow - PE.com
6. How much does the growth of young players on the roster factor into the process for this weekend? The Eagles place a strong emphasis on player development. Players like Jordan Davis, Cam Jurgens, Nakobe Dean, and Reed Blankenship performed well last season when given an opportunity and are in position to earn larger roles this upcoming season. Plenty of other young players have been developing behind the scenes and will have an opportunity to compete for roles when the team hits the field. These are very important considerations and none of these “next steps” should be considered a “given.” Players need to earn their playing time. 7. Is there a player the Eagles positively, absolutely have fallen in love with? There is no evidence of that, nor has Roseman divulged how many players have earned first-round grades from the evaluation process. And how much difference is there between a late first-round pick and a second- or third-round pick?

Cowboys draft 2023: Look for an ‘offense first’ outlook in this year’s draft - Blogging The Boys
McCarthy historically enjoys throwing the football and seeks out the presence of an athletic tight end thus adding fuel to the fire that the Cowboys will look to add one with pick 26. While it’s possible in round one, it may be a safe bet to at least expect a tight end to be added at some point through the weekend. Furthermore, you can never have enough quality wide receivers, and even with the addition of Brandin Cooks in the mix, it should have no impact on the organization continuing to add to the room if the opportunity presents itself. The talent is there with cornerstone pieces in place on the offense to once again be one of the league’s best units, but the type of player they look for, or even the amount of resources they allocate to the unit, could be a real change of philosophy now compared to what we have seen from this team recently. Look for the offense to be the focal point of the 2023 draft with this being the final touches on Mike McCarthy’s ultimate fate. Either stamping his place as the Dallas Cowboys head coach for years to come, or a piece to the puzzle that speeds up his untimely exit from the organization. Either way, the ball is in Mike McCarthy’s court for the 2023 NFL Draft.

NY Giants draft odds: Cornerback over receiver in Round 1? - Big Blue View
As the NFL Draft approaches, there is still heavy speculation about what the New York Giants will do with their first-round pick. When that pick is as low as No. 25, it’s often difficult to predict the player that will be taken because of all the unknowns beforehand. However, even the position the Giants will target is murky. For a long time, the DraftKings odds favored a wide receiver, the presumed position of greatest need on the team. However, the odds have now shifted, very slightly favoring cornerback (+140) over receiver (+150).

Report: The Washington Commanders are not picking up Chase Young’s fifth-year option - Hogs Haven
The Washington Commanders have informed Chase Young and his agent that they will not be picking up his 5th year option. The deadline is May 2nd, and Ron Rivera had said the team would make it’s decision by then. Young would have made a fully guaranteed $17.452 million if the team had picked up the option, but now he will potentially hit free agency after the season. Chase Young was the #2 overall pick in 2020, Ron Rivera’s first season as head coach in Washington. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year, and headed into his second season with high hopes of setting records alongside Montez Sweat. A major ACL injury derailed those dreams, but Young hadn’t been nearly as effective before his season ended prematurely. He had ACL reconstruction surgery, and also had his ruptured patellar tendon repaired. Young finally returned to the field in Week 15 of the 2022 season after several weeks of speculation and mixed excuses for why he was still not playing.

Draft Salary Rankings and Free Agent Availability- 2023 - Over The Cap
What we are doing here is taking our salary estimates for each specific draft slot to see where the salary slots within the market. For example the top pick in the draft will sign a contract worth about $9.9 million a year. If the player is a QB he would rank 18th among all QBs in the NFL, however if he was a RB he would rank 11th. When we view draft picks in this way we can better visualize just how good the player has to be to at the very least justify the rookie contract. Here is the ranking for each position.

The NFL Draft’s 200 best prospects in 2023, ranked in final big board - SB Nation
The 2023 NFL Draft is mere hours away, and now, we finally have the culmination of our season-long coverage with my 2023 NFL Draft board. I ranked 200 prospects from every college imaginable, from Alabama to Stone Cold Stephen F. Austin (gimme a hell yeah), from Florida State to Sacramento State. The 200 prospects ranked cover almost every position. It’s my first time publishing a big board this large. This draft class is an interesting one to study, both on a macro and micro level scale. On a large scale, this might be the first draft class that is truly reflective of the changing times in the sport. On the edges, we have more pass rushers who are solidly built, designed for crushing pockets and playing on the inside rather than true bend-around-the-corner edge rushers. At receiver, the spacing at the college level has allowed smaller receivers to operate more often, and with a majority of the draft’s top receivers operating out of the slot. Then, we get to the QBs, where we have athletic outliers on both sides of the scale.

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