The Philadelphia Eagles had a solid draft last April
The Eagles had an outstanding draft last April. They got big time production out of six of their draft picks and more could develop for the Eagles down the road. Here is a look at what the rookies did in their debut seasons for the Eagles:
27-year old OG Dan Watkins was picked in the first round by the Eagles last April. He played in 12 games (all starts) for the Eagles last year. Watkins is a little on the old side for a rookie, but he played well for the Eagles and will be a starter when the 2012 season begins.
22-year old safety Jaiquawn Jarrett was a 2nd round pick for the Eagles. He played in 12 games for the Eagles last year and he had 17 tackles. He could develop into a starter down the road for the Eagles.
23-year old CB Curtis Marsh was picked in the 3rd round. Marsh played in 7 games for the Eagles last year and he had 2 tackles and 1 pass defensed. The Eagles hope that Marsh picks up the pace in 2012.
22-year old LB Casey Matthews was selected in the 4th round by the Eagles. He played in all 16 games for the Eagles last year and he had 37 tackles, 1 sack and 2 tackles for a loss. The Eagles hope that Matthews improves in 2012 and beyond.
24-year old kicker Alex Henery was also a 4th round pick of the Eagles. He played in all 16 games for the Eagles last year and he connected on 24 of 27 field goals (88.9%). He also made all 46 of his extra point attempts as he finished last year with an impressive 118 points.
21-year old RB Dion Lewis was picked in the fifth round of the NFL Draft in 2011. He played in 15 games for the Eagles last year and he carried the ball 21 times for 102 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run. He also caught 1 pass for -3 yards last year. Lewis helped the Eagles on special teams too as he returned 31 kickoffs for 669 yards (21.6 avg) last year.
24-year old guard Julian Vandervelde came to the Eagles in the 5th round. He only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Eagles last year. He better improve soon or he’s going to have to get a real job.
24-year old center Jason Kelce was a sixth round pick for the Eagles last year. He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Eagles and he was incredible. The Eagles think he will get into multiple Pro Bowls if he can stay healthy.
23-year old LB Brian Rolle was also picked in the sixth round for the Eagles. He played in all 16 games for the Eagles last year and he had 54 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed. Rolle was a steal this late in the draft.
22-year old LB Greg Lloyd came to the Eagles in the 7th round. He didn’t play in any games as a rookie.
24-year old RB Stanley Havili was also picked in the 7th round. He spent his rookie season on the practice squad.
GRADE FOR 2011: A
GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: A+
This is the biggest joke of an so called article that I’ve ever read. Jarret played in games yes, but only had 2 starts. 1 which he did pretty ok, but u would want more from your future starting safety and the last one where he just flatout sucked with missed tackles and blown assignments and being caught out of position.
I don’t even need to tlk bout Matthews, cuz every Philly fan already knws and despises that story. I’ll just say that his play had nowhere to go but up. And the result of that was by inches instead of leaps and bounds. Watkins struggled at the beginning and had his fair share of ups and downs as the season went on. Not would you would hope for from your #1 pick, especially when we were told that he would be a day one starter and show that he’s a pro-bowl caliber player out of the gate. He is #5 out of 5 in ranking of our offensive linemen. Kelce was good especially for the round we got him in but still needs to improve. Marsh hardly ever saw the field unless it was on SP and we all know how that turned out, with 2 of the dumbest SP mistakes i’ve ever seen. Which leads me To only be able to agree with you about rolle who was by far our best LB, ranking in at the 25th best LB in the league and best LB on our team according to pro football focus. He was by far our best pick of the draft and that’s an undersized 5th rounder. The last 3 picks nvr saw the field so are inconsequential, with only halivi having a real chance at being able to start or see significant playing time for next season.
With that all said…overall draft grade, C-!
Futur draft grade…Optimistically B-
Oh I forgot bout Lewis who was used very sparingly during the 2011 campaign, with his best highlights coming with his last couples of runs during the washington game and who also was so mediocre and sub-par as a kick returner. And of course Alex henery who by all accounts had a really good season. But how many kicks over 45 or better yet 40 did he make? 6. I knw not his fault, he can only kick when and where he’s told and having an 88.9 fg pct is nothing to scoff at. Yet he only attempted 27 on the year that’s like 1.6 per game. But the true fan can’t forgive him this season and offseason for the 49ers misses but all will be gone and forgotten at the start of next season.