The Philadelphia Eagles drafted with offense in mind early in the draft using both of their first day picks to boost that side of the football.  WR Jeremy Maclin (1st round, #19 overall) out of Missouri was solid for the Eagles as a rookie.  He played in 15 games for the Eagles last season and he caught 55 passes for 762 yards (13.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also returned 7 kickoffs for 124 yards (17.7 avg) and 6 punts for 30 yards (5.0 avg).  Maclin will be a huge impact player in the near future for the Eagles because of his speed.  Running back Lesean McCoy (2nd round, #53 overall) out of Pittsburgh will have a huge role in the Eagles’ offense going forward as the team likely won’t bring back Brian Westbrook next season.  McCoy played in 16 games for the Eagles last season and he carried the ball 155 times for 637 yards (4.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 40 passes for 308 yards (7.7 avg) last year.  The M&M boys were both great picks for the Eagles last April.  Tight end  Cornelius Ingram (5th round, #153 overall) out of Florida and OT Fenuki Topou (5th round, #159 overall) out of Oregon both missed their rookie seasons as they spent it on the Injured Reserve List.  CB/KR Victor “Macho” Harris (5th round, #157 overall) out of Virginia Tech was a nice little find for the Eagles.  He played in 15 games for the Eagles in which he made 41 tackles, 3 tackle for a loss and he defensed 2 passes.  Harris also returned 19 kickoffs for 394 yards (20.7 avg) last season.  LB Moise Fokou (7th round, #230 overall) out of Maryland was also a gem for the Eagles last season.  He played in all 16 games for the Eagles last season and he made 39 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  WR Brandon Gibson (6th round, #194 overall) out of Washington State did not play a down for the Eagles last season but he was valuable to them because they traded him to the Rams for linebacker Will Witherspoon.  Witherspoon played in 11 games for the Eagles in which he made 58 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, defensed 5 passes, had 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he intercepted a pass that he returned 9 yards for a TD.  Gibson went on to play 9 games for the Rams in which he caught 34 passes for 348 yards (10.2 avg) with a TD grab.  Guard Paul Fanaika (7th round, #213 overall) out of Arizona State didn’t make the Eagles but he did finish the season with the Redskins but he didn’t play in any games for them.

GRADE FOR 2009:  A-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

The Eagles lost veteran running back Brian Westbrook for the second time in three weeks due to a concussion.  This time the Eagles will likely shut down Westbrook for a while to ensure his health.  Westbrook has played in 6 games for the Eagles this season and he has carried the ball 47 times for 225 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 19 passes for 156 yards (8.2 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  In other years the loss of Westbrook would have been huge but rookie Lesean McCoy will be able to replace Westbrook without the team losing much if at all.  McCoy has played in 9 games this year for the Eagles and he has carried the ball 86 times for 353 yards (4.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  McCoy also has caught 23 passes for 181 yards (7.9 avg) this year for the Eagles.  Look for McCoy to do a good job for the Eagles the rest of the way as the team’s main running back.

Rookie RB Lesean McCoy is really stepping up for the Eagles this season.  He has carried the football 34 times for 148 yards (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 6 passes for 47 yards (7.8 avg) this season.  Lucky for the Eagles he seems to have the same playing style as Brian Westbrook so he appears to fit right in.  Westbrook has been banged up already this season and the Eagles will likely use both McCoy and Westbrook (when he gets healthy) pretty evenly to keep Westbrook in one piece the rest of the year.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been looking for a RB to take away some of Brian Westbrook’s work load and they got their man with LeSean McCoy.  McCoy is a lot like Westbrook as he’s a good receiver who often makes the first tackler miss.  He is a tad short at 5′10″ but he does have some power on his 215 pound frame.  McCoy played 2 seasons for the Pitt Panthers appearing in 25 games (22 starts) in which he carried the ball 584 times for 2,816 yards (4.8 ypc) with 35 TD runs.  He also caught 65 passes for 549 yards (8.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs at Pitt.  This was another outstanding pick for the Eagles as McCoy has a lot of upside.

The Philadelphia Eagles traded up two spots with the Cleveland Browns costing them a 6th round pick (#191 overall) for the right to select WR/KR Jeremy Maclin.  Maclin is 6′0″, 200 pounds and he’s a burner running 4.4 40’s.  Maclin is a dynamic receiver who has good hands but he’s a tad soft.  Maclin played 2 seasons for Missouri appearing in 28 games (26 starts) in which he caught 182 passes for 2,315 yards (12.7 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  He could force his way into the starting lineup this season with 2nd year WR DeSean Jackson at some point in 2009. 

Maclin is also a outstanding return man.  He returned 85 kickoffs at Missouri for 2,049 yards (24.1 avg) with 2 TD returns.  Maclin also returned 48 punts in college for 577 yards (12.0 avg) with 3 TD returns.  This was a outstanding move for the Eagles as Maclin has a ton of upside.