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+

The Eagles helped all three phases of the game last April.  It all started with G/T Danny Watkins who will likely step right into the starting lineup likely on the interior of the offense.  Safety Jaiquawn Jarrett (2nd round), CB Curtis Marsh (3rd round) and MLB Casey Matthews (4th round) each could be starters early on in their career with the Eagles.  Kicker Alex Henery was picked in the 4th round of the NFL Draft and he will bump David Akers out of a starting job.  RB Dion Lewis might be small but he has the heart to get it down.  G Julian Vandervelde and C Jason Kelce give the Eagles some reinforcements along the O-Line.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Philadelphia Eagles picked 23-year old fullback Stanley Havili out of USC with the 240th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Havili is 6’0″, 230 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  Havili is not the classic type of fullback as blocking is not his strength.  But, he’s a very solid runner and receiver out of the backfield, so he might be a perfect fit for the Eagles’ offense.  Havili played in 13 games (9 starts) for USC last year and he carried the ball 26 times for 166 yards (6.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 32 passes for 396 yards (12.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Havili played in 52 games (44 starts) in his four years with the Trojans and he carried the ball 81 times for 509 yards (6.3 ypc) and he also caught 116 passes for 1,290 yards (11.1 avg) with 12 TD grabs.

The Eagles took ILB Greg Lloyd out of Connecticut with the 237th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Lloyd is 6’1″, 246 pounds and he runs a 4.86 40.  Lloyd had surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL in November of 2009 and he was slow to recover from it.  Lloyd played in 7 games (4 starts) for Connecticut last year and he had 25 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 interception.  Lloyd played 4 years with the Huskies and he played in 34 games (24 starts) in which he had 178 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, he broke up 2 passes and he had 1 interception.  Lloyd has NFL bloodlines as his father was a good linebacker with the Steelers.  If he can stay healthy for them, the Eagles might have a steal in Lloyd.

The Eagles took 22-year old OLB Brian Rolle out of Ohio State with the 193rd overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Rolle is 5’9″, 227 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40.  Rolle is a very aggressive player as he tries to hit through ballcarriers.  Rolle might be too small to stay at linebackers, so the Eagles might try to convert him to strong safety.  Rolle played in 13 games (12 starts) for Ohio State and he had 76 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, he broke up 4 passes and he had 2 interceptions.  Rolle played in 51 games (25 starts) in his four years with the Buckeyes and he had 210 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, he broke up 5 passes and he had 4 interceptions.

The Eagles took center Jason Kelce out of Cincinnati with the 191st overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Kelce is 6’0″, 282 pounds so he’s a little small for the NFL as far as the O-Line goes.  Kelce just converted to playing the offensive line four years ago as a pumped up ex-linebacker.  Kelce played in 12 games (all starts) with the Bearcats.  He played in 47 games (37 starts) in his four years with Cincinnati.  The Eagles will need to put some pounds of muscle on Kelce before he’s ready to deal with NTs and DTs in the NFL.

The Eagles took OG Julian Vandervelde out of Iowa with the 161st overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Vandervelde is 6’2″, 301 pounds.  Vandervelde has had injury issues in the past.  He is a very good blocker in a zone scheme kind of blocking system.  Vandervelde played in 13 games (all starts) for Iowa last year.  He played in 49 games (37 starts) in his four years with the Hawkeyes.  The Eagles really need help on the interior of the O-Line, so Vandervelde could get a shot for P.T. early on in his career.

The Eagles took 20-year old RB Dion Lewis out of Pittsburgh with the 149th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Lewis is 5’8″, 195 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Lewis is a very shifty back with good moves.  He’s really good when he hits the corner but he’s too small to take the pounding between the tackles on inside  runs.  Lewis played in 12 games (11 starts) for Pitt last year and he carried the ball 219 times for 1,061 yards (4.8 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also caught 27 passes for 216 yards (8.0 avg) last year.  Lewis played in 25 games (23 starts) in his two years with the Panthers and he carried the ball 544 times for 2,860 yards (5.3 ypc) with 30 TD runs.  He also caught 52 passes for 405 yards (7.8 avg) with 1 TD grab at Pitt.  Lewis will back up Lesean McCoy at RB, and they both went to Pitt.

The Eagles took 24-year old kicker Alex Henery out of Nebraska with the 120th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Henery played in all 14 games for the Cornhuskers last year and he connected on 18 of 19 field goals (94.7%) and 53 of 54 extra points good for 107 total points.  Henery played in 53 games in his four years at Nebraska and he connected on 68 of 76 (89.5%) field goals (which is the best in NCAA history.  He also made 193 of 194 extra points as he scored 397 points in his four years with Nebraska.  Henery will bump David Akers out of a job with the Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles picked 22-year old middle linebacker Casey Matthews out of Oregon with the 116th overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Matthews is 6’1″, 243 pounds and he runs a 4.85 40.  Matthews might be a step slow to make plays on the edges but he more often than not finds the ballcarrier and gets him on the ground.  Matthews played in 13 games (all starts) for Oregon last year and he had 79 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, he broke up 3 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  He played in 50 games (33 starts) in four years with the Ducks and he had 245 tackles, 30.5 tackles for a loss, 9 sacks, he broke up 10 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  I think he will be a starter in the very near future for the Eagles.