Over, under and sideways on Eagles roster moves

Mack

No help from Drafttek this week as they stifled all expert commentary (including the pearls associated with our beloved ~BROZ) and instead ran a computer-generated mock draft. So this is what HAL has currently reserved for the Eagles in Round 1:

25 Philadelphia
Philadelphia NFL Mock Draft logo
Andre Dillard NFL Draft photo Andre Dillard
Washington St
OT
    Reach/Value:     -5
Height:
6’5″
Weight:
315


The human factor returns to Drafttek on March 27. Until then, I guess Andre Dillard wouldn’t be the worst thing to score on Draftmas.

Meanwhile a guy EYE has touted is gaining word-of-mouth traction.The Eagles “really like” Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, according to Geoff Mosher.

Mosher said this during the latest Inside the Birds Podcast with Adam Caplan during a discussion about what the Eagles will do with the 25th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

“I’ve been hearing that … don’t be shocked if the Eagles take a running back in the first round. They really like Josh Jacobs,” Mosher said.

Mack Hollins made a social media splash by transacting a deal with DeSean Jackson to give him back his traditional #10 jersey number. Hollins wants every Eagles fan to appreciate how much money he saved us by allowing us to recycle our old DJAX jerseys.

The Eagles have adjusted the contracts of defensive end Chris Long and linebacker Nigel Bradham, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

The adjustments, according to Yates, will create $5.032 million in 2019 cap space.

Long is entering the final year of his contract and was due to make $3.5 million before the reported adjustments. Bradham signed a five-year pact last offseason. He was scheduled to earn $8 million in 2019.

Then there’s the signing of safety/special teams veteran Andrew Sendejo, now entering his 10th NFL season, eight of them with the Minnesota Vikings.

Guys like Jeff Kerr of 24-7 Sports seem to like this signing. EYE have my doubts.

As Kerr points out, Sendejo will provide veteran depth at safety for the Eagles, who have Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod locked in as starters. The Eagles typically prefer to play five defensive backs on the field, specifically when they move Jenkins down in the box as a linebacker. Sendejo can play up top with McLeod or play the Jenkins role at linebacker, giving the Eagles an extra option at defensive back to use in nickel and dime packages.

My concern is how much does Sendejo really have left to give? Will it be any better than Corey Graham’s last stand? Graham played 655 defensive snaps (63.10 percent) and finished with 56 tackles, five pass deflections and an interception. Opposing quarterbacks had a 78.4 passer rating when targeting the 33-year old Graham, who allowed 12 catches for 70 yards last season.

Honestly at this stage of Sendejo’s career, I think we’re getting an even slower version of Corey Graham. I wish we were getting younger and faster back there. Now we’ll never know if Tre Sullivan could have taken that job, and we have one more veteran possibly blocking Avonte Maddox from seeing more game action. EYE don’t like that.

Meanwhile the Eagles are reportedly in trade talks with the San Francisco 49ers. There’s no secret the Eagles would like to add a running back, even through they showed no overt interest in signing the top backs available in free agency.

Fortunately the 49ers have several running backs that could be on the trade market now with the signing of Tevin Coleman, with one of the names to watch being Matt Breida.

Breida, 24, is coming off a breakout season after joining the 49ers as an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Southern in 2017. After rushing for 465 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, Breida took over for his mentor and fellow Georgia Southern alum Jerick McKinnon (who also is a potential trade target for the Eagles) in 2018 and rushed for 814 yards on 153 carries (5.3 average) with 27 catches for 261 yards and two receiving touchdowns while splitting carries at various times with Alfred Morris, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson.

Since Breida is still on a rookie deal, the Eagles would have to pay a quality price to get him. What do the 49ers want that could make them deal Breida to Philadelphia, asks Kerr?

He thinks the 49ers want a young cornerback with potential, specifically Sidney Jones. Barring that (or adding to it), San Fran wants draft picks. The 49ers have just six picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, including a first, second, and third. Ideally they would like to acquire more picks in the upper rounds. San Fran has just one draft pick in the fourth round, a round in which the Eagles currently have two picks.

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