Maybe not the flashy prospects we all were MACHing, but the Birds did claim 2 developmental rookie prospects in rounds 4 through 6, and traded for a promising defensive veteran with their 7th round pick.
The Eagles selected former Penn State defensive end Shareef Miller with the 138th overall pick to close out the fourth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.
The 6-4, 254-pound Miller was a third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2018 after posting 41 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks in 13 games. He was also Penn State’s Co-Most Valuable Defensive Player this past season. In 40 games over his three-year career, the 22-year-old had 100 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
Miller is the first defensive player selected by the Eagles in the 2019 NFL Draft. He played his final year of high school football at George Washington High School after starting his prep career at Frankford. A two-time, first-team All-Southeastern Pennsylvania honoree, Miller was ranked by all of the major recruiting services as a top 15 player in the entire state.
The Eagles moved back four spots in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft to add an additional pick and a quarterback. With the 167th overall pick, the Eagles chose quarterback Clayton Thorson out of Northwestern. The trade with New England netted a seventh-round pick, the 246th overall selection.
The winningest quarterback in Northwestern history, Thorson completed 58.4 percent of his career attempts for 10,731 yards with 61 touchdowns against 45 interceptions for a 118.1 passer rating. He also added 27 touchdowns on the ground. A four-year starter for the Wildcats, the 6-4, 222-pound Thorson is also the school’s most prolific passer in terms of passing yards, completions, and touchdowns. He set the Big Ten record for most starts by a quarterback with 53.
As a senior, Thorson threw for 3,183 yards and 17 touchdowns while rushing for nine more as he was named All-Big Ten honorable mention. In his final college game, Thorson engineered a second-half comeback against Utah earning Offensive MVP honors in the Holiday Bowl.
A native of Wheaton, Illinois, Thorson was a four-star recruit and the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the country out of Wheaton North High School. A first-team All-State selection as a senior, Thorson twice led his high school to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.
The Birds then traded that 246th overall pick they got from the Patriots in the Thorson affair to the Colts. What they got in exchange was veteran defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway. The 6-2, 305-pound Ridgeway was a fourth-round choice of the Colts in 2016 out of Texas. In three seasons in Indianapolis, Ridgeway posted 41 tackles, six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and one pass defensed in 34 games (six starts). This past year, the 24-year-old Ridgeway had six tackles and one for loss in five games.
The Mansfield, Texas native was a two-year starter at the University of Texas where he amassed 92 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries (one touchdown), and one pass defensed.
Probably a solid draft overall for the Birds, but a net haul of only 5 rookies and a veteran defensive tackle looking for a fresh start.
The MACH 10 competition here is officially deadlocked at one correct pick each among Palm Feathers, Lupes, Beanstalk, Kent Phil, Kenny Kenemeka, and Stine.
There is still a “MACH 5” UDFA wild card option in play which only four entrants took advantage of: Brizer, Palm Feathers, South Philly Ben and Lupes. It could be a factor which determines the MACH 10 winner, but it will be 9 more days before we have that final factor ciphered.
Speaking of UDFA signings, here’s what we have so far as of this writing (will update):
LB T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin
OG Iosua Opeta, Weber State
DT Kevin Wilkins, Rutgers
DT Anthony Rush, UAB
OG Ryan Bates, Penn State
CB Jamalcolm Liggins, Dickinson State
WR Deandre Thompkins, Penn State
OG Nate Herbig, Stanford
LB Joey Alfieri, Stanford
RB Nico Evans, Wyoming
CB/LB/S Tyrell Gilbert, Cincinnati
DE Louis Vecchio, Vanderbilt
LB Jerry Iweh, Fairmont State
CB Marko Myers – [ROOKIE MINICAMP TRYOUT]
WR Marshall Ellick, Stony Brook – [ROOKIE MINICAMP TRYOUT]
TE Darneail Jenkins, Rocky Mountain College – [ROOKIE MINICAMP TRYOUT]
Some generous grades to the Rounds 4-through-7 picks were given by Tim McManus of ESPN.com:
Round 4, No. 138 overall: DE Shareef Miller: “My take: After using their first three picks on offensive players, the Eagles address the defensive front with Miller, who had 7.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss last season. He’s known for his strength and effort but lacks polish. He’ll have a chance to develop further as a pass rusher behind Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett.”
GRADE: B
Round 5, No. 167 overall: QB Clayton Thorson: “My take: Carson Wentz‘s teammate at North Dakota State, Easton Stick, goes off the board one pick before the Eagles get on the clock, so they select Thorson, a 6-foot-4, 222-pound QB who started all four years at Northwestern. He has a good arm but lacked consistency as a thrower (58.4-percent completion rate). The coaches will work to develop him as Wentz and Nate Sudfeld man the first two quarterback spots.”
GRADE: B-
A lot of Eagles fans are disappointed in the low-volume draft haul this year, and some are frustrated that the Eagles didn’t add a Safety or LB prospect in the draft. But EYE reckon Howie Roseman saw better value and basically equal talent in the UDFA pool at those positions, not to mention some competent and affordable veterans at those positions will be eventually released by other teams in June (signing them late avoids the compensatory pick trap).
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