We all know that Philadelphia Eagles season has been over for a while but it’s never too early to look at prospects for the NFL Draft and that is what we are going to do here at TSL. For this bowl game and every one after this until the BCS National Championship, we are going to take a look at potential draft prospects for the Philadelphia Eagles in next April’s NFL Draft.
On deck, the first bowl game that we are going to take a look at is the Little Caesars Bowl which is happening tonight at 7:30 pm ET at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on ESPN. In this bowl game, we will have the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Sun Belt) vs. the Central Michigan Chippewas (MAC).
Now this game actually presents some good possible draft picks for the Eagles on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. For that let’s take a look at two possible draft prospects from the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Starting off on the defensive side of the ball, Western Kentucky has a big tremendous defensive end in Quanterus Smith who if wasn’t for a knee injury that he suffered on November 17th against Louisiana-Lafayette then we would see him play in tonight’s game.
Smith was named the Sun Belt’s defensive player of the year and he definitely deserved it because through 10 games this season he had an FBS leading 1.25 sacks per game and 12.5 sacks overall. As I said Quanterus Smith is a big defensive end as he is 6-5 and 249 lbs. I could easily see him being a 4th-5th round pick and could fit in with the Eagles defensive line scheme since there is no more wide nine.
Next, on the offensive side of the ball for the Hilltoppers they have a Mr. Do It All player with running back Antonio Andrews. I wouldn’t be surprised if Andrews came out and declared for the draft with the type of season he is having. Andrews is a 6-0, 211 lb. junior running back that can run the ball, catch the ball well out of the backfield and can also return punts and kickoffs.
Andrews this season has 1,609 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. In addition to that he also has 957 return yards which in total when you include receiving yards he has 2,977 all purpose yards. In tonight’s game he only needs 274 yards to pass Barry Sanders’ record of 3,250.
You might say to yourself that the Eagles don’t need a running back because they have Bryce Brown as LeSean McCoy’s backup but Dion Lewis has not performed this year or Chris Polk and their return game could get better with the drafting of Andrews if he comes out. I expect Andrews to be drafted between the 3rd-5th rounds.
Finally, the Chippewas of Central Michigan have a draft prospect on the offensive side of the ball that could help the Eagles next season. The player I am talking about is senior wide receiver Cody Wilson. Wilson is not a big wide receiver as he is listed at 5-10, 189 lbs. Based on his stats, Wilson is more of a possession wide receiver than a speedster. So far this season he has 64 receptions, 739 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.
So there you go. I hope you enjoy reading about these three potential prospects as they play tonight on ESPN. So sit back and enjoy some Little Caesars Pizza and enjoy the Little Caesars Bowl at 7:30 pm ET.
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