This is really a "bridge" blurb to the next series of articles looking at 3-4 outside linebackers and safeties who might fit the Eagles' perceived needs according to Brizer's mBPA formula in the 2014 Draft… Brizer's theorem is a straight-forward approach to seeking out the Best Player Available when your number comes up, and yet it is an approach modified by many factors having to do with roster needs.
We will delve deeper into the moving parts of Brizerian mBPA theory as the scouting season progresses…
I apologize for the unintentional implication in the previous blurb that DT Dominique Easley would be a 1st-Round pick at #22. My English needs to be more precise. Thankfully the sharp readers of the EYE jumped on the case. The point I wanted to make is #22 is an awkward place to draft in every round. You're going to be faced with some difficult mBPA choices. Of course you want a Man-Mountain with Freak Athletic Skills to develop as your HOF Nose Tackle. But chances are that guy doesn't really exist, and certainly not at #22 in ANY round.
So the NT dilemma at #22 in any of the seven rounds of the Draft often boils down to— do I take the smaller guy with the superior athleticism and the brains, or do I take the bigger, slower guy?
First there is a Mountain, then there is no Mountain, then there is…
Personally, I agree with many of you that Easley most likely is a 3rd or 4th round possibility— and probably will be converted to a DE in a 3-4 scheme in the pro's. But if he popped up at #22 in any of those later rounds, and he was the BPA compared to the Mountain-Man next to him, I'd go with the smaller, smarter guy.
Meanwhile…
A lot of mock drafts out there seem to have the Eagles using their #22 pick in the 1st Round to acquire Calvin Pryor, the safety from Louisville…
But ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper projected Pryor, at 6 feet 2 and 208 pounds, as a first-round pick going 21st to the Green Bay Packers in his 2014 mock draft published Wednesday. Pryor sits as the 34th-best prospect overall on Sports Illustrated’s “Big Board,” also updated Wednesday.
“Pryor is a rising talent with the speed and instincts to cover a ton of ground in coverage, but also the willingness to fly downhill and make tackles at the line of scrimmage,” Kiper wrote. “The onetime high school running back (and safety) was pretty dominant as a junior and enters the draft with a lot of momentum in terms of his tape."
“Charlie Strong told me this is one of the best players he's ever coached.”
SI’s Chris Burke likened Pryor to the Houston Texans’ D.J. Swearinger and Jacksonville Jaguars' Jonathan Cyprien — “a hard-hitting safety whose instincts for finding the football are Round 1 caliber. Again, the name of the game for defenses now is versatility, and Pryor can cover a whole lot of ground in the secondary.”
Pryor announced his intention to enter the 2014 draft on Dec. 29, a day after U of L routed Miami 36-9 in the Russell Athletic Bowl. For the season he finished second on the team with 75 tackles and intercepted three passes.
I'll keep an EYE on Pryor… but right now, I have a more pressing need— the upcoming announcement of the BROSCAR nominations for Best Fan Posts of 2013…
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