Getting ready for Eagles 2011 Draft…

Justin Houston, #42 above, 6-3, 255, outside linebacker from Georgia, finally decided to come out early and declare for the 2011 NFL Draft… which allows us to prepare our preliminary basket of prospects for Andy Reid and Eagles fans to ponder…

First thing we have to do is get organized… make a list…Since we don’t get a pick in the first round until #23, we have to be prepared for a maneuver by Andy to trade that pick for more choices in the later rounds…So let’s just settle down and make a basket of the top 33 overall prospects, with 3 guys scouted for every offensive and defensive specialty position, and hope that a few of them fall our way. Not all of these kids are household names (yet), but draft guru’s around the nation have created a concensus— these guys are the best players out there:

Defensive Tackle
Nick Fairley, Auburn, 6-5, 300                  Stephen Paea, Oregon State, 6-1, 312
                                     Marcell Dareus, Alabama, 6-3, 309
Defensive End
Da’Quan Bowers, Clemson, 6-4, 275     Robert Quinn, North Carolina, 6-5, 270
                                     Adrian Clayborn, Iowa, 6-3, 285
Outside Linebacker
Von Miller, Texas A&M, 6-3, 243              Akeem Ayers,  UCLA, 6-4, 255
                                     Justin Houston, Georgia, 6-3, 255     
Middle Linebacker
Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina, 6-2, 230     Greg Jones, Michigan State, 6-1, 240
                                      Nate Irving, North Carolina State, 6-1, 232    
Cornerback
Patrick Peterson, LSU, 6-1, 222               Prince Amukamara, Nebraska, 6-0, 205
                                      Janoris Jenkins, Florida, 5-11, 185
Safety
Rahim Moore, UCLA, 6-1, 195                  DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson, 6-0, 215
                                      Quintin Carter, Oklahoma, 6-1, 200
Offensive Lineman
Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin, 6-7, 327            Anthony Castonzo, Boston College, 6-7, 308
                                       Nate Solder, Colorado, 6-8, 315
Quarterback
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, 6-6, 235              Cameron Newton, Auburn, 6-6, 250
                                       Blaine Gabbert, Missouri, 6-5, 235
Running Back
Mark Ingram, Alabama, 5-10, 215              Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech, 5-10, 210
                                        Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State, 5-8, 200
Wide Receiver
A.J. Green, Georgia, 6-4, 212                    Julio Jones, Alabama, 6-4, 220
                                        Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State, 6-1, 205
Tight End
Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame, 6-6, 265        Lance Kendricks, Wisconsin, 6-4, 240
                                        D.J. Williams, Arkansas, 6-2, 260

Okay, there’s our beginning pool of first-rounders, by concensus opinion. The Eagles may pick at #23, or they may trade their later round picks and their Round 1 pick to move up higher in the first round. My guess is Andy will pick at #23 in Round 1, but he has the Round 2 pick (#55), a Round 3 pick (#86) and a Round 4 pick (#103) to play around with… Perhaps more realistically, I think Andy may believe there is more value in the later rounds to be earned by trading his Round 1 pick for extra picks in later rounds. As always, Andy will have us guessing right up to the moment of the pick. He is the master of misdirection…and a great poker player.

But at least now we’re somewhat organized in our preparation for the Draft, and equally important, the Brizer MACH 10 Draft Contest, which is a level of supreme challenge for the personnel acumen of any true Eagles fan. 

We’ve only taken a rudimentary step today in creating our basket of the Top 33 prospects for Round 1; now, what happens when the remaining talent pool migrates in to fill the void left by the Round 1 selections is where it really gets interesting…Brizer’s MACH 10 challenges you to correctly predict what college player will be selected by the Eagles in each incremental round of the draft…in other words, predict the 10 players who will be the class of 2011 on the Eagles roster come Spring… It’s a daunting contest, but one that’s fascinating in that moving pools of migrating data in parabolic trends must be accounted for…like trying to measure an amoeba…it’s not easy, but it’s fun to try to simulate the entire Draft process.

We’ll look at some possible 3rd, 4th and later round prospects in a future blurb to help our MACH 10 picture shape up… for now, study your Round 1 and Round 2 prospects, look at the Eagles realistically for personnel needs, and be ready for a pop quiz at any time.