Trevor Laws and DeSean Jackson are not a terrible haul from the first day of the NFL draft. I'd rather have Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins, the two guys the Cowboys got in the first round, but Dallas did enter the day with two first-round picks, so you kind of figured the Cowboys were going to improve.
I still remember the shock waves at the NFL Draft Combine in February when Jackson weighed in at 169 pounds. That's why he was still on the board at 49. But I also remember him blazing past hapless pursuers last fall, as a receiver and a returner.
I can't say I took a lot of notice of Laws last season, but Andy Reid compared him to Mike Patterson in his Day 1 wrapup remarks, and analysts like him.
"I think he upgrades that defensive line," Reid said.
Reid said all the trading wasn't just to frustrate fans, it was to build up a base of mid-round picks, the part of the draft he said the Birds feel is strongest this year. (Silly you, thinking the better players are often found toward the TOP of the draft).
There must be a really good third- or fourth-round safety out there, because the Birds really, really need one.
Reid said the second and fourth-round offer from Carolina, which also included the Panthers' first-rounder next year, was "too sweet" to pass up (much like the pastry cart). He kind of hinted that the Eagles would indeed have taken Pitt offensive tackle Jeff Otah, the guy the Panthers traded up to draft, had they held onto the 19th overall pick.
Much more important than any of that, however: If you read my earlier item concerning the possibility of the Eagles NOT trading Lito Sheppard this weekend, you know how I feel about sitting here in the NovaCare media work room at 9 p.m., with Lito still an Eagle. When I head home across the Walt Whitman tonight, I might pause to take a few depth samplings, get an idea of the tidal flow. So if you see a Honda Element in the right lane with its flashers on, that's me.
What happened to all those exciting offers the Birds had for their disgruntled corner?
"There's still some people interested," Reid said last night, sounding like the guy who still holds out hope for getting rid of the leopard-skin-print sofa as the yard sale winds down. "But I'm not going to give Lito away."
Again, if the Eagles want to rework Sheppard's contract and keep him here as a happy camper, wonderful. But if we're going to spend the next three months until training camp on a daily trade watch ... are there any other beats open? The Soul is playing well.
Original Story:
http://philly.com.
I still remember the shock waves at the NFL Draft Combine in February when Jackson weighed in at 169 pounds. That's why he was still on the board at 49. But I also remember him blazing past hapless pursuers last fall, as a receiver and a returner.
I can't say I took a lot of notice of Laws last season, but Andy Reid compared him to Mike Patterson in his Day 1 wrapup remarks, and analysts like him.
"I think he upgrades that defensive line," Reid said.
Reid said all the trading wasn't just to frustrate fans, it was to build up a base of mid-round picks, the part of the draft he said the Birds feel is strongest this year. (Silly you, thinking the better players are often found toward the TOP of the draft).
There must be a really good third- or fourth-round safety out there, because the Birds really, really need one.
Reid said the second and fourth-round offer from Carolina, which also included the Panthers' first-rounder next year, was "too sweet" to pass up (much like the pastry cart). He kind of hinted that the Eagles would indeed have taken Pitt offensive tackle Jeff Otah, the guy the Panthers traded up to draft, had they held onto the 19th overall pick.
Much more important than any of that, however: If you read my earlier item concerning the possibility of the Eagles NOT trading Lito Sheppard this weekend, you know how I feel about sitting here in the NovaCare media work room at 9 p.m., with Lito still an Eagle. When I head home across the Walt Whitman tonight, I might pause to take a few depth samplings, get an idea of the tidal flow. So if you see a Honda Element in the right lane with its flashers on, that's me.
What happened to all those exciting offers the Birds had for their disgruntled corner?
"There's still some people interested," Reid said last night, sounding like the guy who still holds out hope for getting rid of the leopard-skin-print sofa as the yard sale winds down. "But I'm not going to give Lito away."
Again, if the Eagles want to rework Sheppard's contract and keep him here as a happy camper, wonderful. But if we're going to spend the next three months until training camp on a daily trade watch ... are there any other beats open? The Soul is playing well.
Original Story:
http://philly.com.
