/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74013744/2190857688.0.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1267&ssl=1 "The Linc – Justin Simmons talks about possibly playing for the Eagles, again")
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Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
The Philadelphia Eagles could have a need after trading safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans. Plus, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was Simmons’ head coach from 2019-2021. Such familiarity might make adding Simmons a little later less of an issue. “There was a lot of new [in Atlanta]. There was a new system, there was a new way to do it,” Simmons said. “Going to Philly with Vic, you know exactly what you’re getting out of me and I know exactly what I’m getting out of them because I’ve been in the system. I still have a ways to go to mastering it, but there are some things and nuances that I know Vic likes, that I know that (defensive backs coach) Christian Parker likes, and I think I could really help in that area. Obviously, them moving on from C.J. and what he’s poured into that city there is big shoes to fill, but I love what they have going with (Reed) Blankenship and the rest of the supporting cast there. So I don’t know, it’s interesting. I’m excited to see what happens.” [BLG Note: Simmons spoke about a potential fit with the Eagles on Up & Adams. He previously talked about possibly reuniting with Fangio and Parker back in mid-March.]
Eagles hosting Penn State safety on pre-draft visit – BGN
It’s time to add another prospect to BGN’s Philadelphia Eagles’ pre-draft visits tracker leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft. The Birds will soon be hosting Penn State safety Jaylen Reed at the NovaCare Complex, according to Mike Garafolo. Reed, 22, played in 50 games for the Nittany Lions from 2021-2024. He made 29 starts over the last two years and ultimately logged 181 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, seven passes defensed, five interceptions, 3.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
Eagles-only 2025 mock draft, version 4.0 – PhillyVoice
Round 1, pick 24 (trade with Vikings): Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia (6’5, 260). TRADE: The Eagles send picks 32, 96 (Round 3), and 161 (Round 5) for pick 24, owned by the Vikings, who only have four picks entering the 2025 draft. Williams has outstanding power, quickness, and agility to go along with his great length at 6’5, 260, with 34 3/8” arms. He is also versatile, as he lined up all over the Georgia defensive line. Like most first-round Georgia defensive prospects, Williams’ sack numbers aren’t overwhelming (14 sacks in 3 seasons), but he also played through an ankle injury throughout the entire 2024 season. Williams plays disciplined team defense, and he’s a force in the backfield against the run. That alone should earn him an immediate role in any defense. But he also has a lot of room to grow as a pass rusher as he continues to develop more of a rush repertoire.
Choices to Make – Iggles Blitz
TE is another spot where the Eagles have some things to figure out. Dallas Goedert is still on the roster. They would love to keep him, but only if it makes financial sense. We may not get a formal decision on DG until after June 1st. The Eagles have Grant Calcaterra, Harrison Bryant and Kylen Granson on the roster now. That is a good trio of TEs, sort of. All three are good backups. I’m not sure any of them is a true #1 TE. Do the Eagles give Calcaterra a chance to start? Bryant is a solid blocker and receiver. They could try him as a starter. Both of those moves would be projections. This is a deep, talented TE class in the upcoming draft. The team could target someone early. Mason Taylor could be a Top 40 pick. I guess the Eagles could try to trade up if Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland slips into the 20’s. The Eagles could add someone in the middle rounds. We’ll just have to see how they decide to address the position.
Breaking down most likely positions for Eagles in 1st round of 2025 draft – NBCSP
1. Defensive tackle: Milton Williams got a $104 million deal with the Patriots and even though the Eagles are bullish on former seventh-rounder Moro Ojomo, it won’t be easy to replace Williams. Right now, the Eagles have Jalen Carter, Ojomo, Jordan Davis and Thomas Booker IV in their defensive tackle rotation. This is a position the Eagles value and this class is considered to be a very good one for defensive tackles. On one hand, the Eagles could wait until Day 2 but there are going to be some intriguing names around that No. 32 range like Walter Nolen from Ole Miss, Derrick Harmon from Oregon, Kenneth Grant from Michigan, T.J. Sanders from Arkansas, Omarr Norman-Lott from Tennessee and Darius Alexander from Toledo.
2025 NFL Draft: Best Day 3 fits for all 32 NFL teams – PFF
Philadelphia Eagles. Prospect to target: T Ajani Cornelius, Oregon. Cornelius’ issues in pass protection (5.5% pressure rate) at tackle will likely lead to his switch to guard. However, the Eagles understand that the assignment up front is finding the best five players, regardless of where their experience lies. Cornelius excels as a puller, having produced the second-highest PFF grade on such plays (82.7) in the class. That skill set would be an asset in Philadelphia’s offense, which logged the most counter runs in the NFL last season.
The women’s NCAA basketball championship on Sunday was a win-win for Philly, with both coaches — Norristown’s Geno Auriemma and Philly native Dawn Staley — representing the area. Auriemma and his UConn squad ultimately dominated the Gamecocks, who were looking to go back-to-back, to win his first title in nine years on Sunday. The day after the win, Auriemma made a guest appearance on Good Morning America, and he had to shout out his fellow champions — the Birds. “Philly wins the Super Bowl, we won the title, it’s Philly time,” Auriemma said, after punching in a “Go Birds” before signing off with the show’s cohost — and New York Giants legend — Michael Strahan.
Giants embarrassment gets Emmy nomination – NJ.com
This week, the scene of Mara warning his front office about losing the star running back in free agency in “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants” was nominated was nominated for a Sports Emmy in the Outstanding Documentary Series category.
The primary tush push alternative might go too far – PFT
Frankly, it’s unnecessary to prevent a downfield shove. While it’s regarded as unnecessary roughness for a player to charge down the field and barrel into his teammate with the ball (it’s called, we’re told, five or six times per year), there’s no specific concern about a teammate pushing a teammate with the ball spontaneously. The best approach could be to ban pushing in limited circumstances. Basically, within the tackle box and/or five yards (or some other specific distance) on either side of the line of scrimmage. The problem is that the league doesn’t want to create the impression that it’s changing the rules to target one specific team. But we all know that’s what’s happening. Why play games with it? If it’s a safety risk and/or aesthetically problematic, cut with a scalpel and not a chainsaw. Green Bay’s proposal from last week, bad as it was, started the conversation. The best way to finish it, if Goodell is able to twist 24 arms, is to make a change that focuses on the technique that causes concern, without trying to fix unrelated maneuvers (like a downfield push) that aren’t broken.
Many NFL draft experts aren’t in love with these 10 prospects, but I see them differently – PHLY
TE ELIJAH ARROYO (MIAMI). A true ‘one-year wonder’, Arroyo entered the 2024 season having caught a combined 11 passes in his first three seasons in Coral Gables. He ended his career with a bang, snaring 35 catches for 590 yards and seven scores this year from future Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward. What stands out most about Arroyo? He’s incredibly dynamic. I would argue that, more than any other player at the position in this class, he is a true mismatch for next-level defenders. At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, he’s too big for safeties and he’s way too athletic for linebackers. The Hurricanes had three wide receivers at the Combine (along with a running back), so there were a lot of targets to go around in that offense, but Arroyo made the most of them. He averaged a whopping 9.1 yards after the catch per reception last fall. Now, typically when you see a number like that, it’s often correlated with a high-volume of targets close to the line of scrimmage. With Arroyo, that was not the case. His average depth of target last season was 11.0, a well above average number. 30 percent of his targets came at least 20 yards down the field last fall, a number only one tight end drafted in the last decade surpassed in their final season on campus (2021 draft choice Jacob Harris, who played wide receiver at UCF). And what’s even more impressive than that is that Arroyo caught every single one of those targets. This guy is dynamic as a pass catcher in every way he can be as a tight end. As a blocker, I think he’s fine (not great, not a liability, but he checks the box). The bigger question has been durability, which is what limited his playing time so much over the last few years (he also missed the Combine workout with an injury). If he can prove to stay healthy, I think Arroyo absolutely outperforms what is likely to be a draft slot on the back end of Round Two into the early stages of Round Three.
This is where we get a surprise. As we mentioned, this is cumulative grading, so drafting a few good players doesn’t reflect as well as drafting a smaller sampling of great players. For the Cowboys, that sampling is largely effected by the superstardom that is Micah Parsons. Even with less than stellar grades from Mazi Smith weighing them down, the Cowboys still take down the top spot. The thing to take from this is that Parsons is a remarkable talent so anytime you hear whispers of trading him or not being worth the big money, one should just kindly discard those takes in the nearest receptacle. While the draft offers no guarantees, the Cowboys have a good Day 1 track record. Yes, there will be some Tacos and some Claibornes sprinkled here and there, but overall, Will McClay and his team do a very good job on the first day of the draft. With the 12th overall pick in this year’s draft, it’s okay to expect them to come away with their next star because the odds are in their favor.
New York Giants draft: Matt Waldman breaks down quarterback options – Big Blue View
Shedeur Sanders: “What I see on the field with Shedeur Sanders is a player who who certainly understands that it’s on him to drive this offense,” Waldman said. “And so sometimes he makes conceptual mistakes where in the black zone deep inside his own 20 or in the opponent’s 20 of the red zone where maybe he takes on more than he should and tries to make hero type of plays that he should avoid. But the question becomes is that because the coaching staff has asked you to take that on and knowing that you’re kind of an underdog in every game and that we need you to try and make big plays and they’re okay with that, or is it more about him trying too much when he shouldn’t.” Waldman said Sanders “might give you the steadiest baseline of quarterback play of the top three guys or four guys in his class.” “He might never be better than the best version of Geno Smith or Baker Mayfield, but maybe the least likely to be an absolute bust,” Waldman said.
Scouts, execs dish on NFL draft’s most polarizing players – ESPN+
Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss. Scouts Inc. overall draft rank: 26. Nolen is a big-time talent whose pro day performance was incredible, per multiple scouts. “Highest ceiling in the entire draft,” a veteran NFL defensive coach said. “Not as big as [Jalen] Carter but has some of his traits.” Added an NFC executive: “Impressive traits, and we were fine with his interviews.” Nolen had pass-rush production with 6.5 sacks in 2024, a solid number for a 305-pounder. Multiple scouts have maturity concerns, however. There are several NFL scouting reports that reflect Nolen’s history of walking off the practice field mid-session due to frustration. Opinions of his team interviews are varied, but one NFL personnel executive said Nolen came across as someone who wants to improve and shed bad habits. “He’s searching for solutions,” the exec said. “He’s young.” Nolen turned 21 in October. Going to a veteran-laden locker room could help Nolen. “Your hands will be full and you need a real plan for him, but I have a hard time thinking he falls out of the top 20,” the coach said.
Meet the 6 top NFL Draft prospects with buyer beware tags – SB Nation
Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M. What’s the problem? The lack of a pass-rush plan. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in almost 20 years of evaluating draft prospects, it’s that you have to project a lot of attributes when it comes to pass-rushers. Because what you see more often than not, and this is true for some of the best QB Killas in any class, is that against collegiate blockers, it can be enough to use demon speed and/or grown-ass man strength to get to the pocket. Of course, when you’re dealing with 10-year NFL veterans, you had better bring a few more tools in the toolbox. And that’s where Shemar Stewart comes in. Or, it could be more accurately said, that’s where Shemar Stewart does not yet arrive. There’s been all kinds of talk about Stewart’s athletic freakishness vs. his lack of production, and both things are true. Stewart rushed the passer for the Aggies at 6-foot-5 and about 280 pounds; he slimmed down to 267 for the combine and aced all the drills to a historical degree. So why did this alien amass just two sacks and 39 total pressures last season, and six sacks with 79 total pressures over three seasons? Stewart’s career numbers would be top-notch for most edge defenders over one season.
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