ASIDE from cutting DE Vinny Curry, we were pretty silent on Days 3 and 4. While I hate the loss of Curry setting a hard edge vs the run, it has to be said that there was no other logical move to be made, besides cutting him. He was going to be too expensive in both 2018 and 2019. So let’s talk about what comes next.
Stepping back and looking at the roster overall, I can see my Draft Wishlist starting to take shape. We have 66 players under contract, with no empty positions. We have depth everywhere, but not all of it is quality depth. There’s a few things we could use from free agency to help stabilize our roster, and set the tone for the arriving rookie class of Eagles.
SHOPPING LIST:
A blocking TE. Behind Zach Ertz we have three players who weren’t drafted, or even invited to a Combine. Only one has played a down of regular season NFL ball, and he’s a 223 pound receiver type. Did I mention that we’re trying to convert one TE from Rugby player to NFL player. Martellus Bennett would be a great fit here.
A back-up OT. When Jason Peters went down, we compensated by giving Halapoulivaati Vaitai help on some plays, and rolling the QB away from him on other plays. We did this up to and through the Super Bowl. In the event that we suffer another injury at OT, I don’t think we can rely on rolling QB Carson Wentz out on half the snaps. Former Patriot LaAdrian Waddle could be worth a looong look here. He’s a RT, but he allows us to flip Lane Johnson if Waddle can’t be taught/trusted to play on the left.
A KR/PR. So far nothing about RB Donnel Pumphrey indicates that he should be in the NFL. (Again, that’s so far.) RB Wendell Smallwood has had some success as a KR, but none as PR. A player who could do both would help us conserve a roster spot, which will matter greatly in September. No such animal exists on the free agent market, but WR Michael Campanaro is close.
A short yardage RB. While our RB’s are strong enough to break arm tackles, we no longer have a human bulldozer. Having a 250 pound RB meet a 240 pound LB in the hole, was an advantage that Eagles fans weren’t used to, and will miss dearly. This would be a nice role-player spot, for a guy like 32 year old Mike Tolbert.
None of these guys would be very pricey, and they’d all be veterans who added a dimension that we don’t possess at the moment.
Here’s hoping for a busier Day 5.
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