Eagles mailbag: Chase Daniel, free agency, OL changes
The weekly chat on Tuesday brought many good questions - and many unanswered questions. When the chat was finished, there were still many questions left in the queue. This shows the type of interest there is in the Eagles' offseason, so here are the answers to a few of them:
Any opportunity of restructuring Chase Daniel's rich contract this coming year, assuming it provides some salary and cap space help? – Bruce
As much as it might benefit the Eagles to restructure Daniel's contract, they have no leverage. A player adjusts his contract when there's a threat of being released, but it's not in Daniel's interest to change his deal. He counts $8 million against the salary cap, and the Eagles would save only $1 million if they released him. So that means 87.5 percent of his contract would be dead money. Daniel doesn't need my advice – he has a good agent – but if it were me, unless I was feeling charitable, I'd say no.
The Eagles signed Daniel to a three-year contract that basically had two years of cap obligations. It seemed at the time that he would be a bridge quarterback in 2017 to the Eagles' quarterback of the future. They just found that quarterback one year earlier than it seemed.
Would Logan Ryan make sense as a potential starter/depth signing or is taking a former Pats player a risky move? - Jordan
In short: Yes, he would make sense as a starter. But he's far from a depth signing – Logan Ryan is a starting cornerback.
He started parts of four seasons with the Patriots. He won two Super Bowls, has played in four AFC championship games, and has 13 career interceptions. Ryan can play inside and outside, has good enough size (5-foot-11, 195 pounds), and will only be 26 next season. So he's someone who will command attention on the open market. Ryan is also a local product – he grew up in South Jersey, went to Eastern Regional High School, and he trusts the process.
That being said, I think wide receiver will be a priority in free agency, and it might be tough to pay two big-ticket free agents. My guess is cornerback is prioritized in the draft. If Ryan's price is within reach for the Eagles, he would be someone they should consider.
As for your question about former Patriots, I wouldn't worry about that if the evaluation is sound. The Patriots get the most of their players, but you're going to have to pay a premium for free agents from any team.
Which WR impressed you most in Senior Bowl? - David
I should begin with the the caveat that the underclassmen were obviously not at the Senior Bowl, so Clemson's Mike Williams, Western Michigan's Corey Davis, and USC's JuJu Smith-Schuster aren't included in this group. But Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp and East Carolina's Zay Jones stood out among the wide receivers. For more on Kupp, here's a story from Jeff McLane at the Senior Bowl.
Jones was also impressive. You saw the college production (158 catches, 1,746 yards, 8 touchdowns) on the bio, but don't knock him for inflated statistics. He makes plays on the ball, which showed up at the Senior Bowl. I'm curious to see what he runs at the combine, but for all the talk about measurables, you need to start with catching. If his hands are as reliable as they seem, he's someone to watch.
If players the Birds like are off the board, do they trade down and pick up an extra third-rounder? – Ed
In theory, yes. But how far down can they afford to go? When this scenario was presented to Howie Roseman at the Senior Bowl, he noted how the Eagles have had far more success drafting near the top of the draft than later in the first round. This would seem obvious, but the difference is striking. Look at the recent first-round picks:
2016: Carson Wentz, No. 2
2015: Nelson Agholor, No. 20
2014: Marcus Smith, No. 26
2013: Lane Johnson, No. 4
2012: Fletcher Cox, No. 12
2011: Danny Watkins, No. 23
2010: Brandon Graham, No. 13
2009: Jeremy Maclin, No. 19
The picks from 20-32 were far less fruitful than the picks from 1-19. This does not suggest the Eagles can't find a good player if they traded back into the 20s, and I'm always in the camp of getting more picks. But the Eagles already have eight picks. They need more top-end talent. My guess is they'll be able to find someone they like in the top 15.
Your prediction on 2017 starting O-line? – Bob
This is a tough one, because there are questions at a few spots. My guess is the line will be: Jason Peters, TBD, Isaac Seumalo, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson.
The Eagles really like Seumalo, who can play guard and center. But if his best position long-term is center, then I can see the Eagles putting him there this season and taking the cap savings from Jason Kelce ($6.2M cap number, $3.8M in savings if cut/traded) and Allen Barbre ($2.25M cap number, $2.1M in savings if cut).
That said, this is now how I would approach it. I would keep Kelce for 2017 and play Seumalo at left guard. I still think Kelce is a productive starting center, and I wouldn't disrupt multiple spots on the line.
Are the Birds interested in any local college players? – Lamar
They should be. Temple's Haason Reddick and Dion Dawkins excelled at the Senior Bowl and play positions where the Eagles could use help. Reddick has the versatility to play outside and middle linebacker, along with rushing the passer around the edge. Dawkins was a college tackle who is being viewed as a guard.
And then Villanova's Tanoh Kpassagnon is 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds with a lot of development ahead of him. It's hard to find a combination of the size and athleticism he offers. The Eagles can look hard at him at defensive end.
Watching the playoffs this year, it struck me how many ex-Eagles were participants while the Eagles were at home. I realize there were many reasons for these guys being let go, not least of which was Chip Kelly. I'm thinking of guys like Dion Lewis, Alejandro Villanueva, Eric Rowe, etc. I look at Villanueva starting as a offensive left tackle for the Steelers, and if I'm not mistaken, the Eagles (Kelly) had him at defensive line. It just burns me up to see the guy starting on a playoff team knowing he was here and got cut. My question is this: Are the Eagles inferior at the development of players? … Do the Eagles have a talent development problem? – Jim
Good question. Player development is such a key part of NFL coaching that does not get enough attention. Roseman said the Eagles are looking hard at player development – that's a key for the Eagles with young receivers. With the players you cited, I don't think the issue was player development. The Eagles looked at Villanueva as a 3-4 defensive end. Had they kept him on the practice squad, maybe they could have seen a potential tackle. But he was here for only one summer, he was just getting back to football, and they spent that time teaching him how to play defensive line and working on his body.
I was critical of the Rowe deal when the Eagles made it, and remain critical of it. In Rowe's case, the Eagles didn't even let him develop. That was my criticism of the deal. They gave up on him after one year. They can say what they want about where he was on the depth chart or how he projected in Jim Schwartz's scheme, but he was talented enough to be a second-round pick and showed flashes as a rookie. He's someone they should have tried to develop.
As for Lewis, I can't criticize the Eagles for that deal. At the time, they had LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown and Chris Polk at running back. It was a crowded depth chart. Lewis was going to be the third or fourth running back. You need to remember how promising Brown looked as a rookie in 2012. So that deal made sense.
But overall, player development is something to watch. It's a new coaching staff, so the sample size is small. But that's what you want to see – how do the younger players on the roster develop? The Eagles have developmental offensive linemen, young wide receivers, young defensive backs. I'm curious to see how they come along this summer and into next season.