Pancake Blocks Mock Draft: Pick No. 19
The longer this draft gets, the longer the writeups for the picks get. That's good because I'm struggling to keep it interesting here during magazine season. Andy G. has the honors for the Eagles. I heartily endorse the pick.
I've spent some serious time thinking about who to take in this situation and the more I thought about it the more i've become convinced that the Eagles will be moving up in this draft. The current list of available players is unacceptable for the Eagles. The most glaring needs that necessitate a 1st round pick are OT, WR and S. All of the top OT's are off the board and I don't want to reach for Gosder Cherilus.
The top S Kenny Philips doesn't blow me away either and I don't think he is worth reaching for, also I feel that we can get a safety later in the draft. That leaves WR, which I don't think the Eagles will do in the first round, at least i would be shocked if they did. If we could trade up I would have packaged Lito Shepperd and the 19th pick and moved up to take one of the top OT's.
Regardless, the situation being what it is, I am surprised to still see Devin Thomas on the board. McNabb and Westbrook have been asking for offensive help and I'm sure Thomas can help. Devin Thomas will make an immediate impact as a KR/PR which the Eagles desperately need. We need to give the offense a shorter field to work with, the Reno Mahe stage is over. The Eagles do have a history of not playing rookies, or burying rookies on the depth chart. However, I do think that Thomas has the skills to be the 3rd receiver in his first year, whcih would allow us to get Kevin Curtis in the slot where he should be.
This pick might not be the high profile WR all Eagles fans were hoping we would get, but Devin Thomas is a player with great upside who could shortly develop into a fantastic WR. He is clearly an upgrade over Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis, and in time he could easily surpass Reggie Brown. Once again let me reiterate that I can not see the Eagles sticking with the 19th pick, they are going to have to move up to get the players they want. I think it's far more likely and reasonable to see us grab a WR in the second round. So...
With the 19th pick in the 2008 Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan St.
2008 Pancake Blocks Mock Draft
1. Miami Dolphins (Scott L.) - Chris Long
2. St. Louis Rams (Evan Silva) - Glenn Dorsey
3. Atlanta Falcons (Troy Hill) - Matt Ryan
4. Oakland Raiders (Stephen G.) - Jake Long
5. Kansas City Chiefs (Jeremy S.) - Darren McFadden
6. New York Jets (John B.) - Vernon Gholston
7. New England Patriots (Gregg R.) - Sedrick Ellis
8. Baltimore Ravens (Ryan F.) - Leodis McKelvin
9. Cincinnati Bengals (Jacob C.) - Ryan Clady
10. New Orleans Saints (Scott K.) - Keith Rivers
11. Buffalo Bills (James N.) - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
12. Denver Broncos (Taylor C.) - Chris Williams
13. Carolina Panthers (Matthew W.) - Derrick Harvey
14. Chicago Bears (Zone) - Branden Albert
15. Detroit Lions (Adam P.) - Rashard Mendenhall
16. Arizona Cardinals (Scott C.) - Aquib Talib
17. Minnesota Vikings (Tim L.) - Jeff Otah
18. Houston Texans (Jimmy) - Mike Jenkins
19. Philadelphia Eagles (Andy G.) - Devin Thomas
Comments
notice how fast m.kelly fell from top WR
Posted by: scott c | April 16, 2008 10:37 AM
best of whats left... makes sense
Posted by: Chad Ferguson | April 16, 2008 10:44 AM
Malcolm Kelly is coming off recently like a loud-mouthed, whiney punk, who also ran a 4.6. why take him in the 1st round?
Posted by: Andy G. | April 16, 2008 12:08 PM
why do all eagles fans think curtis belongs in the slot? he's a deep threat. he's not wes welker.
Posted by: evan | April 16, 2008 12:37 PM
Curtis is quick rather than fast. Just because he caught a couple of relatively deep balls doesn't make him a deep threat. The guy is more brandon stokely, wes welker than Lee Evans. He's a slot WR, and not a great one at that.
Posted by: greg | April 16, 2008 12:58 PM
One thing I like about this pancakes block mock is that the WRs are falling. I think that's going to happen at the actual draft, just like this. I wouldn't be shocked if no WR goes in the top 20.
Posted by: chiefsfan | April 16, 2008 01:08 PM
Kelly ran himself out of the top 1/2 and then talked himself out of the bottom half of the first. I'd wager that some team will take a risk on him in early-mid round 2.
As far as Curtis is concerned, I agree that he's equivalent to Stokley and belongs in the slot. However, Welker is in a class or two above either of them.
Posted by: Chad Ferguson | April 16, 2008 01:21 PM