The Linc – NFL exec says Roseman “has a little bit of a Danny Ainge syndrome”

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 4/9/22.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

NFL free agency: Execs on the good and bad of all 32 teams’ moves and strategies – The Athletic
“I bet they trade one of those first-round picks, knowing Howie,” another GM said before Roseman did exactly that in a deal with New Orleans. The Eagles sent the 16th and 19th picks with a sixth-rounder to New Orleans for the 18th, 101st and 237th picks this year, plus a 2023 first and 2024 second. “I don’t know who would want to trade with Philly,” an exec said. “Howie has a little bit of a Danny Ainge syndrome. If he is making a deal with you, he has identified something. That is his bread and butter. Now, granted, he is in a position of leverage because he has three first-round picks or whatever it was. And Howie has the ability to think long term, because he is going to be there next year.”

Eagles sign fast guy who hasn’t played football since 2016 – BGN
The Eagles’ search for wide receiver help is over! They’ve finally found an answer at the position by signing Devon Allen. Well, maybe not. Allen, who turns 28 in December, hasn’t actually played football since logging four receptions (for 141 yards and one touchdown!) with the Oregon Ducks in 2016. What’s he been up to since then? Ah, nothing too notable. You know, just spending time as a track and field athlete, becoming a three-time national champion in the 110 meters hurdles. Oh, and reaching the finals in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. No big deal.

Above the Nest with Raichele #47: Eagles sign WR Devon Allen + Takeaways from Eagles-Saints trade – BGN Radio
On the latest episode, Raichele Privette shares the latest updates on the Eagles new signing in addition to draft prospects and free agents that could land in Philly. She also dissects the Eagles-Saints blockbuster trade and explains why it’s a win for the Birds.

Mailbag: Assembling a starting lineup from the Eagles’ 2017 and 2022 rosters – PhillyVoice
Unsurprisingly, 2017 players significantly outnumber 2022 players, though it wasn’t as lopsided as I thought it would be. The big difference is that the 2017 quarterback was the likely league MVP until his injury, while the team has tried to upgrade on Jalen Hurts already this offseason. Also also, I would give the 2017 roster the edge on depth. The current Eagles roster is heading in the right direction, but they’re still not really close to Super Bowl contention, barring an extreme step forward by Hurts.

Where are they now? CB Bobby Taylor – PE.com
Taylor is now also using his skill set, experiences, and passion to benefit the game as an NFL Flag Football League operator. “I just thought it’d be an awesome opportunity, especially where I’m located here in Texas. I mean, football is kind of like religion to a lot of folks. Plus, I have three boys. My oldest (Bobby) is 18, but then I have a 9-year-old (Alexander) and a 5-year-old (Asher), and they would see me looking through some of the different proposals, some of the different catalogs, and was like, ‘Dad, I want to be a part of that.’ Just from the uniforms, you know how younger kids are, they saw that and said, ‘I want one of those.’ “So I’ve had pressure from myself, but then I also had internal pressure inside of my household, as well. And so that was definitely the final straw that made me say, ‘Hey, let’s go ahead and get involved.’” TD (Taylor District) NFL Flag is starting off with two leagues. One in San Antonio, which has 30 teams, and the other in Taylor’s hometown of Longview, which has 24 teams. Playing double-headers, a 12-game season over six weeks, each team ranges in size of seven to 10 boys and girls, ages 5 to 14.

Report: Colts Finalizing Deal With Former Eagles Safety Rodney McLeod – Stampede Blue
At 31-years-old, McLeod found a great amount of success for both the Rams and Eagles throughout his 10-year career, as he’s started 123 games and accumulated 16 interceptions over that span. McLeod spent the last six seasons with the Eagles and is coming off a fairly productive 2021 campaign with two interceptions, four pass deflections and 58 combined tackles (32 solo) in 13 starts, per Pro Football Reference. The signing of McLeod makes a lot of sense for the Colts. Recently signed safety Armani Watts is expected to play more of a special team’s role and Indy was in need of another safety to pair with Julian Blackmon and Khari Willis.

Did the Giants just sign their version of Jordan Mailata? – Big Blue View
The New York Giants on Friday signed a player they hope will become their version of Jordan Mailata, who came through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program to become a starting offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles. Roy Mbaeteka is a 6-9, 320-pound offensive tackle from Nigeria with no football experience. Yet the Giants, with the help of former Giant Osi Umenyiora, will give Mbaeteka an opportunity. “Once you see him, you know he’s physically imposing and in a year or two if you immerse him in football culture, he’s going to be fantastic,” Umenyiora said Friday via a release from the Giants. “The Giants took a chance. Not much of a chance, I think. When you see him working, you’re going to know what he’s about.

Can Taysom Hill fill the Saints’ void at tight end? – Canal Street Chronicles
The question still remains though: Can we really rely on him to be the first-string tight end? My answer would probably be: preferably not. I like Taysom in the role of F-back/tight end and I think the best use of him is there, on special teams and in some short-yardage/wildcat situations on rare occasions. But I would still like the Saints to either sign or draft a more long-term answer at the position. Even if they don’t, the good news is they at least have some options with versatile skill sets to use in different situations.

Kenny Pickett Too Inconsistent for Round 1 – Football Outsiders
Pickett is just not a polished product at this point. He is not helpless either, to be fair, but he still needs a fair amount of seasoning to go before he can be a consistent, effective NFL starting quarterback. The problem is that four years of starting experience—three of them in the same offensive system—have brought him to this incomplete status. One would imagine that a player with that much experience would be a little more put together. If an NFL team is going to bet on an old and experienced prospect, the player ought to be fairly complete and ready to go. And if a team is going to bet on a still-developing prospect, the player ought to have better than B-minus tools (i.e., Malik Willis). Pickett has some things to work with, but he goes 0-for-2 by that criteria and it makes his profile tough to stomach with a premium pick, especially in the first round.

NFL draft 2022 running back projections: Rankings, historical comps for Breece Hall, Rachaad White, Kenneth Walker III, more – ESPN+
1. Breece Hall, Iowa State. BackCAST score: plus-149.1%Type of back: Receiving. Similar historical prospects: Dalvin Cook, LaDainian Tomlinson. Hall is a fantastic running back prospect. Although he comes short of Taylor’s titanic projection, that is like losing to Michael Jordan in a slam dunk contest — no shame there. Hall has the fourth-highest BackCAST projection of all time, falling behind only Taylor, Ricky Williams and Saquon Barkley. Even better for value-seeking teams, Hall’s projected draft position is low relative to a back with his level of talent. Scouts Inc., for example, currently rates Hall as the 46th-best prospect and only the second-highest-rated running back, behind Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker III. Hall has an excellent combination of size and speed. He has decent size at 217 pounds and ran a very quick 4.39-second 40-yard dash. However, Hall’s college production is where he really shines. BackCAST likes running backs who take hold of their college backfields early and never let go, and Hall certainly fits that profile, absorbing 45%, 61% and 68% of his team’s rushing attempts during his three years at Iowa State.

What “following the money” tells us about the Cowboys potential draft plans – Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys have already invested quite a bit of money on running back as no other team in the league has more money allocated to the position. In fact, the Cowboys are spending 20% more than the next highest team (Tennessee, who has Derrick Henry under contract). Ezekiel Elliott is the reason for that as he has a cap hit of $18.2 million this year. Financially speaking, the Cowboys are stuck with Elliott this year, but they could get out of future debt by releasing him after the season. Such a move would change $65 million of future cap space to just an $11.8 dead money hit. Of course, that would mean the Cowboys would be without Zeke. And unfortunately, it would come at the same time when Tony Pollard’s rookie deal expires. In short, the Cowboys could go from having two quality backs to zilch in a matter of just one season.

NFL Reacts #35: AFC and NFC West draft breakdown and fantasy implications – The SB Nation NFL Show
Welcome to another edition of NFL Reacts! Stephen Serda, Justis Mosqueda, and Kate Magdziuk are breaking down the AFC and NFC West draft needs and possible fantasy implications. The AFC West is loaded–with every team making a case to be one of the best in the NFL–but the Chiefs and Chargers seem to have the biggest draft needs. Whereas the Broncos and Raiders–can make a case to have the best overall roster construction in the division. The Rams have very little draft capital as usual but might have the most Super Bowl-ready roster–and the Seahawks should be in a total rebuild.

It was all there for us to see: Phillies 9, Athletics 5 – The Good Phight
Everything we had heard about the Phillies was out in force today. The offense was solid, top to bottom The defense struggled when it really mattered, allowing the opponent back into a game they didn’t have any business getting back into. Aaron Nola was great for the first part of his start, then made one or two bad pitches at the worst possible times. The bullpen did its job, for the most part, getting groundballs and strikeouts when needed. Even with the miscues, this was a good start to the season. [BLG Note: Welcome back, Phillies.]

Where to Eat at Citizens Bank Park, Home of the Phanatic (and the Phillies) – Eater
Manco & Manco Pizza: If you’ve been down the shore, you know how popular Manco & Manco’s pizza is in Ocean City. People line up at lunch to bring the thin pies to the beach. Ashburn Alley is lucky to add one of its own, where the local favorite will be serving plain, pepperoni, and one special pie closer to home. Ashburn Alley.

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