The Linc – PFF grades Philly’s free agency period thus far

Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 3/21/22.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …

2022 NFL free agency grades for all 16 NFC teams – PFF
Philadelphia Eagles: Average. The Eagles’ lone significant addition thus far is edge rusher Haason Reddick, who signed a three-year, $45 million contract to bolster their pass rush. Reddick is a former first-round draft pick who was miscast as an off-ball linebacker early in his career before being reborn on the edge — where he always belonged. At just 6-foot-1 and a listed 235 pounds, Reddick is always going to be an undersized edge defender, but that gives him speed and quickness that is hard to match up with. He recorded 100 pressures over the past two seasons and helps replace some of the heat Philadelphia’s defensive line has lost in recent years. Retaining depth players, including tight end Richard Rodgers and offensive lineman Nate Herbig, doesn’t hurt, and the Eagles have also made late moves to re-sign Boston Scott in the backfield and Anthony Harris at safety. Overall, this is a team that has largely kept its war chest intact. Cutting Fletcher Cox was a move made inevitable by his massive salary and decline in play recently, but the team brought him back on a one-year deal. After a run in which he was arguably the best interior defender in the NFL after Aaron Donald, Cox has seen his PFF grade drop from above 90.0 to 74.1 in 2020 and then 68.7 in 2021. He notched fewer pressures in those two seasons combined than in 2018 at his peak. [BLG Note: The Giants also got “average” while the Cowboys and Commanders both earned a “below average” review.]

How much do the Eagles believe in Jalen Hurts? – BGN
What has filtered out in the last three weeks, and what three very informed NFL sources maintain, is the Eagles were indeed strong suitors in the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, won or lost depending on your perspective, by the Cleveland Browns on Friday, considering how much Cleveland gave up to acquire the embattled former Houston Texans’ quarterback. […] As numerous sources noted, and the eye test bears it out, Hurts may not have an NFL arm or NFL accuracy. Again, no one on the Eagles, their management, players and throughout the NFL, questions Hurts’ character and work ethic. The question that looms is how much higher can his ceiling go?

Why Eagles legend Brian Dawkins believes in Jalen Hurts – NBCSP
Nobody gave up on 23-year-old Brian Dawkins when he struggled in 1996, and his message to Eagles fans is don’t give up on 23-year-old Hurts either after his up-and-down first year as a starting quarterback. “Obviously, with any young player you’re going to have games that aren’t going to look pretty,” Dawkins said Friday. “Same thing for me when I was young. Had games that did not look pretty early on. But a professional learns from his mistakes, and a good coach points out those things that he can get better at and then that professional takes that information that they lost with and they use it the next game or the next time to have success with. That’s what you will hopefully see from Jalen going forward.” Dawkins spoke at the Maxwell Awards at Harrah’s in Atlantic City, where he received the club’s Legends Award.

The Truth And Shame Of The Deshaun Watson Trade, And How The Davante Adams Mega-Deal Got Done – FMIA
3. I think the saddest draft news of the week had to be first-round edge rusher David Ojabo of Michigan, the yin to Aidan Hutchinson’s yang on the Wolverines’ defense, tearing his Achilles on the school’s Pro Day. No way to sugarcoat it than to say it probably pushes Ojabo—who should be fully recovered for the 2023 season, and has a ghost of a chance to be fit by late this season—down into the second round. It’s mindful of the Achilles tear Washington cornerback Sidney Jones suffered on his Pro Day in March 2017. Jones was likely to be a mid-first-round pick; the Eagles picked him 43rd overall, with the 12th pick of round two. Jones hasn’t been the player the Eagles projected. But I doubt that will be a negative in the consideration for teams playing the long game (Seattle at 41 overall, Indianapolis at 42, Baltimore at 45, Philadelphia at 51) if Ojabo is on the board for them.

Could Michigan edge David Ojabo fall to Giants at No. 36 after Achilles injury? – Big Blue View
Shane Hallam of Draft Countdown said he will have Ojabo going No. 32 (Lions) in his next mock draft. He said he believes Ojabo “could” fall to the Giants at No. 36, but that “teams have been more willing recently to take Achilles guys. I’d still guess late first.” Ryan Robert of RiseNDraft Scouting said “I think it’s very possible (Ojabo falls to the Giants) with the timing of everything. If it was an ACL, I’d say he still goes R1 but Achilles can get tricky.” John Douglas Vogel of NFL Sapient said he believes someone like Arnold Ebiketie of Penn State could now jump ahead of Ojabo in the draft pecking order. So, a mixed bag of opinions. The question for you, Giants fans, is this. If Ojabo does fall to No. 36 would you like to see the Giants select him even though he will miss at least a portion of the 2022 season?

Cowboys free agency 2022: Dallas reportedly interested in free agent defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul – Blogging The Boys
Pierre-Paul totaled 2.5 sacks in 12 games with the Buccaneers last year while battling a shoulder injury (torn rotator cuff) that required surgery in February. Prior to that he’d had at least 8.5 sacks in four straight seasons. He has been a consistently good player in general over the course of his career, but he is 33 years old at the moment which is not exactly the prime age for pass rushers. This is also another standard Dallas Cowboys Thing™️ as it is the team trying to find value in the latter days of free agency. There is no question that Jason Pierre-Paul is a big name, but his best days are certainly in the rearview mirror.

Kamu Grugier-Hill returning to Texans on one-year deal – PFT
The Texans are re-signing veteran linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, who announced his return on social media. Aaron Wilson of profootballnetwork.com reports it’s a one-year, $4 million deal. Grugier-Hill was a Pro Bowl alternate last season after totaling a career-high 108 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception. [BLG Note: Congrats to the former Eagles LB.]

NFL Daily Kickoff, Monday – The Browns make the Deshaun Watson trade official – The SB Nation NFL Show
The Browns officially announced the Deshaun Watson trade, and didn’t speak to a single plantiff of the lawyer in any of the 22 civil cases against him. Plus, the Bengals continue to beef up their offensive line, and the Chargers brought in another weapon for Justin Herbert.

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