This is the time of the year when we can get some good hints from Dave Spadaro. A comment in today’s column (Are the Eagles Set at WR?) caught my eye:

“What the Eagles need to determine is if a draft pick — a high one, perhaps — in two weeks is better than what they have on the roster. Given the other needs on this team, would the Eagles invest in a wide receiver in, say, the first three rounds of the draft?”

A bit later…

“Both Jackson and Maclin are extremely talented and nobody would argue that. Maclin is in the last year of his contract, a situation the team certainly comprehends.”

Hmm. Could the Eagles be looking for a WR? In a recent mock draft I had them take Texas speedster Marquise Goodwin in the 3rd round. We’ve talked plenty about Tavon Austin being a target if the team trades back in the 1st. There are any number of talented guys who could be 2nd round targets. It is hard to know exactly who will be on the board since this is such an odd WR group. Other 3rd round types could be big physical guys like Aaron Dobson or Chris Harper. The Eagles could go for a slot receiver like Ryan Swope. I don’t know what Denard Robinson’s value is, but he’s the kind of versatile player that Chip Kelly could love.

This could all be a smokescreen, but it feels more like management wanting Dave to give the fanbase a hint that the team could be adding a WR so the fans don’t go nuts when we pass on DBs and front seven guys. For those who say “nonsense”, remember that the Eagles had pictures of Kevin Kolb visiting the NovaCare in the pre-draft copy of Eagles Insider back in April 2007. Those pictures likely weren’t an accident.

* * * * *

For PE.com I put together a list of some mid-to-late round draft prospects the team could like on offense. I’ll do defense for next week.

* * * * *

Sheil Kapadia recently posted some comments from players on changes from Chip Kelly and thoughts on the upcoming season. There is nothing groundbreaking, but this is the time of year when all is well and it is fun to hear what everyone has to say. I’m sure some veteran players aren’t thrilled with the new way of doing business, but we won’t hear about that for at least another month or so, and maybe not until Training Camp.

* * * * *

Make sure to keep checking EaglesBlog.net. I post whatever draft nuggets I stumble across.

* * * * *

Here’s some insight from an Oregon fan in regard to a short post of mine where I wondered if Chip Kelly preferred small-to-medium size QBs or he just happened to get those guys.

“Chip did try and recruit Terrelle Pryor and EJ Manuel but he also recruited Tahj Boyd, Johnny Manziel and Munchie Legeaux to go with current Ducks Marcus Mariota, Jake Rodrigues and Jeff Lockie. That would seem to indicate that being 6’2″ 200+ is kind of a min benchmark for the QBs. I don’t think size of the QB matters as much as the efficiency of the QBs brain, though.

You have also mentioned what kind of OL Oregon goes after. Oregon has had terrible luck recruiting OL in part because the nature of recruiting sees a lot of negative recruiting tactics. I never agreed with it, but for a long time recruits were led to believe that Oregon’s offense won’t prepare you for the NFL and as a result we made due with a lot of 2 and 3* recruits at OL. We’ve also lost out on players who were previously interested because of the way we practice (they didn’t want to do that everyday). Chip has tried to go after the best players but he also goes after players that fit what we do which is why the idea that Andre Smith would end up in Philly seems so absolutely ludicrous to me. No way you can expect that guy to stay in shape consistently. (In fact, when Chip first got to Oregon all of the OL went on diets to lose their ‘babyfat’ before resculpting themselves and this is now how all OL start at Oregon. If you come in with too much fat, you lose it first before building that muscle back up.)

While he’s started to rise into the late first, Kyle Long could be a guy to watch for with the 2nd pick. Of course, some of these OL are real high on upside so there are a lot of different way to approach the draft.”

* * * * *

My first choice for the draft is still trading back. One of the tough questions is always…for what?

Sheil Kapadia put up a great post analyzing possible trade scenarios. He listed possible partners and then went through to show what the Eagles could get based on different trade value systems. Teams won’t be dying to move up this year so don’t expect the Eagles to get max value if they do work out a deal.

I think my fantasy scenario would be to trade with Miami (pick 12) and then to get their pair of 3rd round picks.

* * * * *

Jimmy Bama has a few interesting nuggets up in today’s post.

* * * * *

David Syvertsen did an NFC West draft preview.

_