So I Guess We Go Back To Talking About The Draft?

Well that was all rather anticlimactic, wasn't it?

I guess the good news is Tra Thomas might be heading back to Philadelphia, thereby completely destroying my prediction that he would be the one with options, while Dawk would have little choice but to return.  Good one, Derek.

(At least we'll get to read this summer on PE.com how the Eagles have "improved" their offensive line by retaining Thomas.  I always love that stuff.)

So since we're getting nothing to chew on out of free agency -- and if you look around the league, it's not just the Eagles who have put the brakes on after the initial surge -- let's talk a little bit more about the draft.  I'd planned to write up some post-Combine thoughts last week anyway, but then things spun up with Dawk and Tra and all those guys and draft talk pretty much went out the window.

A few post-Combine thoughts:

Something was screwy with the 40 times.  I've been having this discussion with a number of people over email, so pardon me if I can't remember what I've written here and am repeating myself, but something seemed very off with the "official" times in the 40-yard dash this year.  If you compare the Combine results from 2008 and 2009, it really just doesn't look like there's as much speed in this year's draft, overall.  And a number of guys who were projected to run really fast times ended up with some pedestrian numbers.

I'd been guessing the issue was either drugs (better testing?) or perhaps the new surface at Lucas Oil Stadium (versus the RCA Dome), but someone may have a better answer:

Speaking of Maybin, what was up with the 40 times at the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine? First of all, some of the unofficial times seemed slow. But then, all of the official times were a tenth slower than the unofficial ones! Mike Mayock even commented about the slow times:

"I'm going to tell you something. The guys that I sit with at the end of the 40-yard dash. I guarantee you, they trust their own handhelds, and the handhelds were quicker for whatever reason this year."

I don't know if the equipment was malfunctioning or if the guy in charge of the official times was on LSD, but something was definitely wrong. In fact, I created a thread about it called: Mitch King Ran Faster Than...

Which thread states:

Mitch King ran faster than...

Larry English
Maurice Evans
Brandon Williams
Matt Shaugnessy
Paul Kruger

Just as fast as...

Aaron Maybin
Robert Ayers

Seriously... 310-pound Dorrell Scott ran an "official" 4.92. Aaron Maybin, at 249, ran an "official" 4.90. WTF is that?

Unofficially, btw, Maybin was 4.78 and Scott was 4.90

I'm telling you... I don't know if it's going to come out or not, but I really think someone screwed up the official 40s.

The beauty of this alternate theory is that it can explain why we might see differences from player to player.  After all, if the track really were slow for everyone, then Darrius Heyward-Bey's time of 4.30 would have to be adjusted down to absurd levels.

Speaking of Darrius Heyward-Bay.  The guy's 6-3, just ran a 4.3 40, and supposedly looked great in all the position drills.  The knock on him is that he's not a polished player who still needs work on things like route-running.  But considering the Eagles would only need him to run straight-line routes for a couple years, that shouldn't hurt him much here.

I know we have a fair number of DC-based readers around here.  Anyone a Maryland fan and can give us some background on this guy?  Is he a workout wonder or did he really show up in games?

And I'm not suggesting you should plant evidence or anything, but if you do fear the turtle, anything you could do to depress his draft stock would be greatly appreciated...

Still not sold on Pettigrew.  He's even slower than they said he was.  Everything we're hearing about this guy just makes it seem like he'd be a GREAT second-round pick.  I'm starting to get this funny feeling that a lot of NFL teams are going to feel that way in April. 

What hurts Pettigrew even more is that the rest of the tight end class is deep.  None of these guys seems to be able to block, but there are a half-dozen prospects on this list who could share time immediately with Celek.

Cook's obviously the guy I've been pumping, but I must admit whenever I read about him I hear faint echoes of "Elllllll Jaaaaaaayyyyy SSSSSmmmmiiiiiith" in the background.

Michael Crabtree is in play.  I'm NOT arguing that he's the guy here.  He may be, he may not be, whatever.  All I'm saying is that the draft is shaping up in such a way that he's attainable.

Going by the "new" NFL trade chart, the Eagles' two first-round picks are worth somewhere between the #4 and #5 selections in the draft.  Now look at the top five:

1. Detroit -- Can't take a wide receiver without fans burning down what's left of the city.

2. St. Louis -- Could take him, but have a gaping hole at LT and a couple options to fill it.  (This could totally depend on what Detroit does.  If the Lions go with a QB, St. Louis gets first pick of OTs.  If Detroit goes OT, then maybe St. Louis has to look around a bit more.)

3. Kansas City -- So many, many holes.  If they're convinced he's the guy, that might not matter, but it doesn't seem like a New England-y way to build a team.

4. Seattle -- Just signed Housh.

5. Cleveland -- Only if they trade Braylon.  And in that case, we might not care about Crabtree any more.

Again, I'm not saying we should throw it all in and grab Crabtree -- I'm just saying it's an option.

There seems to be a ton of talent in this draft.  I know we won't know for sure until a couple years from now, but this draft seems loaded at a bunch of positions.  That's certainly one argument for holding on to the two first-round picks.

But consider just one thing.  If the Eagles were so convinced that later first-round picks were necessary to build a team, would they have traded those away the last two years?

Finally, and this should really go without saying, but the Eagles aren't drafting Beanie Wells.  Yes, he's better than Tony Hunt.  By a fair amount.  But he's the same kind of player as Tony Hunt.

If the Eagles are going to go shopping for a tailback in the first round, it's not going to be for a guy who can complement Brian Westbrook. 

It's going to be for a guy who can replace him. 

With that said, the Eagles really may have to look for that guy in the first / top of the second round.  Not loving a lot below the first tier here.