Draft Cont'd: Eagles Add Defense, Quarterback, Fourth Rounder; Day 3 Now Underway

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We're hesitant to use the word "successful," as the NFL Draft is historically hard to accurately judge in real time, but the Eagles certainly had a productive rounds two and three on Friday night. The front office continued to focus on defense in the second, even managing to re-gain a pick in Saturday's fourth round, yet also added a potential quarterback of the future in the third, if for no other reason than to keep all of us guessing about the state of the franchise.
It all began with No. 46, LB Mychal Kendricks out of Cal, who figures to compete for a starting job at outside linebacker this season. A brief rundown below.
The 5-11, 239-lb Kendricks was the fastest linebacker in the draft, the only one to run a sub-4.5 forty in fact. While he may not be the biggest player in the world, Kendricks was a prolific tackler in college, and that's a lot more important than any measurables at the moment. He instantly projects as the club's starting strongside linebacker come Week 1, and it's tough to complain about that at the moment.
Next the Eagles used the No. 51 pick acquired from the Cardinals to get one back. After trading a fourth-round pick to Seattle to jump up three spots in round one, the Birds sent Arizona's second to the Green Bay Packers, moving down eight spots and adding 123rd overall in the process. The Kevin Kolb pick now nets two players in this draft.
Eight picks later, the Eagles went back to work, pulling their only real surprise of the night. The saying goes you can never have too many pass rushers, and Andy Reid obviously agrees, as Philly chose Vinny Curry from Marshall. The 6-3, 266-lb Curry racked up 23 sacks over the past two seasons, albeit playing in C-USA. He looks like Brandon Graham insurance at first blush, just in case the club's first pick from 2010 never recovers from microfracture surgery.
Later the Birds confirmed they were not entirely comfortable with the current crop of quarterbacks, selecting Arizona's Nick Foles in round three. Scouting reports would indicate Foles has an NFL arm, but is not regarded as very athletic. It is questionable just how important that is for a signal caller, but certainly bucks recent trends at the position.
Rounds four through seven continue at noon.

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