Eagles Address Defense in Round Three, Draft LSU DT Bennie Logan

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We knew the Eagles had to come
away from this draft with at least one defensive lineman. They found their man
in round three in Bennie Logan.

Two things stand out about
Logan. First, he has a big-school pedigree coming out of LSU where they
routinely are a defensive juggernaut in the SEC, college football’s best
conference.

Second, like Lane Johnson and
Zach Ertz in rounds one and two, “athletic” is one of the first adjectives used
to describe Logan. At 6-2, 309, he also happens to be a load on the interior.

More from NFL.com:

Strengths

Athletic
tackle with a wide frame and solid thickness and strength throughout. Nice
lateral quickness to step into a gap after the snap, can penetrate through to
get a hand on the ballcarrier or hold his ground with a shoulder against single
blocks to stuff the hole. Plays with leverage when man-up and against
double-teams, doesn’t get moved off the line often. Flashes the violent hands
and pop to shed and eat up backs coming into his area. Works hard as a pass
rusher, can use his hands and strength to bull through the shoulder of his man
to reach the quarterback if the ball stays in the pocket too long. Strong
tackler who swallows ballcarriers when in position and also slows them with an
arm even if engaged.

Weaknesses

Not elite in
his initial quickness, will be stoned more consistently by NFL linemen unless
it improves and might be taken out in obvious passing situations. Might be best
as an athletic nose, rather than a three-technique. Inconsistent getting off
blocks inside to two-gap, lunges towards ballcarriers after they’re already by
him. Gets overaggressive on his punch on occasion and doesn’t have elite
upper-body strength, so better linemen and double teams can get his shoulders
turned out of the hole. Stamina is an issue, losing his chase ability and
short-area quickness when facing strong competition, and forces him to be
heavily rotated. Has difficulty seeing and handling cut blocks. Doesn't offer
much as a pass rushing threat.

Obviously this doesn’t sound
like a player who will step in and become a dominant force from day one, but he
is a third-round pick after all. What you have to like about Logan though is he
brings a versatile skill set to the table.

Logan had 45 total tackles,
5.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks in 2012, and 57, 6.5, and 3 one season prior,
his only two years as a starter. He spoke to the Shreveport Times about what NFL
suitors were looking for out of him.

“A lot of
teams are looking at me to play nose guard, defensive tackle, and a few teams
are even talking about me playing defensive end,” Logan said last week at LSU’s
Pro Day of various speed and agility drills. “Teams are looking at me to play
up and down the line, not just a set position.”

Logan (6-foot-3,
287 pounds) played only defensive tackle at LSU as he started the last two
seasons before declaring for the draft as a junior.

“So, I’m
going to play where they ask me to play,” he said.

Defensive line was an absolute
must in this draft. Obviously the Eagles are getting away from a 4-3 as their
base, and whether it’s a conventional 3-4 or the hybrid 4-3 under, those alignments
tend to require unique personnel. Plus the front office dumped several interior
linemen in the offseason, most notably Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson.

That was the Birds’ final
scheduled pick of the evening, so that will do it for tonight unless they
decide to trade back into the round. Assuming that’s all for day two though, it feels
like it was a successful one for Howie Roseman and company.

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