Birds eying bright future with defensive picks

Let's face it, for the most part the Eagles have gotten it right when drafting offense in recent years. Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy have been great picks. As for Danny Watkins and Jason Kelce, they played decent for young players thrown into the line of fire early in their careers.

But the Eagles' defensive picks have left a lot to be desired. With the exception of Trent Coles, a fifth-round selection in 2003, the Birds haven't picked an impact player since that '03 draft. We also cannot overlook that Mike Patterson, who was the Eagles' first-round pick in 2005, has been a steady cog at defensive tackle, but has not been an impact player.

Theres been a lot of Jerome McDougles, Jamaal Greens, J.R. Reeds, Brodrick Bunkleys, Chris Gocongs, Stewart Bradleys, Macho Harris and Daniel Teo-Nesheims along the way.

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In 2010 and 2011 the Eagles added Brandon Graham, Nate Allen, Jamar Chaney, Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Curtis Marsh and Casey Matthews. The jury is still out on all of them due to injuries, and valuable lost playing and learning time because of last years lockout.

This year, the organization selected players who could be the foundation of the defense for years to come in Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, and Vinny Curry. Fortunately for all three, they dont have to step in and bear the brunt of the pressure because theres enough veteran defensive presence on this roster to allow them to ease into their roles.

But theres no question the Eagles last three drafts could define general manager Howie Roseman as a true overall evaluator of talent. With a full compliment of OTAs, minicamps and summer training camp, the now second and third year players must be more effective than they were in the past, and two years from now we should have a true sense of whether the Eagles hit or missed on the 2012 draft picks.

Roseman believes he and his scouting staff are on course to right the defensive wrongs that have plagued this team for years. In due time we will know if his navigations are accurate, or if hes continued to veer off course.