Tag: Sydney Brown

Eagles’ top-30 visits can offer a glimpse into Howie Roseman’s draft plans

With three weeks to go until the 2023 NFL Draft, we’re breaking down the Eagles’ top 30 visits and how that’ll play into Howie Roseman’s draft plans

The NFL draft is fast approaching, and the 2023 influx of talent comes at a reasonable time after a mass exodus of free agents on defense.

Only a tiny percentage of this incoming class will make their mark on the league as a rookie.

With Philadelphia set to sign Jalen Hurts to a massive deal, GM Howie Roseman needs all his picks to deliver the goods immediately.

With the draft just three weeks out, we’re taking a closer look at the Eagles’ predraft visits and whether they offer a glimpse into what Howie Roseman has in store.

Each NFL team can meet with 30 top prospects on their draft boards.

The players you see visiting respective team facilities can help outline organizational needs or serious interests.

Philadelphia has two first-round picks, and they’ve embraced the process, bringing in a host of top names that’ll be selected up and down the draft board.

 

 

 

 

Looking at the top 10 potential targets for the Eagles at No. 10 overall in NFL draft

We’re looking at the top ten potential draft targets for the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 10 overall pick.

The 2023 NFL draft is fast approaching, and after a few first wave moves, Philadelphia appears locked in on adding pass rushers and offensive linemen.

Thanks to some draft night wizardry from Howie Roseman, the Eagles traded the No. 16 overall pick, No. 19 overall pick, and a 2022 sixth-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for the No. 18 overall pick, a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 seventh-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick.

Philadelphia has a Super Bowl-caliber offense and needs to reload on defense.

We’re looking at the top ten players that’ll likely be the target for Howie Roseman and the Eagles at No. 10 overall.

PFF: Chargers improve second and third levels of defense in 3-round mock draft

The Chargers get an offensive playmaker, a safety and a linebacker.

The Chargers’ top priority in this year’s draft is to inject more playmakers into Kellen Moore’s offense to get the most out of Justin Herbert’s talents.

In a recent three-round mock draft by Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness, he accomplishes that by adding Boston College’s Zay Flowers.

Adding weapons around a quarterback on a rookie deal is never a bad move, and Flowers impressed all over the field for Boston College in 2022. He turned 12 receptions from passes thrown 20-plus downfield into 500 deep receiving yards.

While undersized at 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, Flowers is a very dynamic receiver, with not just deep speed but the quickness and twitchiness in space, making him a threat with the ball in his hands.

Flowers led the ACC with 503 yards after the catch. Additionally, he forced 25 missed tackles last season, the third-most in the country for a wide receiver.

After that, McGuinness has L.A. addressing the defensive side of the ball with back-to-back selections, with the first being Illinois safety Sydney Brown.

Brown is coming off a season where he posted an 89.4 coverage grade to rank second among safeties in this draft class. He recorded six pass breakups and six interceptions in 2022.

Brown is a versatile piece, with the instincts, closing burst and ball skills when lined up as a deep safety, and the competitiveness at the catch point and reactive athleticism when lined up against the tight ends.

The Chargers have a need at the safety position. Nasir Adderley retired. Alohi Gilman has one more year on his contract. JT Woods is still a project. Brown would bring another play-maker on the backend alongside Derwin James.

To close out Day 2, Los Angeles selects Tulane linebacker Dorian Williams.

Williams is an athletic linebacker with the instincts and physicality in run defense. He has plenty of downhill speed to make an impact as a blizter. Additionally, Williams has a natural feel for coverage with an understanding of route concepts to make plays.

A team captain and three-year starter, Williams was productive in college, finishing with 316 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 44 quarterback pressures, eight passes defended, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

With Kenneth Murray in the final year of his rookie deal, Williams is capable of becoming the starter of the future.

2023 NFL Draft: The top 9 safeties

From Brian Branch to Jartavius Martin, here are Doug Farrar’s top nine safeties in the 2023 NFL draft class.

In the modern NFL, it’s the rare safety who’s paid to be just a safety. Three players classified as safeties finished the 2022 season with six interceptions: Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Justin Simmons of the Denver Broncos, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles. Each of those players had more than 100 snaps in the slot last season, and Gardner-Johnson’s deployment may have been most indicative of the ways in which defensive coordinators would like most of their safeties to play. He had 443 snaps at free safety, 202 in the box, and 208 in the slot.

If you are going to be a traditional deep safety most of the time, as Quandre Diggs of the Seattle Seahawks was with a league-leading 1,012 of his 1,221 snaps in the deep third, you’d better be some kind of ballhawk. Last season, only 21 players had more than 600 snaps at pure free safety, and the slot percentages for most safeties have increased exponentially over the last few years. In an NFL where nickel is the new base defense, and most defenses are playing as much or more dime than old-school base, the ways things worked before don’t work now most of the time.

So, when we look at the top nine draft prospects classified as safeties in this draft class, we’re focusing on positional versatility above all, and if positional versatility isn’t the thing, there had best be one mega/alpha skill if you want to make this list.

No matter where they play on the field from snap to snap, here are our nine best safeties for the 2023 NFL draft.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, Sports Info Solutions, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

(All prospect measurement percentiles courtesy of MockDraftable.com). 

5 defensive backs the Bucs should target in the 2023 Draft

Here are a few players Tampa Bay could target in the draft to make up for losses in the secondary this offseason:

The start of free agency took a toll on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary. Their best bet to reload at defensive back is in the draft, where they have enjoyed no small amount of recent success.

A big reason for the Bucs’ defensive resurgence in recent years is general manager Jason Licht’s focus on drafting in the secondary since 2018 when the Bucs selected corner Carlton Davis and safety Jordan Whitehead in the second and fourth rounds. A year later, Licht took corners Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean and S Mike Edwards across the second and third rounds.

The selection of these five players correlates with significant improvement of the Bucs defense. In 2018, they were 32nd in the NFL in defensive DVOA. By 2020, they were fifth and have remained in the top half of the league since.

The Bucs re-signed Davis last season while losing Whitehead to the New York Jets. This offseason, they managed to lock up starting cornerback Jamel Dean, but have since lost safety Edwards and Murphy-Bunting.

The loss of Edwards and Murphy-Bunting leaves Tampa looking to replace 1244 defensive snaps and 171 special teams snaps. Edwards in particular is a major blow as he was effectively a starter at safety next to Antoine Winfield Jr.

In any case, the Bucs need multiple defensive backs, and it is likely that Jason Licht returns to the draft well to address their needs down the depth chart.

Here are five defensive backs the Bucs should target in this year’s draft:

Eagles land a trio of impact defenders in PFF’s latest 2023 NFL three-round mock draft

The Philadelphia Eagles land a cornerback, edge rusher and hybrid safety in PFF’s latest three-round NFL mock draft

The Eagles are all set for the NFL draft, and with six picks in the 2023 selection process, a big move to trade back could be in the works.

With NFL free agency and the new league year fast approaching, GM Howie Roseman and his staff will start prepping to have four of the first 100 picks.

Philadelphia lost five defenders in free agency and has several pressing needs along the defensive line and linebacker.

The Eagles reload on the defensive side of the football, landing three impact defenders and a wide receiver in PFF’s latest three-round mock draft.

7 DB prospects the Bucs could target in the 2023 NFL draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could target these defensive back prospects in the 2023 NFL draft

With most of their secondary due to hit free agency, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will no doubt look to the draft to replenish their defensive backs. Fortunately, this draft is chock full of talent to restock Tampa’s defensive backfield.

The Bucs could very well lose starters Jamel Dean and Mike Edwards as well as Sean Murphy-Bunting, Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan. They accounted for 3156 cumulative snaps in the secondary. Dean in particular played more than any other defensive back for Tampa.

Already $56 million over the cap, the Bucs likely will not be able to re-sign many of their free agent defensive backs or otherwise acquire free agent talent to replace them. The draft is their only alternative.

This year’s draft class does not have the top-end talent of last year’s class, but there should still be many potential starters littered in the first and second rounds, both at cornerback and safety. The Bucs will have some flexibility in addressing needs while getting good value on the players they pick.

Here are seven defensive backs the Bucs could target in this year’s NFL draft:

Prospects at 10 positions who saw their stock rise at the 2023 scouting combine

Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick was in Lucas Oil Stadium for all the scouting combine drills, and here’s who impressed her the most.

Now that all the prospects have all gone through their interviews, measurables and drills at the 2023 scouting combine. It’s time to look at which guys won the days at their positions.

There are a few players that proved that they are valued correctly, and some other prospects who showed that they should be considered a little higher in the draft.

Let’s dive into how some of these prospects were able to show their skills and why it shouldn’t have been a surprise!

10 takeaways from the top defensive back performances at NFL Combine

We’re looking at takeaways and observations from the defensive back workouts at the 2023 NFL scouting combine

The Eagles are in Indianapolis for the 2023 NFL scouting combine, and all eyes within the organization will likely be on impact defenders.

Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, James Bradberry, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Marcus Epps are all slated for free agency. It won’t be possible for the Eagles to bring them all back, especially once Jalen Hurts signs his new deal.

Philadelphia could look to draft a cornerback and safety with multiple free agents in the secondary.

We’ve previewed the edge rushers and linebackers who worked out on Thursday, and here are the takeaways from the defensive back portion of the events.

10 defensive backs for the Eagles to watch at the 2023 NFL combine

We’re previewing 10 defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles to watch at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine

The Eagles are in Indianapolis for the 2023 NFL scouting combine, and all eyes within the organization will likely be on impact defenders.

Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, James Bradberry, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Marcus Epps are all slated for free agency. It won’t be possible for the Eagles to bring them all back, especially once Jalen Hurts signs his new deal.

We’ve previewed the edge rushers and linebackers who worked out on Thursday, and we’ll now transition to a deep class at the defensive back position.