Eagles Could Revisit Penn State Again in Draft
The Eagles went to the Penn State well and drank deeply and thirstily last year.
It was a rare visit to the Nittany Lions’ campus, located about a three hour drive out of the city, but the Eagles found the trip refreshing, so much so that they may want to take a few more sips when the 2020 NFL Draft begins later this week.
Penn State once again has talent that can be found early and late.
The Eagles and the Nittany Lions hadn’t done much business together until last year when they plucked running back Miles Sanders in the second round of last spring’s draft and defensive end Shareef Miller in the fourth round.
Sanders was in the mix for offensive rookie of the year and continually got better as the season went along.
Some people may already think Miller as a wasted pick since he couldn’t get on the field, but that would way premature to write him off before anyone can see what he could do.
After the draft ended, the Eagles turned in Penn State’s direction again, signing offensive lineman Ryan Bates and receiver DeAndre Thompkins as undrafted free agents. Thompkins didn’t work out, but Bates was traded to the Bills and he stuck on their roster.
Until 2019, the Eagles had drafted just two players from Happy Valley in this century: running back Tony Hunt in the third round of the 2007 draft and tight end Tony Stewart in the fifth-round back in 2001.
As for this year’s draft, the Eagles could have interest in receiver K.J. Hamler as perhaps a second-round pick. Hamler made it clear he wouldn’t mind be drafted by the Eagles when, at the Scouting Combine in February, he talked about how he was good friends with Sanders and patterned his game after DeSean Jackson.
“With Hamler, start with his speed,” said NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah on a conference call last week. “I mean, that jumps off the screen when you watch him. … He's somebody you can pitch him the ball on a fly sweep, you can get him the ball over the top of coverage. There's a lot of different things you can do with him.”
There is some downside to Hamler, who did not run at the Combine. He is just under 5-9 and 180 pounds.
“That's a challenge, and then just the drops,” said Jeremiah. “He's another one that's got some concentration drops. He's got to find a way to clean that up a little bit. Lack of size, not being totally healthy and the drops I think push him down a little bit lower than where he should go. … I think somebody has got a chance to get a steal with this kid if he shows up healthy.”
Then there’s pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos, who may be an Eagles option if they trade back later in the first round or early second. Gross-Matos is 6-5, 266 and had 17.5 sacks in his last two years with PSU.
“He's got really active hands,” sad Jeremiah. “He's excellent with his hands. He's outstanding on loops and stunts and they move him around. He's got a really good knack and a good feel as a pass rusher. I didn't see dynamic explosiveness in terms of his twitch, but he wins off more technique and just the overall feel and instincts and understanding.
“Weakness, he'll get stuck on blocks against the run, he'll get moved around a little bit, but you're drafting him to rush the quarterback.”
Gross-Matos said he was Sanders’ bodyguard when the two of them were at Penn State together.
We would always joke around like that,” said Gross-Matos at the Combine. “We used to joke around on the field a lot. That’s probably the biggest thing. He always smiled a lot, too. He always made it fun. We’d get into the locker room and stuff and he was like, ‘Oh, that’s my bodyguard.’ It was just a little inside joke.”
Gross-Matos also said he didn’t like the Dallas Cowboys growing up in Spotsylvania, Va., and wouldn’t that endear him to Eagles fans should Philly find a way to take him?
“I had a lot of animosity towards them,” said Gross-Matos, “I ain’t gonna lie. But I love every team.”
Other PSU players that could get drafted and may interest the Eagles include cornerback John Reid, who grew up in Mount Laurel, N.J., and ran a 4.49 at the Combine, linebacker Cam Brown, and defensive tackle Robert Windsor.
Jeremiah has Reid as his 99 player ranked overall.
“He’s going to be a good nickel player at the next level,” said Jeremiah.
Brown ran a pedestrian 4.72 at the Combine, but he is long and angular, which can be a good trait to cover tight ends.
“I think he kind of factors in as a mid-to-late round guy who’s going to be a good special teams player and get a chance in sub situations,” said Jeremiah.
Windsor was third-team Big Ten this past season, but is considered a more late-round, undrafted free agent.
“(He) is kind of a bull in a China shop in there as a defensive tackle,” said Jeremiah. “Real strong against the run, real heavy in there at the point of attack, plays with great effort. He's just on the ground a little bit too much for me.”
