The Philadelphia Eagles were once a dominant team in the NFC conference going to four straight NFC Championship games, and one would end up in a trip to the Super Bowl. Now, the Eagles have aged, and their quarterback has been outspoken in getting weapons for a run at the playoffs.
Quarterback Donovan McNabb, and Eagle fans, want one thing, and that being a big top notch wide receiver for the offense. It is the one area that the Eagles for some reason have not addressed through the draft over the past several years. The Eagles have not taken a wide receiver in the first two round, since the 2005 when the took Reggie Brown in the second round. The have not used a first round pick on a wide receiver, since the 2001 draft.
However, with with the recent rumours that McNabb will be traded, and Kevin Kolb taken in the second round, it will be a matter of time before McNabb is gone. Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Daily News said this on the situation, “Now that the Randy Moss flirtation is over, along with the Fitzgerald fantasy, if McNabb cannot beg himself a wideout this spring – somebody, anybody; Bryant Johnson, come on down – does the quarterback have any juice at all within the organization anymore?”
The main weapons of the Eagles offense is tightend LJ Smith, and running back Brian Westbrook. Outside of them the Eagles do not have another target that they can depend on to score.
The other issue with the Eagles is the age of offensive tackle Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas, along with safety Brian Dawkins. Runyan is 34 years old, and Thomas is 33, and with no for sure replacement the Eagles will probably address the issue again in the second round. The Eagles can thank New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyoira for destroying the confidence of tackle Winston Justice, who the Eagles took in the 2006 NFL draft.
Dawkins is 34 as well, and eventually will need replacing soon also. They also needed a cornerback, but they addressed that with the signing of Asante Samuel. They have not taken a safety to replace Dawkins, but you can expect them to address the issue in the third round, or next year in the first or second round.
For Eagle fans it will be a long day when the first day of the draft starts, afterall the future of their beloved Donovan McNabb might hang in the balance.
