The Eagles and their Sistine Chapel

May 2, 2006 | By Dennis Bakay | Discuss

This was the Eagles’ Sistine Chapel of drafts. It was by far their best draft ever on paper. I’ll stand by that now and until proven otherwise. Sure, it takes 3-4 years for a final verdict to be delivered upon a draft, but this one sure looks pretty close to perfect.

Did anyone see that the great Dr. Z anointed the Eagles a C? Then again, he also said the Raiders would take Vince Young, the Bills would take Michael Huff (close they took Donte Whitner), the Eagles would take Bobby Carpenter, and that Winston Justice and Brodrick Bunkley would go to the Chargers at 19 and the Patriots at 21 respectively. Then again, if anyone saw my draft preview on Friday they’ll see I predicted the Eagles would move down for Nick Mangold, while using their second round picks on Demeco Ryans and Rodrique Wright or Gabe Watson. Well, I was about as accurate as the cop Sledge Hammer on the 80’s TV show with the same name…I had to dig deep for that reference! Watson fell to the Cardinals in the 4th round and Rodrique Wright fell all the way to the Dolphins in the 7th round. The draft’s direction can change on a dime and when it’s all said and done it’s even more difficult than trying to predict who will win every game in the NCAA Basketball Tournament; the odds are probably more astronomical in trying to predict all of the correct picks.

Moving along, the Eagles had an A+ draft when you look at who fell to them, what positions they filled, and what they gave up to get their players. The draft gods smiled upon them as Buffalo passed on Bunkley to take Whitner at number 8 in the first surprise of the draft. The Delaware Valley breathed a collective sigh of relief as the Browns passed on Bunkley at #13 to take Kamerion Wimbley. And, the Eagles waited and waited and finally as their 15 minute time limit just about expired, then they finally picked Brodrick Bunkley. They just love to torture the Eagles fans don’t they?! Bunkley has Warren Sapp written all over him. He will team up with Patterson to form one of the better, young defensive tackle tandems in the league. Patterson is more of a run stuffer, while Bunkley is that pure pass rusher the Eagles need.

Then in round 2 another shocker came. Winston Justice was still available at #39, so the Eagles traded their 2nd and one of three of their 4th round picks to move up and select him. Many of us had the Eagles taking Justice at 14 if Bunkley wasn’t there. They got two of the top 15 players (arguably) in the draft with their first 2 picks. They weren’t done there though.

They traded up again in round 3 to select Cal Poly’s Chris Gocong, a 6-3 defensive end who ran a 4.7 at the combine. Now, I’ll admit I said, “who the hell is Chris Cocong?”, when they selected him over Maurice Stovall. However, upon further investigation one can see Gocong becoming the Eagles’ strong side linebacker they have so sorely lacked since the departure of Carlos Emmons. They plan on playing him on special teams and expect to see him getting plenty of work in the linebacker rotation. So, how can they possibly follow up a fantastic day 1 the following day?

Reid and company wasted no time in getting down to business in the 4th round as they traded Hollis Thomas and a 4th round pick to select All-American offensive guard Max Jean-Gilles out of Georgia. Gilles can possibly start for the Eagles this year. He and Andrews would form one of the largest guard tandems in the league, and both by all accounts possess excellent footwork and agility for linemen their size. The Eagles weren’t done there yet. They traded up again (this time trading Artis Hicks and a 4th) to select Jason Avant, WR out of Michigan. Again, this is a very good value pick. Avant is seen as a solid possession receiver and can develop into a #2 receiver in a few years.

Now, the Eagles still had to address the return game, so where did they turn? They nabbed all-world athlete and Olympian Jeremy Bloom in the 5th round. He will provide the Eagles with a return threat that they sorely lacked since the day J.R. decided to hop a fence, thus likely ending his NFL career. The Eagles were playing from behind for a number of reasons last season and one of them was due to their poor field position. This will no longer be an issue as Bloom gives them a threat that can take it to the house every time.

The Eagles had a masterpiece of a draft on Saturday. Yes, it will be 3-4 years until we can really see the impact these players have made, but right now it looks like their Sistine Chapel. Bunkley should be an immediate starter on the defensive line and will provide the Eagles with the push up the middle they sorely lacked. Gilles and Justice will push for playing time right away and in a few years should help solidify a line that may look like this: Gilles-LG, Justice-LT, Jackson-C, Andrew-RG, Herrimans-RT. If these players fulfill their potential they could put the Packers and Broncos offensive lines in recent history to shame. The selection of Gocong will not only impact special teams, but he’ll be the replacement to the Bowtie man that everybody loves to rag on…let’s face it if Dhani’s play were equivalent to his intellectual ability he’d be Derrick Brooks! Dhani, you are one smart cookie, but you need to play better if you want to wear Eagles green. Avant can step in as a #4 receiver right away and learn the ropes before potentially becoming the #2 of the future in 2 years. And, of course Bloom will solidify that return game.

It doesn’t get much better than this. Sure, it’s all conjecture and I was accurate as Sledgehammer, but aren’t we all about that accurate on draft day?

Recently, some companies offered a million dollars to anybody that could correctly guess all of the picks in the NCAA tournament. The odds on the low side are said to be one in 150 million. Some say it’s above a septillion (that’s 10 to the 24th power for those of you wondering) and the odds are much higher for guessing all the picks in the NFL draft. I’d gladly offer that prize up in a contest if I were running a company, without batting an eye.

There are so many things that can happen…a team’s future is like the arteries in a river. It can go in many directions in the matter of minutes. And, that’s the beauty of the draft. It’s a time of optimism, strategy, and intrigue all rolled into one. This draft could be to the Eagles what the Dallas Cowboys’ 1991 draft was when they selected Russell Maryland, Erik Williams, Leon Lett, and Alvin Harper.

Drafts like this can build a championship team. We shall see…