On Friday, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah held his final conference call with the media to field questions and provide insight on this weekend’s NFL draft.
Jeremiah addressed several topics in the wide-ranging call, which took place one week before the first round kicked off in Green Bay.
Here are five highlights and takeaways from the questions and answers.
Daniel Jeremiah on Eagles and Walter Nolen
The former Ole Miss defensive tackle has been mocked to the Eagles for weeks. While admitting Philadelphia covets Nolan, the draft analyst believes he’ll be drafted long before No. 32 overall.
“I would say it’s unlikely that he falls that low. He’s just too explosive and in a passing league I can’t see him getting there, but if you asked me if Nolan Smith was going to get there, I would have said no. If you would have asked me if Cooper DeJean was going to be there in the second round, I would have said no. “Look, you always prepare for it, and you always be pleasantly surprised of who falls. I would not anticipate that he would drop that far. I think he could end up going — if he went in the top 15, I wouldn’t be shocked. Yeah, that one would surprise me if he made it all the way down. In terms of the Eagles and where they could look, I just imagine in Howie’s office that you just gather the offensive staff and the defensive staff, and they are just lobbying for which offensive or defensive lineman they would love to have at that point in time. “I would also say with where they are as a team and the roster and you go through and look at it, they’re in pretty good shape. They have a ton of picks. I think they have 12 picks next year. So they could be a team — you are always looking at teams looking to move back. They could be a team that, say it’s him, say it’s Walter Nolen is there. Maybe that’s someone they would be aggressive to move up.
Daniel Jeremiah on Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart
The Texas A&M pass rusher is an athletic marvel, but his production with the Aggies didn’t match his predraft hype. Jeremiah had this to say about him landing in Philadelphia.
“I wouldn’t sleep on Shemar Stewart as an explosive player that they could use and fit. If he starts to drop, they could go up and get him. I think there’s a lot of teams this draft that would like to go in reverse, and the Eagles might be one of the few teams that would really be willing to put their foot on the gas and go get somebody.”
Daniel Jeremiah on Malaki Starks and Eagles’ potential going safety at No. 32
After the Eagles traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Houston, there has been some discussion about Georgia All-American safety Malaki Starks being the pick at No. 32.
“I think it would be a great fit. Obviously they love shopping at that store (Georgia). He’s a really, really good player. I don’t think he made as many plays this year as he did previously, but he gives you someone who in a pinch can play your nickel. I think he could survive outside at corner if you had to get out of a game, and I think he could be an outstanding free safety, play over the top, roam and make plays. “He’s young. He’s really, really well-liked in that building in terms of the leadership, character, intangible side of things. I think that would be — from a value standpoint and a fit standpoint, would be great. “It’s just that I think the Eagles, given their druthers, would rather — they always like to start big. To me, if it’s closely graded and there’s an opportunity for them to get somebody on the line of scrimmage, I would think they would lean in that direction. But if they got wiped out and cleaned up on the offensive and defensive line, man, he would be a great fit.”
Daniel Jeremiah on Howie Roseman’s improvement as a talent evaluator
Roseman caught flak for talking Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson, but he’s been an A+ evaluator ever since. Jeremiah was asked about Roseman’s improvement.
“He’s young. He’s really, really well-liked in that building in terms of the leadership, character, intangible side of things. I think that would be — from a value standpoint and a fit standpoint, would be great. “It’s just that I think the Eagles, given their druthers, would rather — they always like to start big. To me, if it’s closely graded and there’s an opportunity for them to get somebody on the line of scrimmage, I would think they would lean in that direction. But if they got wiped out and cleaned up on the offensive and defensive line, man, he would be a great fit.”
Daniel Jeremiah on Georgia players being successful
With the addition of Azeez Ojulari, Philadelphia has seven defenders from the University of Georgia roster. Jeremiah was asked about head coach Kirby Smart and why the Bulldogs are so successful.
“I think it’s the practice, honestly. I do. I just think you’re seeing great players every single day in practice, and if you’re not competing and focused and getting better every day, there’s ten guys behind you that are going to take your job. So that creates some urgency there.
“Then on top of that, you’ve got a staff of good teachers. Everybody listens to Kirby, and he gets clipped off for yelling and screaming and how intense he is, but when you listen to him and you see it and you are around him, he’s an excellent teacher. “So these guys come prepared. They’ve played in NFL schemes. It’s just like the minor leagues. It’s just like the minor leagues for the NFL. It’s pretty incredible what they’ve built there, and we’ve seen it before. Alabama, you know, has done that for a long time where guys just kind of arrived. Sometimes they could be a little bit beat up because of the intensity and the physicality, but man, I feel like you’re getting real dudes when you go shopping at Georgia.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: 5 Eagles-related takeaways from Daniel Jeremiah’s conference call
On Friday, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah held his final conference call with the media to field questions and provide insight on this weekend’s NFL draft.
Jeremiah addressed several topics in the wide-ranging call, which took place one week before the first round kicked off in Green Bay.
Here are five highlights and takeaways from the questions and answers.
Daniel Jeremiah on Eagles and Walter Nolen
The former Ole Miss defensive tackle has been mocked to the Eagles for weeks. While admitting Philadelphia covets Nolan, the draft analyst believes he’ll be drafted long before No. 32 overall.
“I would say it’s unlikely that he falls that low. He’s just too explosive and in a passing league I can’t see him getting there, but if you asked me if Nolan Smith was going to get there, I would have said no. If you would have asked me if Cooper DeJean was going to be there in the second round, I would have said no. “Look, you always prepare for it, and you always be pleasantly surprised of who falls. I would not anticipate that he would drop that far. I think he could end up going — if he went in the top 15, I wouldn’t be shocked. Yeah, that one would surprise me if he made it all the way down. In terms of the Eagles and where they could look, I just imagine in Howie’s office that you just gather the offensive staff and the defensive staff, and they are just lobbying for which offensive or defensive lineman they would love to have at that point in time. “I would also say with where they are as a team and the roster and you go through and look at it, they’re in pretty good shape. They have a ton of picks. I think they have 12 picks next year. So they could be a team — you are always looking at teams looking to move back. They could be a team that, say it’s him, say it’s Walter Nolen is there. Maybe that’s someone they would be aggressive to move up.
Daniel Jeremiah on Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart
The Texas A&M pass rusher is an athletic marvel, but his production with the Aggies didn’t match his predraft hype. Jeremiah had this to say about him landing in Philadelphia.
“I wouldn’t sleep on Shemar Stewart as an explosive player that they could use and fit. If he starts to drop, they could go up and get him. I think there’s a lot of teams this draft that would like to go in reverse, and the Eagles might be one of the few teams that would really be willing to put their foot on the gas and go get somebody.”
Daniel Jeremiah on Malaki Starks and Eagles’ potential going safety at No. 32
After the Eagles traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Houston, there has been some discussion about Georgia All-American safety Malaki Starks being the pick at No. 32.
“I think it would be a great fit. Obviously they love shopping at that store (Georgia). He’s a really, really good player. I don’t think he made as many plays this year as he did previously, but he gives you someone who in a pinch can play your nickel. I think he could survive outside at corner if you had to get out of a game, and I think he could be an outstanding free safety, play over the top, roam and make plays. “He’s young. He’s really, really well-liked in that building in terms of the leadership, character, intangible side of things. I think that would be — from a value standpoint and a fit standpoint, would be great. “It’s just that I think the Eagles, given their druthers, would rather — they always like to start big. To me, if it’s closely graded and there’s an opportunity for them to get somebody on the line of scrimmage, I would think they would lean in that direction. But if they got wiped out and cleaned up on the offensive and defensive line, man, he would be a great fit.”
Daniel Jeremiah on Howie Roseman’s improvement as a talent evaluator
Roseman caught flak for talking Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson, but he’s been an A+ evaluator ever since. Jeremiah was asked about Roseman’s improvement.
“He’s young. He’s really, really well-liked in that building in terms of the leadership, character, intangible side of things. I think that would be — from a value standpoint and a fit standpoint, would be great. “It’s just that I think the Eagles, given their druthers, would rather — they always like to start big. To me, if it’s closely graded and there’s an opportunity for them to get somebody on the line of scrimmage, I would think they would lean in that direction. But if they got wiped out and cleaned up on the offensive and defensive line, man, he would be a great fit.”
Daniel Jeremiah on Georgia players being successful
With the addition of Azeez Ojulari, Philadelphia has seven defenders from the University of Georgia roster. Jeremiah was asked about head coach Kirby Smart and why the Bulldogs are so successful.
“I think it’s the practice, honestly. I do. I just think you’re seeing great players every single day in practice, and if you’re not competing and focused and getting better every day, there’s ten guys behind you that are going to take your job. So that creates some urgency there.
“Then on top of that, you’ve got a staff of good teachers. Everybody listens to Kirby, and he gets clipped off for yelling and screaming and how intense he is, but when you listen to him and you see it and you are around him, he’s an excellent teacher. “So these guys come prepared. They’ve played in NFL schemes. It’s just like the minor leagues. It’s just like the minor leagues for the NFL. It’s pretty incredible what they’ve built there, and we’ve seen it before. Alabama, you know, has done that for a long time where guys just kind of arrived. Sometimes they could be a little bit beat up because of the intensity and the physicality, but man, I feel like you’re getting real dudes when you go shopping at Georgia.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: 5 Eagles-related takeaways from Daniel Jeremiah’s conference call
