Eagles Visit Draft Prospects at Senior Bowl

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Leading up to the Senior Bowl on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., many draft prospects are participating in practice sessions and meeting with teams in the hopes of improving their draft stock.

The Eagles have met with five of those college players so far.

A local product out of Malvern, PA, Nasir Adderley attended Great Valley High School before committing to the University of Delaware. In his four years at the university, he registered 226 tackles and has proven he is a hard hitter who is not afraid of making contact. What makes him a big prospect in the draft are his coverage and ball skills in addition to his tackling. He managed 31 passes defended and 10 interceptions throughout his college career. He has some versatility to play corner, but the free safety position is easily his strongest position.

Daniel Jeramiah of NFL.com currently has Adderley ranked as the 27th best prospect in the draft. CBS Sports ranks him as the 60th best prospect. Positionally, he is ranked second and fourth respectively by the sites and is believed to have an excellent chance to move up those rankings at the Senior Bowl. He currently projects as a late first-round or a second-round pick. He is one of the highest ranked prospects out of a non-power five conference.

A line mate of Vita Vea, Gaines will not be as hyped as his teammate. Gaines recorded 55 tackles (6.5 for loss) and 3.5 sacks as well as an interception in his first season as the top lineman. It should be noted that the Huskies play a 3-4 defense, so Gaines may not be a perfect fit for the Eagles. With that in mind, Gaines received a lot of double teams over the past three years and could allow the other lineman to succeed if he continues that in the pros.

Gaines is an extremely productive run stuffer, but has not proven to be a great pass rusher. Maybe some of that is due to his frequently being double teamed, but his lack of a complete game will push him into the later rounds. There is a chance he is picked late in the third round, but it is more likely he hears his name called on the third day of the draft.

Marshall may have peaked a bit too early in college. He has stellar seasons in his freshman and sophomore year, but didn’t build on them much in the next two seasons. That may have had something to do with his opposite starting corner, Adoree’ Jackson, leaving to get drafted in the first round as well as the various injuries he dealt with. He was also not given much of a chance to change games this season has he was targeted only once every 12.2 snaps in coverage, the second-lowest rate in the NCAA.

He finishes his college career with 146 tackles, 36 defensed passes and six interceptions (though none came over the past two seasons). He is projected to go in the third or fourth round. He will be a player to seriously watch as the Eagles have been taking corners who flew under the radar and/or suffered from injuries later in the past few drafts (Blake Countess – 2016 sixth round, Jalen Mills – 2016 seventh round, Rasul Douglas – 2017 third round and Avonte Maddox – 2018 fourth round) with the lone exception being Sidney Jones, who was considered the best corner in the 2017 draft, falling into the second round due to an injury.

The lone offensive player the Eagles met with, Hunter Renfrow is undersized. Standing at only 5 foot 10 inches tall, he simply does not have the size that is typically expected of an NFL receiver. This makes teams a bit concerned that throwing toward him may lead to interceptions with defensive backs who are taller being able to get above him and get to the ball before he has a chance. That said, he has been an excellent receiver in college and has beaten top talent, making the catch to earn Clemson the win over Alabama and make his team the College Football Playoff Champions in 2017.

Renfrow is not among the top prospects in the draft, but will absolutely be selected. Despite his 186 catches for 2133 yards and 15 touchdowns, it would be a surprise if Renfrow were picked in or before the third round. Renfrow will likely prove to be either a steal or a bust as he will likely go in the fourth or fifth round.

Projected to go in the middle rounds of the draft, Green is a very community-oriented individual. In addition to his off-field contributions, Green proved throughout his career that he was a solid pass rusher and run blocker. Over the first few practices for the Senior Bowl, Green has gained some attention as he has shown some skills in pass coverage to help further round out his game for the NFL.