The Eagles got one of the four players, Oklahoma offensive tackle Lane Johnson, that they considered to be head and shoulders above the crowd. They had Johnson rated on the same level of Eric Fisher, Luke Joeckel and Dion Jordan, who were the players drafted before him.
“I don’t know what Miami thinks and I don’t answer hypotheticals,” Kelly said when asked about his first round selection. “We had four guys we felt real comfortable with. We saw the draft the same way the other teams saw the draft. We were 1-2-3-4 and it went 1-2-3-4.”
Unlike Fisher and Joeckel, who were drafted ahead of Johnson, he hasn’t been playing the offensive tackle position very long. He’s only started 23 games as an offensive tackle in college. He will need to be developed.
“I think he is ready, but he is raw,” Chip Kelly said. “We look as raw as a positive not a negative. If he’s doing what he’s doing right now, and he’s only played like two years on the offensive line . . . We felt that his ceiling is probably the highest.”
“He’s got some technical things he needs to work on,” Kelly said. “He’s only played the position for two years. The little nuances of the position – hand placement, things like that.”
Johnson is an athletic freak of sorts. His combination of size, speed, agility and quickness is extraordinary. He was a high school quarterback and like Jason Peters, the offensive tackle on the other side of the Eagles line, Johnson was a tight end prior to moving to tackle. He and Peters are without a doubt the fastest pair of offensive tackles to ever play in the NFL.
Johnson stands 6’6″ and weighs 303 pounds. His arm length is 35 1/4″. He ran a speedy 4.72 forty-yard dash. The big guy did 28 repetitions on the bench press. HIs vertical jump was 34″, which is astounding for a man weighing over 300 pounds. and his broad jump was 9′ 10″. Johnson showed he had the best agility of the offensive tackles at the combine by doing the 3-cone drill in 7.31 seconds and the 20-yard shuttles in 4.52 seconds.
New Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was a big proponent of the wide receiver screen in college and we’re probably going to see the Eagles run quite a few of them during the season. Johnson and Peters will be able to use their speed to get outside and in front of the team’s wide receivers. They’re both athletic enough to pick off linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks in the open field.
Johnson will get the chance to use his power and foot quickness when the Birds execute the zone run-blocking scheme which Kelly loves. Of course the Birds hope the selection of Johnson will help them solidify their offensive line going forward.
I’m okay with this pick. Not happy, not angry, just okay. This entire off-season so far, has been underwhelming, & that’s being generous. From bringing back Vick, to the hiring of the gimmick coach & his merry failures, to all the mediocre FA signings, to now drafting a yawn. They better have a good plan, for the rest of this draft, that includes some trades, for more picks (Cole, Maclin, Mathis, Graham, Curry, etc, etc.), or this draft will be, IMHO, a failure. There are still an abundance of quality left, at OLB, DE, S, CB, WR, OG.
Oakland owes us one. Miami knew we were taking Dion Jordan.
Yup. They cock blocked us lol
I love the Pick, you have to remember that with Kelly’s Fast paced up tempo-Styke of Offense the SoL are going to have to be very athletic to play 79-75 snaps a game.. Johnson will have to get stronger at the point of attack,
And will play RT allowing Herremabs to move back in at Guard
Which makes the right side of the OL very stable where it was very weak last a season, return of Peters/Nathis on the Left side makes this OL one of the Strengths again.. Now they Sekect a Cebter/Guard in the 3rd/4.th Round
And they are set for the next few years and have quality depth in case of injuries
In Kelly’s system, I would not be surprised to see 7 OL get snaps during the Games to give Srartes a blow once in a while, fresh legs and bodies to help with the snap-mcount..
One last thing I love with ajohnson is that once down in red-Zone, he can line up as Tackke Eligible and sneak out for a pass a few times over the Season at 6-6, good hands, he can catch 3 Tad’s for you also..
Chip Kelly is all about Talent, Speed and Versatility and Lane ajohnson gives you all of this even at the OT Position..
Exactly Paulman. Why people on this site bash this pick is beyond me. Remember fellas, everything starts up front. If you don’t have a solid line (like last season) were dead in the water. Joeckel, fisher, Johnson and Fluker all seem comparable to me. Did any one see Johnson at the combine? The dude is very athletic, and has a mean streak like Fisher. Love the pick!
Dman, it just seems that when people point out his positives, they start with how fast he can run or that he use to be a QB 2 years ago thus he is very athletic. Thats not exactly what i want in my Olineman. I want big nasty beasts that have been playing the position for a long time. I want guys that just look unmovable. Johnson just seems kinda light to me for the NFL level. I hope he ends up being a stud, I really do. I would love nothing more than him being a stud for the next 7-8 years.
I agree pheags88. Looking forward to the rest of this draft
With #35th Pick Tonight
Look for Eagles to Select DE Tank Carradine from Fla State or
DE Margus Hunt from SMU, CB Jamar Taylor, or Safety J Crypien
Which all would be excellent choices in my opinion
Or LB Kevin Minter
Paulman, Agree about Crypien andTaylor, but would not be shocked if it’s the TE from Stanford (Ertz), Banks, or Moore. I personally think Chip plans to wait until next year to draft a QB, but if Geno is there at 35, he has to give it serious consideration. You can’t ignore a talented QB.
Hey – the TE – that’s been my call the past 2 monts…I want some serious props when it happens.
ABG..anybody but Geno
What about the lb brown from Kansas state
For years I’ve been reading complaints about how the Eagles “think they’re smarter than everyone else” and how they “out-think” themselves.
So in that respect, the pick was refreshing.
Eagles need a tackle, they select the highest rated tackle available. Done.
But 6′ 6″. The right side of the line now 6’6 Heremans 6’6″ Johnson.
Good luck 5′ 10″ superstar.
As gor Geno….they’re not taking him unless they trade away someone else….they currently have 4 QBs on the roster….2 were recent signees and the other was a Roseman pick just last year…so its highly doubtful any of them is going to be cut/traded…that leaves the mini-man….do you think he’s about to be traded? Released? Because that’s the only way they take Geno Smith with the next pick….there aren’t enough roster spots to carry 5 QBs…..
That makes sense vinnie. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they do select Smith, and then trade away Foles. I sure hope that doesn’t happen..
Did you hear that Geno Smith left the Draft pouting and stated he is not returning tonight.. What kind of Keadership and Maturity is this??
Sure he’s disappointed, but show some character will you..
I watched ESPN not NFL Network — and they barely showed Geno Smith. They took it easy on him, not like Brady Quinn or Aaron Rodgers suffering in green room.
the draft stunk this year, they ruined it — You used to get to see the pretty girl friend and/or sister all dolled up in the green room. Mom and Dad hugging and kissing their son. The shear joy and enthusiam while getting the phone telling them their dreams just came through. Fitting the hat on gigantic heads, college coach and agent trying to get on TV. Usher trying to rush player to stage yanking on their suit jacket. High fiving teammates. I liked the Green room cameras of the players. They ruined the draft.
Character is what you show when the cameras are off.. What you show when you think nobody’s looking…
Kinda easy to dig at a kid who everybody and their mom told him that he would be picked that night.they only invite you there if they think you are going to be picked…he didn’t rank himself as the top QB in the draft He didn’t Fly himself around the country to visit numerous teams
You can’t expect that kind of reslove from a 20 y/o kid..He hasn’t lived long enough to experience and accept that much dissapointment…
Would you Trot your kid out there for possibly another round of dissapointment ? I wouldn’t !!
Gimme a break Paul. That doesn’t show anything about leadership or maturity. He was embarassed and he didn’t want to repeat the incident if he keeps sliding tonight. Not everybody even goes to the draft, so are they immature and have no leadership? He stayed there the whole time unlike other players who eventually hide in the green room. You don’t like Geno? Fine, but this has no bearing on what he can or can’t do on the football field. I am not even a huge fan of his, but you are flat out wrong on this one.
Bugsy, I kind of agree with Paul. Geno is soft. When Geno played quality competition and things didn’t go his way, he folded. Now things don’t go his way at the draft and he basically just runs away. Fact is he made the decision to accept the NFL invitation to go the NY, thus he should show some confidence and be there till he is drafted. I bet there are many guys in this draft that would have begged to be invited, even if they were being selected in rounds 2-7. But like I said the dude is soft.
If you think he is soft on the field then I am fine with that. Like I said, I am not a fan of him either, but this is ridiculous. To make assertions about a player’s character and how he will be a leader based on draft night? Seems like a reach.
What’s next? Look how Fisher hugged the commissioner. It wasn’t close to as hard as Joekel did, he must be soft.
Wait, now PFT says that he is going to attend. So how does that affect his leadership skills or his maturity? Is he suddenly better at both of those things?
Geno Smith will end up showing up for he has already caught alot of Flak from around the NFL, His Handlers, if he chose to stay away.. be a Man, and suck it up and just be thankful for the Opportunity to play Football for a Living
If it was no big deal like you suggest, then he wouldn’t have changed his mind to come back. The fact that he changed his mind to show up to what he agreed to do in the first place, proves my point. Teams obviously care about how their QBs handle adversity, on and off the field. Thats nothing new and I don’t get why you don’t understand that. Obviously, his guys talked some sense in him, probably told him to grow a pair.
Showing up is a good move for him. Show some confidence and whatever happens, make it known that it won’t break you.
Intangibles mean everything for a QB.
My point is that this shows nothing about his overall leadership or maturity as a football player. You want it to because you don’t like him as a player and you want something to point to. I don’t like him for what he did on the field.
Well obviously I disagree on that, and his camp clearly disagrees with you as well since he would have just went home if it didn’t show anything about his leadership and maturity. I don’t need to look for anything to point to. I always said on here that i would take Geno with a second round pick, just not at 4 overall since evidence shows he is soft. If he is there when the Eagles pick, I think they take him.
If you can swallow your Pride and handle a little adversity like a Man and demonstrate being a Leader of Football Players on my Team, then I don’t want you on my Team.. Call me Old-Fashioned, but that’s How I roll.. He F’d up,now maybe if he comes out this morning and states, “Hey, I was wrong in walking out, I was very disappointed, but understands that this is a Process, and I am fortunate enough and have worked hard to get this Opportunity, that I am ready to see this thru and whichever Team selects me, is going to get a 110% from Geno Smith”
Vinnie, Herremans would move back to his natural position of LG I believe. It’s where he excelled and its where he belongs. With Mathis shifting over to RG, I see “No” Lane Johnson taking over the RT spot of course.
Reason #1 why Geno wasn’t drafted – small hands
Reason #2 when they saw Geno in traffic ( Yankee stadium Pinstripe Bowl) he didn’t look good) Jaws said 10 plays a game NFL QBs get a good pocket 20 plays a game the pocket breaks down somewhere. ( Geno did not look good in those situations)
Coach kelly called this kid raw, ray didinger called the kid a project. At number 4 we didn’t need a raw project. The obviously wanted Jordan and did nothing to get him.
Exactly Diddy. They wanted Dion Jordan, or Eric Fisher.
He was a combine warrior, they didn’t have him on their radar until his combine performance. Howie, and Chip are full of it…….
I will say this again. He will be adequate, but nothing special. He will be no better than Herramanns was at the position. I just wanted something more impactful, this was as some of you have already stated….underwhelming
That being said, being an avid Eagles fan, I hope he develops into the player they envision………….I want a Super Bowl…
I didn’t want Jordan or Johnson at 4 but hey this is what it is
big run on OL in first round —
GMCliff’s guy Larry Warford isn’t making 3rd round now.
I’m with GMCliff and would take the Kentucky guard and get rid of these Reid era crap O-Lineman.
Lane Johnson destroyed Damontra Moore and Magnus Hunt so not interested in them. Bjorn Wernier of Florida State got the best of Lane last year on the right side.
I want:
Larry Warford or CB Jamar Taylor with 35. anyone have a better CB than Jamar Taylor.
The top guys the Eagles will target in the 2nd round even if they trade back will be Manti Teo, Geno Smith, T Mathieu.. any order u wanna put them… This is the day the birds may start wheeling and dealing to acquire more picks bc this draft class has strong depth in rounds 2-5
JH, Mathieu, is not a 3rd Round pick, nor a prospect we should be targeting unless we are looking for kick returners in the 5th Round where he belongs…
Tank Carridine should be the pick at 35 if still available. Do you think the birds really wanted dion Jordan at 4? It looks that way since Miami moved up, but it’s a tough pill to swallow, for me anyway.
Still a shitload of defensive talent on the board. Eagles really need to try and get another 2nd round pick
Right Big Frank, better long range talent…..Yeah they wanted Jordan, and or Fisher….
Pass on Carridine….
I wouldn’t mind Carridine. I think they are looking for Safety and Dline today. But if Geno is there for them and they cant trade down, I could see that too.
Carradine is the Best Overall DE still on the Board, in my opinion..
There are some Situational/Rotational Type of DL still on the Board
but probably not worthy of a High 2nd Round Pick (J Jenkins,Kwann Short,Jesse Williams,Brandon WIlliams are late 2nd/3rd ROund Grades and Rotational Players.. Eagles need a Starter’s Talent with this #35 Pick..
Wrong on Carradine…I can’t take anymore mediocrity in this draft from you, and Howie Paul.
I like Zach Eartz, I don’t like Logan a little bit. There are still, and were better DT’s on the Board, my choice is Montori Hughes.
They could have drafted Cornelius Washington, Brandon Williams, or Jonathan Jenkins in the 3rd. I really get the notion that Howie picked Logan, and that this is evidence that He really did have his hand in some of these bad drafts of the past.
Jeff Stoutland went head to head with him and probable gave his approval on his talent
I would like the eagles to take Slay or Crypien, but they just aren’t as pressin needs as a DE. I was hoping the eagles traded back into the first round for Datone Jones, so I’m rolling with Carridine here.
But I’ll preface that by saying safety and corner are still a need but IMO not as much as dline
I think that Tank is going to go to SF unless Harbaugh can’t resist drafting Ertz. If that is the case, then I would want Cyprien.
BTW- What a draft by Minny already!
@paulman
Stick to playing both sides of the fence with your ridiculous trade/draft scenarios. You look even more foolish ripping a kid for an initial decision that many before him have made. No one with any real life experience and an ounce of honesty rips a kid going through this. Aaron Rodgers, who i think is the best qb in the game, wasn’t very happy falling as far as he did. Brady Quinn was visably disappointed. Matt Leinart looked like he saw a ghost. Nobody questioned their maturity. Because any real adult has perspective. These are kids.
Good stuff Cold Brewski, fraudman is like that with all black qbs. Automatically they have “character issues”but when other qbs who happen to be white show theyre upset in a similar fashion, its normal. He has a blatant double standard and everyone can see it..
Cripes, shut it Jon Hart. Cold wasn’t bringing race into it and I really haven’t seen evidence that Pman does either.
Pman doesn’t need me to defend him but you are twice the fraud he is with your “superior sources.” Dude i have twitter, ESPN and PFT too. I guess we share the same sources.
Paulman has never made any racial comments that i have seen. Leave the racist stuff out off the boards. No one wants to hear that. Were here to talk football as fans..
For the record DMAN I wouldn’t have drafted either one Manuel or Smith. I think Smith’s number were inflated by the system they ran and I think Manuel while having all the tools just doesn’t play well on the big stage. But getting back to Smith for a second I think it’s ironic how teams were enamored with Tavon Austin who comes from the same inflated system but the guy who gets him the ball, has fallen all the way into the second round.
Its not Ironic it’s Logical. The Majority of Geno’s passing yards came from YAC. So the receivers were doing a lot of the work. 2nd Tavon played in the backfield and gained a lot of rushing yards too. So upon further examination Tavon looks a lot better and Geno not as good. Plus those pressure situations where Geno look really bad had to hurt.
Biglion, I think Tavon Austin will be a beast. I was on the record as saying Chip would have drafted him at 4. The guy is just a freak. Its not ironic that Austin went before Geno either, because Austin is a much better prospect. I wouldn’t give Geno too much props for getting Austin the ball when most of those passes were behind the LOS or short 5 yard passes. I mean be real, the guy is 5-8. Thus your not throwing challenging intermediate-long pass to him. Any D1 college Qb can make those short passes. Austin is just the freak that makes 5 people miss and takes those 3 yard passes to the house.
Having said that though, I have always said on here that I would not mind using a 2nd round pick on Geno. Thats where I thought he should have gone all along, and the entire NFL obviously agreed. Again I would not mind it, just as long as it means they wouldn’t pass up on drafting Bridgewater/Johnny Football/Boyd if they had the chance next year.
He has real talent no doubt Pheags just wondering though when they played better teams that shut Smith down how come Austin didn’t produce big numbers and why wasn’t that held against him?
Not bringing race into this at all but now we have paulman saying Geno lacks leadership because he was upset at not being drafted and Vinnie ripping on Manuel because he said the words I too many times in an interview. And you guys wonder why some people assume its racial, really?
Well you brought up Matt Leinhardt and Aaron Rogers (also the horrible Brady Quinn earlier) Out of those disappointments only Geno had to be wrangled back to the draft and refused an interview. That is weak for a QB. Can’t be the leader of a pro team and be a quitter. As for the I stuff…meh pro athletes do that stuff constantly Buffalo didn’t seem to care. Both are Legit issues for a white or Black QB.
Wasn’t me Xevious. I could care less about Quinn Rodgers and Lienhart.
sorry bro it was coldbrewski…..sincere apologies.
Dam how is it new england got all that value for their 29th pick but we couldn’t get anything for our 4th amazing.
Good luck to E.J. in buffalo he has a shot to start right away out there. Not only is he a leader in sports. He is also a scholar good luck to him. Except when he plays the Eagles.
all this talk about geno not being a man because he went home rather than hang around for round 2 is STUPID.
No players go up on stage for round 2 for the photo op and meeting with the commish so why would he stay, typical media being typically dumb
Qb’s are team leaders and shouldn’t fold up when things don’t go their way. It’s so stupid that people got him to go back tonight. He will get drafted and get his chance, god bless him. Just dont think that this hasn’t hurt him.
I really feel for Geno Smith now,
He ends with most Dysfunctionable Team I. The BFL which are the Jets
With a lame duck HC In Re. Ryan, OC MM.
Mark Sanchez, David Garrard, Tim Tebow and the weakest WR Corps in the NFL with the least amount of weapons outside of Santonio Holmes who is unstable to begin with no TE, No RB & only 7 Active OL on their Roster
An uphill battle for sure for him in the Big City and crazy media of NY,
Best Wishes for holim moving forward but this was not a good landing situation
For him to start his Career..
the Jets have 10 million cap space relief from Revis contract and the Eagles don’t need Marty Morningweig stalwarts OT Todd Herremans and TE Brett Celek anymore — get us some picks Paulman
For the 3rd Round, the following highly rated Players are still on the board
For the Eagles
DT Jesse Williams ( Alabama)
DT Brandon Williams (Southern Missouri State)
DT John Jenkins (Georgia)
DE Makachai Goodman (Clemson)
DE/OLB DaMontre Moore (Texas A & M)
OLB Sio Moore (Conneticut)
OLB Kasheem Greene (Rutgers)
CB tyrann Matthieu (LSU)
CB Blinding Wreh-Wilson ( U Conn)
CB Leon McFadden (San Diego St)
Safety Phillip Thomas (Fresno State)
Safety JJ Wilcox (Georgia Southern)
Guard/Center Brian Schwenke (Cal)
Center/Guard Barrett Jones (Alabama)
OT Terron Arnstead (Ark Pine Bluff)
Guard Hugh Thornton (Illinois)
I think Eagles grab a CB and it very well could be LSU’s
Tyrann Matthieu
Had the right School (LSU)
But wrong Player
DT Bennie Logan 6-1 307lbs and a Rotational Player with high motor,
Toughness, long frame who can Plat DT or the 5 Technique
As DE in the 3-4.. Not the most talented Player, but a hustler who
was not rated in the Top 100 Prospects by CBS DraftScouts.Com
GMCliff,
What you know a out this Logan fella??
I don’t have much on him at all..
I know I don’t like him better than some other 5 tech DE’s / DT’s still on the board……He is very similar to Richard Seymour…….
Jeff Stoutland had to block both Logan and Jenkins and the Eagles chose the LSU kid.
He will be a player paulman he is an effort guy with pretty good athletic ability.
wrong Logan should have taken Rutgers CB Ryan Logan.
Bennie Logan will be a nose tackle prospect.
Needed a DB at that 3rd Pick, the good ones came off the board shortly after
(Taylor, Wilson, McFadden, Gratz) and Safeties as well..
I am surprised that no Trades involving current Eagle Players with 4/5 or 7th Picks were not used to get some more addional 3rd/4th Round Selectiion
After Round 4 it will be a crapshoot with the remaining prospects
It takes 2 teams to make trades. Im sure the Eagles have been trying to deal but it just hasn’t worked out. Chip probably doesn’t have those contacts in the NFL yet either.The pick Im happiest about is the Ertz one. TEs are dominating the league and Celeks play has been questionable at best. Im not too happy of the Logan pick. Im also bummed we didn’t get a top safety this year, many experts said this draft was one of the best for safety quality. I really want Elam, watch him be a beast on the Ravens.
We need secondary big time, but I wonder if Chip can pass on the QBs