Risky Business

With several trades and selections of high-caliber – but higher risk – prospects, the Philadelphia Eagles caught the NFL’s attention at the 2023 NFL Draft.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher provided intel on the Eagles’ draft weekend.

New Eagles DT Jalen Carter was considered one of the top prospects of the 2023 NFL Draft, but fell due to character concerns

D’Andre Swift

Adam Caplan: “What we are told is he has a nose for the goal line, he is coachable. We know about the injury history, he is just not as physical as he should be…No offense to [Kenny] Gainwell, but Swift is a much better football player.”

Jalen Carter

Caplan: “The Eagles have an infrastructure in the way that they handle players…They felt they could handle this player. There are some challenges, it’s not just the one off-the-field incident.”

Mosher: “The Eagles took some risk – not that he’s a bad guy, just there was lots of different questions around him that things that happened in his past. It’s not something they ordinarily do. Guys like Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce, the Georgia teammates, maybe being around guys that he’s close with and familiar with help and the locker room is well-policed.”

Nolan Smith

Mosher: “The scouting report on him just as a teammate couldn’t be better. If you saw his opening press conference alongside Jalen Carter, it showed immediately. You saw him being very comfortable in his surroundings, laughing.”

 Caplan: “He dropped, we’re told, due to the torn pectoral muscle last season, and the big one is that he is a ‘tweener, because he is not 245-250 [pounds]. He’ll play SAM, should back up [Haason] Reddick. This guy has a motor, he’s fast, it’s just a matter of how you are going to line him up.”

Kelee Ringo

Caplan: “The Eagles had a higher grade than he went. From our sources, not everyone in the league is a fan of his tape. Some lower body stiffness. He’s long, which you love, comes from a great program. The hope is here Greedy Williams stays healthy and is your third-year corner and then in year two, Ringo gets in the rotation to give Darius Slay or James Bradberry a breather. Then Ringo’s your starter in year three.”

Mosher: “As far as I am told, he is an outside cornerback. They don’t have any plans to try to audition him at other spots.”

Tanner McKee

Caplan: “This is from an NFL quarterbacks coach: ‘He’s a statue, he can’t move, he’s a decent processor, smart guy, good kid, good arm.’ You have two quarterbacks who are runners and this kid is not, but when you get into the sixth round, you’re just looking for good prospects. This kid has talent and he can throw the football.”

Moro Ojomo

Caplan: “He’ll be able to work in this odd front. This is a kid I actually thought would go a little higher. He has decent measurables and when you’re in the seventh round you look for traits and guys just to bring to training camp to see what happens.”

Mosher: “I spoke to one scouting source who met with him at one point. He said he has an interesting personality and it will be an eye-opening experience to be around veterans like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham and he’ll realize he has to get with the program quickly.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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