Justice in Philadelphia Eagles Green (and Some Others, Too)

It is the way of things: First comes mock draft after mock draft. Then draft day comes so that all the mockers may cease scribbling for forty-eight hours or so. And with the Monday morning sunrise comes draft analysis after draft analysis, accompanied by the ubiquitous report card marking system.

The 2006 NFL player draft is finally over, the scribes have spoken, and the Philadelphia Eagles, well, they did well. Amazingly well. Lots of marks of A and A+ were given to this potentially head-of-the-class bunch. Indeed, to hear the pundits tell it, the Eagles had the single best draft of 'em all.

In round one, Florida State defensive Brodrick Bunkley was called to Philly. Bunkley has been high on the Eagle priority list for some time. Despite the depth at DT Philly came into the draft with (i.e. dudes like Paul Grasmanis, Keyonta Marshall, Mike Patterson, Sam Rayburn and Darwin Walker), Bunkley was seen as an excellent replacement for disgruntled veteran Hollis Thomas. Thomas was dealt to the New Orleans Saints, Philly trading up in the fourth round.

Bunkley may be a bit susceptible to injury (ACL tear in high school, MCL tear in 2002, ankle injury in 2004), but Eagle brass loved his senior-year stats (66 tackles, 25 for loss, nine sacks) and the DT saw his stock progress steadily upward throughout pre-draft scouting. Bunkley was one of three FSU front line defenders taken in round one, which does make his stats a bit suspect - How dependent was his success on Camerion Wimbley and Antonio Cromartie? And vice versa? - the upside, as they say, is quite good on Bunkley.

Via the New Orleans trade, Georgia OG Max Jean-Gilles joined the ranks of the green-and-silver. The 355-pound Jean-Gilles amassed quite a resume over the course of his years with the Bulldogs. Playing at either tackle or guard, Jean-Gilles played every game in his four years and started in each game of his last three seasons, earning him All-SEC and consensus All-America nods. Though his pass defense has been criticized and perceived as weak for the NFL game, his run D will surely not suffer one whit. After acquiring Jean-Giles, the Eagles swiftly traded guard Artis Hicks to Minnesota to move up in the fourth round again and add a sixth round choice.

Jean-Giles may go down as quite a steal for Philly, but the real coup was pulled off with the second-round bagging of USC OT Winston Justice. Pushed way down by some rather serious "character issues" (i.e. the USC Student Affairs Department actually suspending the lad for the entire 2004 season), Justice was a gift that fell into the Eagles' nest; having been interested in the tackle as a first round pick, there was no way Philly could pass on this opportunity here. Attitude aside, Justice has the skills to reach All-Pro level and many could regret passing on him for abstract reasons. After all, this is the guy who literally had Matt Leinhart's back last season.

Defensive end Chris Gocong came to the Eagles in round three, a unheralded player that, should the experiment work out, will earn Philly the scouting team more kudos from fans. Why so unheralded? Well, Gocong's an alumnus of Division I-AA Cal Poly State. And despite leading the entire division in sacks and taking the Buck Buchanan Division I-AA defensive player of the year award, much of the attention Gocong received was due in part to his former Mustang teammate Jordan Beck. Beck, took the Buchanan in 2005 and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.

Look past the second-rate status given Division I-AA football, Gocong impressed the Eagle braintrust with his smarts, blistering speed and nice marks at the combine. Current wisdom has him penciled in playing as second on the depth charts behind Dhani Jones at Sam linebacker.

When all is said and done (and hopefully it will be soon), Philadelphia fans have got to be pleased. Should these additions prove successful, it will effect another ratcheting-up of the competition level in the brutal NFC East. Interesting, too, to compare the differing paths these youth-grabbing Eagles and their free-spending nemeses the Cowboys have taken this off-season. Suppose the pair of Eagle young guys vs. megastar free agent Cowboys battles will take some limelight away from T.O.?