Albert Haynesworth will now have to opportunity to stomp on Andre Gurode head twice a season

Only 16 hours into Free Agency, there have already been a few big moves.  Most notably, NFC East rival Redskins have been extremely aggressive (nothing new there), signing DT Albert Haynesworth to a $100mil contract as well as re-signing CB DeAngelo Hall.  Both moves are risky, and it sure looks like the Skins are going to get burnt again.

One of the biggest moves on the day wasn’t even a Free Agent signing, but the trade of Kellen Winslow Jr. from Cleveland to Tampa Bay.  Winslow is a hot-head (aka f*#kin soldier), but a stud at TE who I wouldn’t have minded picking up.  We will see what the Bucs ended up trading for him.

Eagles Free Agent Updates:

• L.J. Smith -The National Football Post is reporting that L.J. Smith is expected to sign with the Atlanta Falcons.  The Falcon’s starting TE from last year, Justin Peele, is also a free agent.  Smith may have found one of the few teams in the NFL where he is an upgrade.
• Derrick Ward - The rumor mill (610 WIP) is stating that Ward will be visiting with the Eagles today, but now Howard “The Burger King” Eskin is stating that the Eagles have “no interest” in Ward.  When it comes to the Eagles, in many cases  with the Birds free agent visit = free agent signing, so we’ll see if he actually visits.  I think Ward would make a nice complement to West, check out our stance on Ward and all the other Free Agent Running backs in the Free Agent Running Back Profile post.
• Brian Dawkins - B Dawk is currently on his way to Denver to meet with Bronco’s officials.  If Banner and the Eagles don’t step up their bidding, we may end up losing Dawkins.  And if that happens, you won’t be seeing many Eagles related posts on Sports On Broad in ‘09.
• Braylon Edwards - Although not a free agent, Eric Mangini and the new management in Cleveland look to be rebuilding, as evidence by the Winslow trade.  Edwards has the potential to be one of the best WRs in the NFL period, and I would be geeked to trade for him.  Make it happen!
• Sean Considine - Expected to visit with the Jaguars in the next couple days.  Good luck Jacksonville.
• Anotonio Smith - There were some reports this morning that the Eagles were going to bring in Smith for a visit, but so far no visit has been scheduled and I’d be surprised if one happened.  With all of the DE’s the Eagles have, bringing in another one would be like the Phillies replacing Pat Burrell with another left handed bat….Oh wait.

Brent Celek has risen to the top of the Eagles depth chart at TE, but who is behind him?

We have talked about the Eagles’ Tight End position a fair amount so far this off-season.  Brent Celek (Andy Samberg) is our starting TE, and in the ‘08 playoffs he proved that he can be a weapon in the passing game.  Behind him, there isn’t much of anything.  Eagles Nation has already punched L.J. Smith’s bus ticket out of town, and beyond him the only Tight End on the Eagles roster is Matt Schobel.

With the lack of depth at the position, the Eagles would be wise to address the situation through the draft as well as Free Agency.  There aren’t many good receiving TEs available in ‘09, but there are some solid blocking TEs available for the Eagles to consider signing.

Click here to check out all of the noteworthy 2009 Free Agent Tight Ends

Tight End is a hot-button position for the Eagles in the 2009 NFL offseason.  Brent Celek has claimed the starting position and brings strong play-making ability to the table with his pass catching.  That said, I’s still not sold he can be an every down Tight End and block consistently.  Beyond Celek, the Eagles currently have only L.J. Smith (will most likely leave in Free Agency), and Matt Schobel (miraculous that he is on an NFL roster) on the official roster.  Regardless of what you think of Celek’s long-term viability, the blatent lack of depth at Tight End makes it a position of need for the Eagles.

Here are some of the Tight Ends whose names rang out at the 2009 NFL Combine:

Jared Cook's impressive combine performance will jump him into the 1st round

• Brandon Pettigrew - He’s really the only Tight End who has consistently been mentioned as a potential first round draft pick, based on his combination of pass catching and blocking ability.  Pettigrew may hurt his stock with a below-expected 4.85 40 yard dash to go along with 22 bench reps.  His performance opens the door for the Eagles to pick him up in Round #2, once we trade back in the draft with one of the 1st round picks.
• Jared Cook - May have helped his stock moreso than any other player in Day 1 of the Combine.  Cook ran a 4.50 40, leaped a ridiculous 41″ vertical and added a 10′3″ broad jump.  All three drills highlighting his freakish athletic ability and his results are all highs among Tight Ends.
• Cornelius Ingram - The 6′4″ 245 pound TE from Florida was solid at the Combine with his 4.68 40 and 21 bench reps.  Ingram looks like he has the potential to become a good overall tight end in the NFL, and is currently projected to be a second round pick largely due to a torn ACL that made him miss the ‘08 season.
  

  Coming off an ACL injury that ended his '08 season before it started, Cornelius Ingram looked agile and strong at the Combine

• Shawn Nelson - A TE that looks more like a really tall WR, Nelson ran an impressive 4.56 40 yard dash.  Only 19 bench reps is pretty weak, but the kid has the potential to become a real weapon as a pass catching Tight End.
• James Casey - The 6′4″ former minor league baseball player put up a TE leading 28 bench reps at the Combine, but he hoped for a better 40 than 4.71.   In addition to baseball, Casey played safety, defensive line, running back and special teams during his two years at Rice.  The guy is clearly an athlete, but who knows what the future holds for him.

All of the above tight ends looked pretty good at the Combine to me, and that’s probably because of how big I feel the need is for the Eagles.  Like Frankie detailed in an earlier post, I’m not sure a Tight End is the right way for the Eagles to go with a 1st round pick.

If the Eagles fill two positions of need with both of the current first round draft picks, then picking a Tight End in Round #2 makes a lot of sense.  Cook’s stock is on the rise, Pettigrew may fall a bit from a 1st round grade, and Ingram looked really strong at the Combine coming off his injury.  But the Eagles may end up needing to move up in the second round in order to land any of those guys.

Right now I still feel that OT and RB are the two positions the Eagles should focus on with their two 1st round draft picks, I’m going to keep an eye on Cook and Ingram as we head toward the draft.

NFL free agency kicks off February 27th.  Crazy how close that is.  Although the majority of media focus goes toward the prospect of the Eagles signing a big-name, big-money free agent from outside the current locker room, the Eagles quietly have seven players currently headed toward unrestricted free agency.

Who will resign?  Who will we let walk?

In uncertain times like these, turn to SportsOnBroad.com.  We’ve got your answers for you.

The first of the Eagles 2009 unrestricted free agent spotlight series is starting tight end L.J. Smith

2008 Season Overview:

• Prior to the 2008 season, L.J. Smith was coming off a sports hernia injury and the worst statistical season of his career.  Even still, the Eagles placed the franchise tag on Smith (the equivalent of a 1-year $4.5 million contract) and named him the starter over the up-and-coming Brent Celek.
• How does L.J. respond to the confidence the Eagles front office showed in him?  With the second worst statistical season of his career.  His 298 receiving yards ranked him 30th in the league behind greats like Robert Royal and Donald Lee. Even his backup Celek posted more regular season receiving yards than Smith.
• Known for his inability to hold on to catchable throws, L.J. replaced butter fingers with a complete lack of explosiveness.  He couldn’t get open all year, despite Donovan’s ongoing effort to force the ball to Smith over the middle.  Maybe it was the lingering impact of the sports hernia injury, but Smith seemed to run bowlegged in ‘08 (or maybe his end isn’t so tight after all).

This man, or someone that looks exactly like him, is going to steal L.J.'s job in '09

2009 Outlook:

• There is absolutely no chance that L.J. gets franchised again.  Smith became more and more irrelevant as the season went on, and coincidentally his playing time decreased as the Eagles went on their late season run.
• Celek was looking like the future starter late in the regular season, but really came on in the postseason.  His 19 catches, 151 yards and 3 TDs in the Eagles three playoff games cemented his rightful place atop the depth chart.  Celek’s Kevin Boss-like breakout postseason has L.J. Smith in line for a Jeremy Shockey-like exit from Philadelphia.
  

Will he be a Bird in ‘09?

• Absolutely not.
• Unless Smith offers to play for free, he’s gone.  Even then I’m hesitant to use a roster spot on him, although his uselessness at TE may only be eclipsed by that of Matt Schobel, who held down a roster spot for the entire ‘08 season.  I wish L.J. all the best in his future endeavors, but this is addition by subtraction here.

Brent Celek is an emerging star at TE for the Eagles

I’ve seen a bunch of mock drafts around the web predicting the Eagles will select a tight end with one of their two first round picks this April and I really can’t figure out why.  The two names I’ve seen the most are Oklahoma State’s Brandon Pettigrew and Missouri’s Chase Coffman.  If Reid/Heckert select either - or any tight end for that matter - in the first round I might join the ranks of those who think Reid needs to be replaced.  Brent Celek emerged down the stretch and in the playoffs as a legitament future star at tight end for the Eagles and this team has much, much more pressing needs than tight end.

Celek wasn’t used as much as he should have been throughout the season because Reid did everything he could to make the decision to franchise tag LJ Smith look smart.  Smith for his part did everything he could to make that decision look as dumb as most thought it was originally.  For whatever reason, Smith was never able to take his raw skills and become a reliable threat at tight end.  Celek meanwhile came up with big plays whenever he was called upon.

One of the biggest problems with the Eagles offense since Terrell Owens’ departure after the 2005 season has been scoring in the red zone.  In the playoffs, Celek scored three touchdowns in three games including two in the NFC Championship game.  Celek started to become the red zone threat this offense has been desperately needing.  Now just imagine how good he could have been if Reid let LJ walk last off-season and gave Celek the starting role.

Celek isn’t going to stretch defenses the way the coaches wanted Smith to, but he will get open and catch the ball.  If you include the Dallas game in week 17, Celek had four touchdowns in the final four games of 2008.  There is no need to waste a first round pick on a tight end.

Drafting a tight end in the first round would be about as foolish as reaching for a quarterback in the 2nd round that would easily be available in the 3rd when you don’t need one.