Grading the Draft: Philadelphia Eagles

Grade: C-

2. Trevor Laws- DT Notre Dame

2. DeSean Jackson-WR California

3. Bryan Smith-DE McNeese St.

4. Michael McGlynn-OL Pittsburgh

4. Quintin Demps-S UTEP

4. Jack Ikegwuonu-CB Wisconsin

6. Michael Gibson-OG California

6. Joe Mays-ILB North Dakota St.

6. Andrew Studebaker-DE Wheaton

7. King Dunlap-OT Auburn

For the second straight year, the Eagles traded out of the first round and acquired more picks. Philadelphia has become a master at acruing picks later in the draft and making them count. This year was no different. Two second-round picks, three fourth-round picks and three sixth-rounders gave the Eagles a lot of options on draft day. However, that quantity didn't equal quality in their class. They drafted players with too many problems or limitations to make real impacts in the league.

Philadelphia's biggest need was a go-to receiver. They were in the sweepstakes for Chad Johnson, Roy Williams and Anquan Boldin with no success. With other options on the board, the Eagles went with DeSean Jackson. Jackson is a speedy, returner first, receiver second-type player. At under six-feet-tall, less than 180 pounds, staying healthy is a concern in the physical NFC East. Jackson will never be a #1 receiver in the NFL and the Eagles needed more value from this pick.

Trevor Laws could be a solid player at the next level. He's undersized, but makes up for it with effort. Aside from that, there's not much to get excited about from this draft. The picks aren't sexy, mostly offensive and defensive linemen, but that won't be held against them because that's not a negative. The downside is taking players with existing problems or limitations that creates a huge learning curve for them. A lot of undersized, small school guys were taken, so not only will they need to add size, they will also need extra time to adjust to the speed of the NFL game, probably more so than a player from a BCS conference.

The largest question mark is the selection of Jack Ikegwuonu in the fourth round, ignoring that he tore knee ligaments just before the combine. He is not expected to play this season and could have been had later in the draft, if not in free agency. His speed was questionable before the draft, but coming off major knee surgery clouds his ability even more.

The Eagles needed this draft to vault themselves back into division contention. While they came on strong at the end of last season and are a trendy pick for this year, this draft does not add any real fire power to an offense that relies too heavily on one player, Bryan Westbrook. The defensive moves were handled mostly in free agency, but with as many picks as the Eagles had, they could have brought in better talent though this draft.