Jeremy Maclin - Philadelphia Eagle

[Munson]

Who else? Spuds.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Thanks.  We were all scratching our heads on that.

[Munson]

I mean, hey, yo, I thought you should know.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Mosely on Maclin:

The Eagles moved up to select Jeremy Maclin.
Best move: I thought taking Orakpo was a no-brainer and the Giants took the best wide receiver left on the board with North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks. But the best move of Day 1 certainly came when the Eagles moved up a couple of spots to take Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. When a player of Maclin's skill level starts to slip (thanks to people like Oakland's Al Davis), you have to take advantage of the situation. Everyone assumed the Eagles would take a running back in the first round, but that was never the case. If Knowshon Moreno had slipped to No. 21, you go ahead and take him. But he was long gone. The Eagles patiently waited until the second round, when they grabbed Pittsburgh running back LeSean McCoy, a perfect fit for their offense. They need an instinctive runner and that's McCoy's best trait. He should prosper in a zone-blocking scheme.

[ice grillin you]

who is mosely?

lololol at the eagles being a zone blocking team

[PhillyPhreak54]

Writes for ESPN.com and used to cover the Cowboys for one of the local papers.

[Seabiscuit36]

Shango is scared of The Mack

[Feva]

Diddy gets you hyped about Mack.

Didinger: Draft Pick Maclin Has the 'Flash'


By Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com

Dick Vermeil was the first coach I heard use the term "flash." He used it to describe a player who "flashed" in practice. In other words, he did something that made you say, "Wow."

Well, Jeremy Maclin flashes.

If you saw him play at Missouri, you already know it. If you follow the Eagles, you'll know it soon enough.

Maclin is a special talent. He isn't the finished product – he has some learning to do, graduating from the spread offense to the NFL – but he has dynamic athletic ability.

Like most people, I never envisioned Maclin coming to Philadelphia. I didn't foresee the Eagles using their first draft pick on a wide receiver. Then again, I didn't foresee Maclin slipping to the 19th spot in the first round. At that point, the Eagles could move up just two spots and grab him. They didn't plan it that way, but the draft board broke in their favor and they took advantage.

I had the 6-0, 200-pound Maclin rated as the No. 2 receiver behind Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech. I expected Maclin to be a top ten pick. I participated in a mock draft at NFL Films last week and we had Maclin going No. 7 to Oakland which seemed about right.

But strange things happen on draft day. Trades are made and teams pick players much higher than projected, panic sets in and some guys get lost in the wash. That's what happened with Maclin. In spots 11 through 18, there was a run on defensive players and Maclin tumbled down the board.

I'm sure in the Eagles draft room, people started saying: "Hey, do you think...?" Pretty soon, they were on the phone with Cleveland and next thing you know, Andy Reid was sending a text message to Donovan McNabb letting him know his weapon had just arrived.

Maclin averaged 10.9 yards per touch in his two seasons at Missouri. In other words, every time he touched the ball from scrimmage, he gained the equivalent of a first down. He had 102 pass receptions last season and averaged 7.4 yards on rushing attempts the past two years. Toss in his kick returns and he was the NCAA leader in all-purpose yards in both 2007 and 2008.

He catches the ball very well. He can catch it over his shoulder on a vertical route and he has the body control to make the acrobatic play if necessary. He has a 4.45 time in the 40 which doesn't sound dazzling, but that's deceiving. Watch him on film and you'll see he plays fast; that is, he accelerates out of his breaks and he has an ability to shift gears on a double-move that creates instant separation.

The most exciting thing about Maclin is his elusiveness. He has a running back's vision – he sometimes lined up as a running back at Missouri -- so when he catches a ball, he is hard to tackle. He makes defenders miss and with his instincts and quickness, he can turn a six-yard hitch into a game-changing 60-yard touchdown.

I know what you're thinking: OK, what are the negatives?

Well, there is the knee injury he suffered in 2006. He tore his ACL in a seven-on-seven drill and underwent surgery which caused him to redshirt that season. But he worked hard to rehab the knee and when he returned to the field in '07, he scored 16 touchdowns – nine on pass receptions, four on rushes, one on a kickoff return and two on punts. So I wouldn't worry about his knee.

The only concern I have is the adjustment Maclin faces in this offense. At Missouri, they ran a spread offense with Maclin in the "H" position. That means he lined up all over the field – as a running back, as a slot receiver and also a wide receiver. He was used in a lot of what might be called gimmick plays, such as reverses and options, and he was devastating in that role.

The downside is that Maclin was never asked to run what coaches call "the full tree," in other words, all the pass routes. There are some routes -- intermediate stuff, mostly – that he just never ran. Those routes – comebacks, deep digs – are a big part of the NFL passing game and he will have to learn those.

That's not to say he can't do it. With his talent, he certainly can. But it may just take a little time for him to become a complete receiver. However, there is no reason why he can't contribute right away. With his run-after-the-catch ability, he could make a living on those wide receiver screens the Eagles love so much. Give him a quick pass in the flat and let him take it from there.

I'll be curious to see how Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg handle Maclin. They found a gem on the draft board Saturday and snatched it. Good for them. Now they have to find the best way to show it off. They can't afford to just put it in a drawer. 

Maclin's versatility offers the Eagles an unlimited range of possibilities. He won't be the most polished receiver as a rookie, that's true, but tonight when the slog through Round Seven of the draft finally ends, Reid and Mornhinweg should start drawing up a playbook just for Maclin, built around the many skills he has already demonstrated with a lot of screens, some vertical routes and a few reverses and end-arounds.

It is a given that Maclin will be used as a kick returner and, with his gifts, he should. But Reid made it clear yesterday that he didn't draft Maclin as a kick returner, he drafted him as a wide receiver. The kid has multiple talents; he needs to be used in multiple ways.

I think the success the Eagles had with DeSean Jackson last year influenced their decision to draft Maclin. Prior to Jackson, the team made little use of first-year receivers. They said it was too hard for a rookie to pick up the offense. But last season, because Kevin Curtis was hurt, they were forced to put Jackson on the field -- and what do you know? –he had over 100 yards receiving in each of his first two games.

I really wonder if Jackson had not made such an impact, would the Eagles have been willing to invest a first round pick on a wide receiver this year? I think Jackson opened their eyes a bit.

But here is the bottom line: Now that the Eagles have Jeremy Maclin, they have to find ways to get the ball in his hands.

Andy, time's yours.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

It's weird that Mayock had Maclin going to the Eagles in his mock but acted really surprised when they drafted him.

[ice grillin you]

its amazing how worthless mock drafts become after the draft is over when you look back and see how off they all are yet we will all highly enjoy looking at them next february and march

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The more wrong they turn out being, the more fun it is.

[General_Failure]

Next year, one ounce of rum for every time "a run on" is said. I hope to be dead before the Eagles make their selection.

[PhillyPhreak54]

One bit in Didinger's piece to note; that Mack needs to polish his route running since he never ran a lot of them at Mizzou. I hope he can pick that up pretty quickly, because if he shows he struggles any little bit, Andy will bury his ass.

I love how versatile he is. The fact that he lines up all over the field is something that works with Reid's offense. He likes to run Avant out of the backfield and used to do it with Owens too.

[Seabiscuit36]

one other positive was Maclin had the highest Wonderlic score of the WR's in the draft

[Eagles_Legendz]

You can tell listening to him talk that he's incredibly well spoken.  Seems like a smart dude, hopefully that translates well in regards to picking up the offense.