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When an NFL team has a miserable season, the only positive revelation that comes out of the mess is a prime position in the draft the following year.
And with the 4th overall pick in this April’s 2013 NFL Draft, it’s safe to say that the Philadelphia Eagles had a forgettable campaign in the recently concluded 2012 regular season.
Whenever a team holds a very high first round draft pick, the first thing that the organization looks at is if there are any quarterback prospects who are capable of leading a franchise. In the most recent 2012 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins saw saviors in QB Andrew Luck and QB Robert Griffin III, respectively, and selected them first and second overall.
In both 2011 and 2012, there were four quarterbacks selected in the first round of each draft, with six of those selections coming in the first ten overall picks. Also, the first overall pick in each of the past four drafts has been a quarterback.
While some fans believe in QB Nick Foles to lead the Eagles, all I saw was inconsistency and bad judgement in his time on the field this season in place of Michael Vick.
After a duo of very quarterback-heavy drafts in the past two years, the sample size of signal-callers who are worthy of a first round selection are very scarce in this year’s draft.
But the one QB who looks to have the longed for combination of arm strength, accuracy and mobility in this year’s draft class is a gem, in West Virginia University QB Geno Smith. While WVU ended up finishing the season with a disappointing record (7-6), Smith had an incredibly efficient year.
Even though the Kansas City Chiefs are in dire need of a quarterback, Smith is far from a sure-fire number one pick, and holding the second and third picks, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders seem to have answers behind center for the time being.
This would leave the Eagles in line to have the choice of snatching up Smith at fourth overall, and I strongly think that they should go for it. Smith tossed an incredible 42 touchdowns in 2012, while only throwing 6 interceptions. He also baffled fans and analysts alike early in the season, totaling 25 passing touchdowns before committing his first interception on the year.
While Smith is typically much more of a pocket-passer than a runner, he does have very respectable speed and elusiveness when he decides to use it. And when you pair that with an offensive unit full of young speedsters like the Eagles, the chance of a very explosive offense is certainly in the making.
The Eagles do have the choice of trading down in the first round with a team who is in more desperate need of a top five pick, but after this season’s showing, they may need to take advantage of their standing.
Foles had the chance to prove his worth to the Eagles in extended action this season, but he looked nothing like a quarterback capable of leading a professional squad.
The Eagles need to move on at QB, and draft Smith out of WVU if he is available with the fourth overall pick.
Please follow Joe on Twitter @Joe_RantNFL for all Eagles/NFL insight.
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