2011 NFL Draft Beef: Where's the Depth and How it Impacts the Eagles

According to Sports Illustrated Tony Pauline, the 2011 NFL Draft has many positions of shallow depths. It appears as if it is going to be slim pickins for teams who need offensive weapons to bolster their roster for the unforseen future.

The tight end, center, gaurd, and tackle positions are all weak areas entering the draft. Obviously some players at said positions are going to grind their tails off to prepare for the Scouting Combine which is to be held from February 23 – March 1, 2011.

However in Pauline's eyes the meat and potatoes this draft is in the defensive players—specifically the defensive line.

He projects that there is anywhere from 16 to 17 defensive linemen who "deserve" the honor of a first round pick.

The best defensive lineman entering the draft according to Pauline is USC Defensive End DaQuan Bowers.

However he also said that teams will find talent on the defensive line into the middle of the second round, quite possibly the third.

Tony's wisdom leads me to playing out multiple scenarios.

First the Eagles must determine their most pressing need. Is it a right cornerback that commands the most offseason attention or is the the right offensive tackle?

If they feel the cornerback position needs to be solidified then they need to sign one of two players—Oakland Raiders Nnamdi Asomugha or New York Jets Antonio Cromartie.

The ideal choice for the majority of Eagles fans would be Nnamdi Asomugha, the guy is a freak of nature in a secondary but Cromartie would definitely be an upgrade over Ellis Hobbs or Dimitri Patterson also.

The Eagles could then in-turn use their first round draft choice for Winston Justice's replacement. Many mock drafts have the Eagles selecting tackle Gabe Carimi in the first round but Tony Pauline suggests a player like Anthony Costanza could still be on the board around No. 23.

If it is a lineman the Eagles desire in free agency then they must, by all means, find a way to reel New England Patriots guard/tackle Logan Mankins to Philly.

Again, Andy Reid could then use his first round pick on a stud cornerback. Of the mentioned options I think the Eagles best option is signing Asomugha to a long term deal.

There would still be some talent at No. 23 if the Eagles decided to stay put. Two players could still be on the board and they are Aaron Williams (Texas) and Jimmy Smith (Colorado). 

The Eagles secondary was very weak in many instances in 2010 and now without knowing who is going to be the new coach of this unit will be, I think it is imperative that Andy Reid and company sures that aspect of the game up.

Philadelphia can still can a very sound hybrid offensive lineman in the first round and I'm sure offensive line coach Juan Castillo would be very happy with the Eagles drafting a quality lineman.

Also we have to take into account of what Pauline said regarding the lack of talented players on the O-line in this years draft.

Regardless, one of those two mentioned positions is going to receive a premier player during free agency. As to which one it will be—as for now I have no idea!

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