Coaches and general managers in the National Football League lie all the time. In their actions and more specifically, their acquisitions, we can see their true intention and mindset on display. In that vein, the first few rounds of the 2013 NFL Draft gave fans of the Philadelphia Eagles a glimpse into what the gameplan is for the Chip Kelly Era.
Eagles fans, this ain't Uncle Andy's team no mo'.
Long gone are the undersized linebackers, the D-II school projects set to learn a new position or the "fastball" defensive ends who aren't built for more than 20 snaps an afternoon.
Chip Kelly and his side-kick GM Howie Roseman are rounding up themselves a few good athletes.
It started with the selection of Oklahoma offensive tackle Lane Johnson. Calling him an athletic freak doesn't do him justice. Jevon Kearse was an athletic freak. Lane Johnson is the offspring of Godzilla and Roadrunner marinated in the ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He'll beat a defensive end into the ground, and has a 40 time that bested Anquan Boldin... the wide receiver.
Yeah. Chip Kelly now has a right tackle that could outrun Anquan Boldin.
Johnson's athleticism can be summed up accurately as such; during his introductory press conference to the Philadelphia media, the six-foot-six three-hundred pounder made up a story about how he use to wrestle bears... and they believed him. He's like something out of an Old Spice commercial. If you were using MADDEN's create-a-player to design the perfect Chip Kelly player, Johnson would be the final product.
(Side note: The addition of Johnson not only gives the Eagles a new Week One starter at tackle, it also allows Pro Bowl caliber guard Todd Herremans to slide back to said position of Pro Bowl Calibration. Also worth noting, chip-on-the-shoulder Danny Watkins is now your first offensive linemen off the bench. Considering the O-line depth issues that did in Reid, that's a pretty ideal scenario.)
In the second round, Kelly went for Stanford tight end Zach Ertz, who had 11 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown against his now-coach back at Oregon. While some may read it as the beginning of the end of Brent Celek, it's likely more an opening line for Jason Avant's midnight green obituary. Look for Ertz to set up in the slot, using his height and build to beat down on smaller nickel backs.
Kelly said it himself: "(Ertz's) a mismatch nightmare. If you get him isolated on a defensive back it's very, very difficult to cover because of his size, but he's also too athletic to put linebackers on."
Athletic. Versatile. A mismatch. Another Chip Kelly weapon for the Chip Kelly arsenal.
And in the third round, the Birds flipped to the defensive side of the ball, drafting LSU defensive tackle Bennie Logan. Here's what NFL.com had to say about the former Tiger:
Athletic tackle with a wide frame and solid thickness and strength throughout. Nice lateral quickness to step into a gap after the snap, can penetrate through to get a hand on the ballcarrier or hold his ground with a shoulder against single blocks to stuff the hole.... Strong tackler who swallows ballcarriers when in position and also slows them with an arm even if engaged.
Are we seeing a theme yet? With his size and speed, Logan has the ability to play anywhere on the defensive line.
Chip Kelly wants mesomorphic. He wants versatile, he wants mismatches, he wants smoothie-drinking bear-wrestling science-observing athletes. In the first three rounds (and for a majority of the remainder of the draft), that's exactly who Roseman and the Iggles scouting department delivered.
And then.... well, then in the fourth round the Eagles traded up to get Matt Barkley.
Drafting the quarterback out of US C was a head-scratcher, and it may be little more than a flier on a discount value. A year ago, Barkley likely would have been a first rounder. He was once even rumored as the first overall pick. To get him in the fourth round is like the frat-boy buying tampons in bulk under the justification of "well we're gonna spill something eventually." High value may outweigh lack of ability or fit.
Or maybe, just maybe, Kelly meant it when he said he builds his system around his players, and not vice-versa.
But don't count on it. Barkley doesn't fit the Chip build. He's not athletic. He doesn't move well. And he hasn't run the read-option. Furthermore, an injury this past season has brought his already-suspect arm strength into question. The first three picks display Kelly's appreciation for strenuosity. The Barkley pick reeks of bargain hunting, and if he's starting games for the Eagles under Chip, it seems reasonable to suspect something has gone horribly wrong.
When asked about the kind of personnel he was looking for, Kelly was recently quoted as saying "big people beat up little people." The Eagles emphasized this thought-process with their first three picks, and again with their final four. Earl Wolff, Joe Kruger, Jordan Poyer, David King... the Eagles were loud and clear about the content of their job ads.
Beyond the odd Barkley pick, Roseman and the Eagles draft squad appears to have done an exceptional job acquiring Chip Kelly type guys. Time will tell whether the Chip Kelly style of man translates into a winning professional football program.