Philadelphia Eagles Draft | 10 Senior Bowl Players to Watch
Amara Darboh, WR, Michigan
Let’s stay in Michigan, shall we? Amara Darboh was a big-time receiving threat in Ann Arbor this year, averaging over 15 yards per reception. He doesn’t have the greatest speed on the planet, but enough to get on top of DBs. He may not create the most separation either, but he’s got a great catch radius and absolutely outstanding hands (9 7/8″), and has at least one spectacular catch in almost every game, like the one below.
While he’s made more impressive grabs, I love this clip because you can see Darboh decelerate and use his large frame to box out the corner. Darboh didn’t have the greatest quarterback play in college football, so he had plenty of opportunities to showcase his tracking/adjustment ability. While not the greatest route runner, Darboh has a nice understanding of how to win with his size/catch radius as the ball arrives. That’s a valuable skill for a WR who doesn’t necessarily create the most separation.
Darboh will need to demonstrate to North coaches that he can run cleaner routes, block when called upon, and win without top-level speed. Because Darboh doesn’t separate as often/easily as other WRs will in Mobile, he may suffer from a lack of targets as unfamiliar QBs don’t trust him on 50/50 balls. As such, he may come out of the game quieter than others, and the Eagles could capitalize on that lack of hype.
Darboh is a player the Philadelphia Eagles should look for as early as Round 3, if they’re unable to grab a WR in the first two rounds of the draft: he can attack all three levels of the field and do damage after the catch. In the more likely event that Philadelphia grabs an earlier WR, Darboh could still be a great pick on Day 3. His ability to stretch defenses as a deep threat opens up the middle of the field, where current Eagles WR Jordan Matthews and TE Zach Ertz do most of their damage.
Projected Round: 4th
Rasul Douglas, CB, West Virginia
Rasul Douglas is the guy I expect to rise the most this week. A loose, rangy CB with incredible length (6’2, 203 lbs, 32 1/8″ arms), Douglas plays his best in off-man coverage, which allows him to jump routes with outstanding closing speed and disrupt WRs (NCAA-leading 8 INTs this season).
Though I noted his strength in off-man, Douglas shows both the physicality at the line of scrimmage and at the catch point that Philadelphia seems to value in their cornerbacks when playing press coverage. Go find his interception against Tennessee–he just takes the football away from the receiver because he wants it badder.
On top of his elite acceleration, plus physicality, and receiver-like ball skills, Douglas can move. His straight-line speed really jumped out to me on the tape, especially in his special teams contributions at West Virginia (hey, don’t the Eagles like those guys?) I wouldn’t be surprised if he runs around a 4.4 40.
Douglas joins a strong group of DBs in Mobile this week–probably the best position group there. In order to stand out among other great playmakers like Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis, Iowa’s Desmond King, and LSU’s Tre’Davious White, he’ll need to show the North squad that his aggressive play won’t lead to penalties on the next level, and that he can support in the run game.
Philadelphia has struggled in the past during the early rounds of the draft. Players selected on the first two days have notoriously flopped (DE Marcus Smith, WRs Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff) up to this point. Douglas, a corner with incredible potential, will likely be hanging around on Day 2. I think he can be an immediate, impact CB1 at the next level, and Philadelphia would be wise to snatch him up when they can.
Projected Round: 2nd