Survivor I - Philadelphia Eagles Commentary

NOTE: this draft was completed on 7/24

Positives - The Eagles finished 2003 as the #8 fantasy defense in points scored per game. Their young secondary has another year of experience. They resigned big free agents in Jeremiah Trotter and Hugh Douglas. They finished 2nd in sacks last year with the addition of Jevon Kearse. The return of ND Kalu on the other end will also help the Eagles sack numbers. They play 6 games against Drew Bledsoe, Eli Manning and Patrick Ramsey.

Negatives - At draft time Corey Simon was a threat to holdout for a new contract after being designated the Eagles’ franchise player. The Eagles only ranked 22nd in turnovers last year. In the offseason the Eagles lost their top kickoff returner JR Reed.

Draft Strategy - I grabbed the Eagles defense as the 8th off the board which I thought was fair value. If they can create more turnovers they could be a top 5 or 6 defense. Still, they have the talent to at least finish top 10. The 6 divisional games should give them plenty of opportunities for interceptions and sacks. In retrospect I probably could have held out another round and grabbed the Jets defense as better value.