Open Rants by Bolash747

The Eagles have been a team of great highs and a lot of lows this season but there are some bright spots. The team is still a mess in a multitude of areas. Howie Roseman has shown, last off season, that he's apparently very good at getting deals done. But it will ultimately come down to how Doug Pederson wants to shape this team for the future. He's learned from one of the best coaches in the league and hopefully it will show this off season. It also seems like coaching staff will stay in tact as well allowing further development on both sides of the ball. Below are my thoughts on how to get the Eagles to the playoffs by next season. We'll start with Free Agency and work our way to the Draft.

Off Season Moves

The Eagles cap situation isn't the greatest at the moment but it can get a lot better depending on how they want to spend their money, roughly around $10 mil in cap space currently, and who they want to cut. Speaking of which...

Cut RB Ryan Mathews - Besides single handedly giving games away for the Eagles this season, with a few costly fumbles, Ryan Mathews will be turning 30 and has been a major concern for injury. He's no where near worth the $5 million cap hit next season. Cutting him would save about $4 million. The Eagles still have Sproles and Smallwood as options and can add one in the draft.

Cut OLB/DE Conor Barwin - As beloved of a player that Barwin is, he may become a cap casualty. He has tweeted and said that he will take a pay cut to stay with the team but it remains to be seen if that will happen. Barwin had a bit of a down year with the Eagles and currently isn't worth the cap hit for his amount of production. Cutting Barwin would save around $7 million.

Cut CB Leodis McKelvin- Signing McKelvin was a mistake in the first place and was part of the reason the Eagles had one of the worst secondaries in the NFL. He was a detriment in coverage the entire season. Cutting him would save about $3 million in cap space.

Now after freeing up the cap space, roughly around 24 million, the Eagles can look to improve other areas of need by signing and resigning players.

Resign CB Nolan Carroll - Part of the reason behind cutting McKelvin is so that the Eagles can resign Carroll without issue. Carroll was as pretty terrible last season but was still much better in coverage the McKelvin. As a possible #2 CB, he could excel for a few more seasons but could also transition to nickle if the Eagles look for another CB in FA.

Resign DT Bennie Loagn - I was one who was very critical of Logan while under the Chip Kelly regime but he's proved me wrong and shown me that hes a very sold DT on this team. Logan may be worth the asking price but the Eagles will have to see how much that really is.

Resign Backups - Contracts are deserved for good play from backups, contributors, and special teams players. TE Trey Burton and C/G Stefen Wisniewski deserve to be resigned.

After all this has been finalized, I'd imagine the Eagles would probably have about $10 -$12 million in left over cap space to sign some Free Agents.

Eagles sign CB Dre Kirkpatrick - I think the Eagles feel that they've been burned by trying to find a CB, but, unless they feel confident in a rookie stepping in right away, Kirkpatrick could be a cheaper stop gap to see who they can draft. The reason I think they're target Kirkpatrick in stead of any of the top guys in Free Agency is because I can see many of them being Franchised or costing far too much.

Eagles sign WR DeSean Jackson - You may question why DeSean would want to come back to Philadelphia for one thing. That reason is Carson Wentz and the fact that Chip Kelly is gone. Pederson and Roseman are no fools. I think they sign him to a team friendly or possibly a 1 year prove it deal. Jackson is known to be a cancer in the locker room so a limited deal with a team option would be best for him.

The 2017 NFL Draft

With the draft being in Philadelphia in 2017 the Eagles will have to be on their A game. With the trade of Sammy Sleeves it's allowed the Eagles to have that coveted first round draft pick. This is my idea of how the draft will play out best for the Eagles.

1st Round (From Minnesota) - RB Leonard Fournette: People may call me crazy but it's a possibility that Fournette falls to the Eagles at 14/15. I feel that teams may value Dalvin Cook's ability as a pass catcher which may make him more valuable. The Eagles would have to be ecstatic if he were to fall to them or if they possibly moved up a few spots to acquire him if he falls out of the Top 10.

2nd Round - CB Gareon Conley: With a loaded class of corners the Eagles could wait on taking one until the second round. With so many solid prospects, the Eagles get a gem in Conley who could possibly go in the 1st Round.

3rd Round - WR Cooper Kupp: If anyone has watched the Eagles this season they've noticed that their WR's like to drop the ball from time to time. Kupp has had an outstanding career at Eastern Washington and is know for catching anything thrown his way. He's a large receiver who could develop into a #1 allowing Matthews to play the slot and, possibly, DeSean Jackson on the other side.

4th Round - C Pat Elflein: It's also under speculation that the Eagles may cut or trade Jason Kelce. Kelce use to be a very solid center but has digressed over the years. Elflein is a very large center compaired to Kelce and could work into being his replacement.

5th Round (From Cleveland) - OLB Jalen Reeves-Maybin: Nigal Bradham has been decent for the Eagles but a developmental player could be drafted to replace him or for Mychal Kendricks.

5th Round - OT Conor McDermott: The Eagles could use a developmental tackle. With Jason Peters only a few years left, Lane Johnson seems to be the replacement on the left but McDermott could be developed into a solid right tackle.

6th Round - WR Trent Taylor: A small speedy guy? Though not a running back, Taylor could learn from veteran small man Sproles and become a chance of pace player for the Eagles. He could become a lethal returner.

7th Round - DE Chad Thomas: Thomas would be a developmental pass rusher for the Eagles.

That's all I got. Comments are welcome.