Draft Q&A: Part II

Well, we are off and running with our cross-blog Q&A session regarding this weekend’s NFL draft. Thanks again to Chris and Anthony over at Heard in the Cheap Seats for joining me in the discussion. This morning, they provided an excellent (and original) answer to the following question:

Who is the one player you do not want to see drafted by an NFC East rival, and why do you think said player would pose such a threat?

To read their response, go here. To keep our momentum going, they kicked this question back to me:

Throw out team needs and priorities for the moment. If you were building this Eagles roster from scratch, who would be your first pick in this year’s draft? Why?

Another fine question, fellas. Well, one of the few points Andy Reid and I agree on is building a team from the inside-out. Having a franchise quarterback is useless if you don’t have an offensive line in front of him. On the flip-side, if your defensive line can’t stop the run and pressure the quarterback, you’ll be in for some long Sunday afternoons. To borrow the overused saying once again, “the game is won in the trenches.” It may be a cliche, but cliches are cliches because they are true.

With this in mind, I would start along the line to build the Eagles. Since there is no can’t miss defensive lineman in this draft, I’ll have to turn to the offensive side of the ball. My pick would be Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith, who is my favorite player in the entire draft. Smith is a phenomenal athlete with excellent technique. I would agree with Chris that Eugene Monroe is the best pass blocker, but I would argue Smith is the best all-around lineman. He gets good push as a run blocker and is quick and smooth as a pass blocker.

Smith, like Jason Peters, is a former tight end who possesses the strength to stand up power rushers and the quickness to hang with speed rushers. Smith has the necessary nasty streak you want in a franchise left tackle and still has room to grow. In three years, he could end up being the best left tackle in the NFL. If I’m starting the Birds from scratch, I want Jason Smith on my roster.

Let’s keep it going. Here is my question back to the Cheap Seaters:

Who is the one player that has been consistently linked to the Eagles that you believe they have very little interest in drafting?

Don’t forget to check out Chris and Anthony’s answer over at Heard in the Cheap Seats a little later today.