Regardless of how those selections have panned out, the Eagles have put faith in what they have seen. Contingents from the 32 NFL teams descend on Mobile, Ala., again this week for Saturday's Senior Bowl. General manager Howie Roseman and his staff, along with members of the coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, will be there. As of late last week, Andy Reid was undecided whether he would attend.
You might recall a year ago, changes to the Eagles' defensive staff leaked out at the Senior Bowl with defensive line coach Rory Segrest and linebackers coach Bill Shuey both being fired in the aftermath of Sean McDermott's dismissal.
Much of the attention for the Eagles in the early mock drafts is on linebacker, a position they have not selected in the first round since Jerry Robinson was chosen in 1979. The name most associated with the Birds is Boston College inside linebacker Luke Kuechly, the winner of the Nagurski, Lombardi and Butkus awards who led the nation in tackles with 191. In his three seasons, he collected a school and ACC record 532 tackles. Since he is a junior, he is not at the Senior Bowl.
North Carolina's Zach Brown, considered the top 4-3 outside linebacker, will be at the Senior Bowl. Brown had 91 tackles, 11 1/2 tackles for loss and 5 1/2 sacks for the Tar Heels. Brown is projected to be selected in the middle of the first round.
The top inside linebacker prospect at the Senior Bowl is likely North Carolina State's Audie Cole, although he is projected as going in the third or fourth round.
