"I know they run the wide-nine. That's about all I know. That's what they're still running, right?" Kuechly asked.
Is there much of a chance that Kuechly, 6-2, 240, an instinctive linebacker who averaged an astonishing 15.9 tackles per game as a senior, will actually find himself pulling on a midnight green Eagles cap on April 26? Historically, mock drafts have not been very good predictors of the Birds' intentions. Some of this is because the Eagles don't tend to pick toward the top of the draft, and the farther back you sit, the more variables must be considered. (Three years ago, nobody had the Eagles getting wideout Jeremy Maclin 19th overall, because Maclin was supposed to be long gone by then.) Some of it is because Eagles management's assessment of what the team needs often is wildly different from what fans and outside experts perceive. (Two years ago, the team covered up Victor Abiamiri's microfracture surgery to keep the rest of the league from guessing the Birds were looking for a defensive end in the first round. Then, when the Eagles traded up 11 spots to grab one 13th overall, it was Brandon Graham, whom many draft analysts pegged as a 3-4 linebacker in the NFL, not a 4-3 defensive end.) Then there is the fact that for whatever reason, the Eagles haven't taken a linebacker in the first round since Jerry Robinson in 1979.
