Speaker 1: And we welcome you back to the Exfinity studio here
Speaker 1: at an Overcare complex and the Eagles Draft Central, presented
Speaker 1: by Diets and Watson, Eagles insider David Spidero with the
Speaker 1: voice of the Eagles, Merrill race. The Eagles on the
Speaker 1: clock with the eighty fourth pick in this twenty fifteen
Speaker 1: NFL Draft, third round pick. Merrill, and we've gone through
Speaker 1: the first two rounds kind of according to what we
Speaker 1: thought with Nelson Aguilar, wide receiver from USA USC and
Speaker 1: then defensive back Eric Rowe from Utah. And as we
Speaker 1: sit here now your thoughts on what the Eagles might
Speaker 1: do with pick number eighty four, Well, you would think
Speaker 1: offensive lineman. But if they do not feel there is
Speaker 1: an offensive lineman who was value with the spot, they
Speaker 1: will go on another direction. It could be it could
Speaker 1: be an edge rushier, it could be an inside linebacker,
Speaker 1: it could be another dB or another wide receiver. You
Speaker 1: go with your best players on the board. Let's bring
Speaker 1: in from the fan cave bow Wolf and Greg co Sell. Guys,
Speaker 1: what are you thinking about as the Eagles get set
Speaker 1: to make this pick. Well, I think Merril's right. I
Speaker 1: think if there were an offensive lineman here. That's the
Speaker 1: direction they would go, But there's been so many offensive
Speaker 1: lineman taken in the last two rounds that there may
Speaker 1: not be a guy there the positions Meryll talked about.
Speaker 1: At linebacker, I think it would be Jordan Hicks. He
Speaker 1: would be the top layer on the board. And he's
Speaker 1: spent a lot of time with the Eagles throughout this
Speaker 1: draft process. At safety, we know this. They've spent a
Speaker 1: lot of time with Adrian Amos at penn State, and
Speaker 1: Amos is very interesting because he's the right Let's get
Speaker 1: to the Chicago back selection. Please welcome Eagle fans. Frank
Speaker 1: Arnold from Coachsville, Pennsylvania. Thank you Troy. With the four
Speaker 1: pick in the twenty fifteen NFL Draft, my Philadelphi Eagles
Speaker 1: select Jordan Hicks, linebacker, University of Texas. All right, strong,
Speaker 1: coach Strong. Jordan Hicks just went off the board of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: You know, the thing about Jordan is just one of
Speaker 1: those players is he's a coach Michael in the field,
Speaker 1: a young man who's battled through a lot of injuries
Speaker 1: and I'm just so happy for him for him to
Speaker 1: come back and have the senior year that he had.
Speaker 1: I was talking telling them players. You know, like you
Speaker 1: go through a season and there's some guys you wish
Speaker 1: that you could out back. Yeah, he's one of those guys.
Speaker 1: I told big Mouth him he can go ahead home,
Speaker 1: but I love to because then he just said very
Speaker 1: like I said, very physical or smart player and a
Speaker 1: guy who could play his space when you talk about
Speaker 1: Sprandie Mouth, he could play in space. Did the did
Speaker 1: the Eagles reach out to you at any point to
Speaker 1: kick the tires on him a little bit? No? No,
Speaker 1: I just I thought maybe he would go round earlier.
Speaker 1: But that's to me not to be talking. Hey, I'll
Speaker 1: tell you it was interesting because I think a lot
Speaker 1: of people liked his physical traits. I think they were
Speaker 1: worried about the durability. Yes, yes, because he had battled
Speaker 1: some injuries. Yep. And this is the first shion that's
Speaker 1: really been healthy because he you know, and he said
Speaker 1: it to me because I think last year were touring
Speaker 1: Achilles and then but he didn't go through spring practice.
Speaker 1: All got him into ball camp and then he was
Speaker 1: ready to go. Well, who's gonna be the next Texas player?
Speaker 1: Taking out of the last So that is the selection.
Speaker 1: Jordan Hicks from Texas and Merrill. No question that this
Speaker 1: is a very talented player, and that's not the question
Speaker 1: Eagles fans are going to have. It's a question is
Speaker 1: going to be why an inside linebacker here when you've
Speaker 1: acquired Keiko Alonso, extended Damiko Ryans and you have Michael
Speaker 1: Kendricks still here and Nausey good as healthy. Those players
Speaker 1: who were healthy or who were hurt last year are
Speaker 1: now healthy. Well, it seems like a low gym at
Speaker 1: one position. However, you said it, I've said it. You
Speaker 1: do not reach just to fill a need, and they
Speaker 1: were able to fill two needs with the wide receiver
Speaker 1: in round one, with the defensive back slice safety in
Speaker 1: round two. I also was rooting for an offensive lineman,
Speaker 1: and there were some names out there like Terry Pool
Speaker 1: from San Diego State. Trey Jackson was out there, Corey
Speaker 1: Robinson from South Carolina was out there. Mark Lewinsky from
Speaker 1: West Virginia was out there. But they felt that the
Speaker 1: value of Jordan Hicks University of Texas, a guy who
Speaker 1: grew up in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, was a much
Speaker 1: greater value at this spot than any of those four
Speaker 1: offensive lineman and the Eagles met with Hicks at the combine.
Speaker 1: He also came to an overcare complex for a visit.
Speaker 1: We take a look at his numbers the second team
Speaker 1: All Big Twelve player and obviously is you we heard
Speaker 1: Mike MAYOCKX say very very talented player who previously had
Speaker 1: some injury history, healthy senior season at Texas, in a
Speaker 1: very fine season. But I think when Chip Kelly meets
Speaker 1: the media, let's be honest, the obvious question is why
Speaker 1: an inside linebacker and what happens next at that position. Clearly,
Speaker 1: with all the reports, rumors, innuendo out there, speculation about
Speaker 1: potential trades, it's an obvious question. Yeah, and we've heard
Speaker 1: names mentioned in potential trades like Avon Mathis. We've heard
Speaker 1: Michael Kendricks, We've heard Brandon Boykin. These are names that
Speaker 1: have been bandied about. And maybe they're going to trade
Speaker 1: for a more experienced offensive lineman and we'll see what
Speaker 1: happens to the offensive line. Not addressed in the first
Speaker 1: of this draft, let's go to the fan cave, Bo
Speaker 1: and Greg your reaction to Jordan Hicks and what it
Speaker 1: means for the Eagles depth chart. Well. As Greg pointed
Speaker 1: out here while we were talking Obviously, despite the extension
Speaker 1: for Damiko Ryans, he's no certainty to play early in
Speaker 1: the season coming off that Achilles injury. Hicks is a
Speaker 1: player who can sort of do it all for the
Speaker 1: linebacker position. Physical, can defend the pass, really can do
Speaker 1: it all in there. Yeah, and I think he checks
Speaker 1: all the boxes. The reason I think he's a third
Speaker 1: round pick and not, let's say, a second or a
Speaker 1: first is because he's not quite as explosive as you
Speaker 1: might like as a mover, and the injury history and
Speaker 1: the injury history correct. But I think he plays the
Speaker 1: run very well. He's got a feel for working through
Speaker 1: traffic and finding the ball. The thing that really stood
Speaker 1: out to me and now you have to think about
Speaker 1: your sub packages, and that's the way defensive coordinators think
Speaker 1: is he was a very good pass defender. He played
Speaker 1: a lot of zone at Texas, but he's got the
Speaker 1: skill set to play man to man, which the Eagles
Speaker 1: play a lot of. But I think he's a complete
Speaker 1: linebacker who checks pretty much most of the boxes in
Speaker 1: terms of this Eagles defense. The way that he fits in.
Speaker 1: He can do everything that the Eagles will want him
Speaker 1: to do. You know, I made the note when I
Speaker 1: was done watching him that he's either a four three
Speaker 1: stacked backer or a three four stax backer, and we
Speaker 1: know the Eagles play it three four, so that's how
Speaker 1: he transitions to the NFL. While we have you talking
Speaker 1: about the inside linebackers, what do you think of Kiko Alonzo?
Speaker 1: I loved Kiko Alonso was a rookie. He was another guy.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's about two hundred and forty three pounds,
Speaker 1: he can run, He's a terrific blitzer. He's a guy
Speaker 1: who really checks all the boxes. All right, guys, Well,
Speaker 1: the selection of Jordan Hicks, I think confirms what we've
Speaker 1: expected throughout the draft process. The Eagles are going to
Speaker 1: take the guys who they've had in for visits here.
Speaker 1: Jordan Hicks was one of those all three players who
Speaker 1: they've selected so far on that list. Back to you guys,
Speaker 1: thanks very much both, Thanks very much. Greg. We've got
Speaker 1: more to talk about here, and we expect Chip Kelly
Speaker 1: along in an overcare complex auditorious storage. So we will
Speaker 1: come back the Eagle drafts up once at four moments.
Speaker 1: We will hear from Chip Kelly momentarily. The Eagles have
Speaker 1: made their third selection in this two thousand and fifteen draft,
Speaker 1: and his name is Jordan Hicks, an inside linebackers. Now
Speaker 1: have seven inside linebackers. They are making sure that injuries
Speaker 1: will not play a part in this twenty fifteen season.
Speaker 1: We'll find out though obviously a lot of speculation about
Speaker 1: the position the depth chart. What happens next here is
Speaker 1: Chip Kelly in the auditorium address that there was important
Speaker 1: all season is that this is about this was he
Speaker 1: was our highest rated guy by far. You know, we
Speaker 1: had him rated in the second round. UM. We had
Speaker 1: great exposure to Jordan. I think he was the I
Speaker 1: think the individual that we saw the most in the
Speaker 1: in this offseason, whether it was exposure at the Senior
Speaker 1: Bowl to him, his Pro day, individual workouts, UH, top
Speaker 1: thirty visits, all those other things. I think when we
Speaker 1: calculate all our exposures to a player who's a Player
Speaker 1: of the week, had seen the most and just felt like,
Speaker 1: um got a great skill set. He's a three down linebacker,
Speaker 1: UM can cover. It's an outstanding special teams player and
Speaker 1: be able to bring him in here and learn from
Speaker 1: Demiko and Michael and Kiko. I just thought it was
Speaker 1: there's great value in that pick so is one of
Speaker 1: those when you're just looking at the board. He was.
Speaker 1: There was no one else around him that we had
Speaker 1: at that point in time, since Michael Kendricks inside linebacker
Speaker 1: position getting as some crowded as it is the courts,
Speaker 1: that he could be had for a certain price. What
Speaker 1: do you where do you see Kendricks fitting in And
Speaker 1: do you think he's going to be a part of
Speaker 1: your draws? Yeah, I really do, and we're excited to
Speaker 1: get him back around. I know he spent the draft
Speaker 1: with his brother, which we understand, and I said he
Speaker 1: should be back here next week. But you know, I
Speaker 1: think you're always gonna draft players and when you bring
Speaker 1: him in here, there's going to be the one thing
Speaker 1: you want is you want competition at positions. And I
Speaker 1: we knew going in at the end of last year
Speaker 1: with just Michael and uh In Demiko that we really
Speaker 1: had to show up the inside linebacker spot. And we
Speaker 1: felt like we've got two quality guys in Kiko. We
Speaker 1: got a swing player and Brad Jones. You know, we
Speaker 1: can play both inside and outside. There's some versatility with
Speaker 1: him and then being able to add Jordan to the mix.
Speaker 1: We feel like we you know, it was a big prod,
Speaker 1: big thought process of us going into the offseason what
Speaker 1: we could do with the side linebacker spot, and that's
Speaker 1: what we felt that we'd done, especially with this pick injury. Disagree.
Speaker 1: I think he's been solid the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: So you know, he did have an achilles um in
Speaker 1: a hip, but he's he's played, he's been one hundred
Speaker 1: percent clearer and everything going through the all them all
Speaker 1: the stuff they do at the combine and medical had
Speaker 1: a great medical grade coming out of the Combine, and
Speaker 1: our doctors and trainers had no issues with him. Some
Speaker 1: of those reports being out there teams called about kends. No,
Speaker 1: not at all. The Alba Wile goal two thousand twelve.
Speaker 1: What information that you get on is on the suspension
Speaker 1: talk talked to all their coaches and talked to Jordan
Speaker 1: and everybody involved in it, and um, you know, he
Speaker 1: gave his version of the story and we understand what
Speaker 1: happened and that he gets suspended and missed the missed
Speaker 1: the game and that was the punishment that he had to.
Speaker 1: Character Wise, we're very comfortable with him. What is your
Speaker 1: understanding of what happened and why he was that's a
Speaker 1: question for Jordan, So that's not a question for me.
Speaker 1: How much of research did you have to do in
Speaker 1: that area? We do it with all of our players,
Speaker 1: so it doesn't matter what the area is. We're just
Speaker 1: gonna you know, we we hope we leave no stone unturned.
Speaker 1: But as I said, he we had the most exposure
Speaker 1: to this players than any player we got in the draft,
Speaker 1: so in terms of our contact with him. So Charlie
Speaker 1: Strong's defense, did you see a change in him when
Speaker 1: they want the defense change? Yeah, that's the one thing
Speaker 1: that's unique about him because he's played for so many
Speaker 1: different defensive coordinators in his time at Texas. You know,
Speaker 1: he's came in, got recruited by Mac and they had
Speaker 1: a couple of defensive coordinates. I know he played for
Speaker 1: Greg Robinson, manny D has a couple of different other
Speaker 1: guys and then Charlie coming in. So you've seen him
Speaker 1: playing a four three defense, You've seen him playing in
Speaker 1: the three down defense. That's really lend you to show
Speaker 1: you what his versatility is. And again we think he's
Speaker 1: a three down linebacker and for us, that's what we're
Speaker 1: looking for. It separated us from some of the other linebackers.
Speaker 1: So we're pretty good in this draft, but their first
Speaker 1: and second down guys, you gotta take him off the
Speaker 1: field on third downe He's a type of player like
Speaker 1: a Michael Kendricks and like Akiko Lenza that you don't
Speaker 1: have to take off the field and third down. You mealy,
Speaker 1: it was much higher than anybody reported this point where
Speaker 1: you tempted to go up and get him somewhere. Now
Speaker 1: we felt we felt good and where we were, especially
Speaker 1: because we've made some maneuvers, you know, to get Eric.
Speaker 1: We didn't want to sacrifice, you know, any more picks.
Speaker 1: We still want to accumulate picks, and that's always and
Speaker 1: part of the goal. We felt like moving for Eric
Speaker 1: was the right thing to do, and then just hoping
Speaker 1: as it fell this time that that we could get
Speaker 1: we could get him, but we were just going to
Speaker 1: let them when you get to this point, we're looking
Speaker 1: at it. Just let the board express itself. And when
Speaker 1: we're going to opportunities select, you're looking at the board,
Speaker 1: who's the highest ranked player there? And then we're gonna
Speaker 1: go from there. Speed. How does he compared to um
Speaker 1: he's there? You know, he's over six, he's six one
Speaker 1: six O one three, two hundred thirty six pounds, runs
Speaker 1: four six I think he jumped vertical thirty nine inches.
Speaker 1: His short shuttle is outstanding. His ten yard is outstanding,
Speaker 1: his twenty yards outstanding, his three cones outstanding. You know,
Speaker 1: that's what we're looking for a linebackers. We want guys
Speaker 1: that are three down linebackers, and especially when you look
Speaker 1: at those guys can really contribute on teams. And we
Speaker 1: think we've got a huge upgrade at the inside linebacker
Speaker 1: position from a team standpoint because of how fast and
Speaker 1: how athletic he is. So so, I think Keiko can
Speaker 1: be an udged. I think Kiko can do a lot
Speaker 1: of things. So yeah, I think that's one of the
Speaker 1: things that's that's part of his repertoire. Yeahsition, Do you
Speaker 1: feel better? Yeah, you know, And again we said we
Speaker 1: needed to address it, you know. Um, you know, we
Speaker 1: lost Casey and then with Demiko coming off an injury,
Speaker 1: Michael missed four games last year. Um, we've that that
Speaker 1: was a real priority for us after the offseasons. We
Speaker 1: need to upgrade the inside linebacker position. We felt like
Speaker 1: we've done that so far. Like guys, I don't think
Speaker 1: you can have too many. I mean, that's that's kind
Speaker 1: of what you're looking for. And you're also not gonna
Speaker 1: just draft for need. And I said it earlier. If
Speaker 1: the if the need part of it crosses the talent line,
Speaker 1: I think that's when you get in trouble because you
Speaker 1: start reaching. So um, there was a clear cut no
Speaker 1: one remotely close on our board to where Jordan was
Speaker 1: at the point in time. We picked them so that
Speaker 1: it makes it a really easy discussion. There's no discussion
Speaker 1: when you're staring at the board and one guy's up
Speaker 1: here and then the rest of the group is clumped
Speaker 1: down here. So um, anytime you start to go, hey,
Speaker 1: what we'd like to address this position, let's go over here,
Speaker 1: and then you pass on that player, you know, I
Speaker 1: don't think that's a that's not the formula we're working with.
Speaker 1: And what we're gonna do is we move forwards. So um,
Speaker 1: we don't want just two down linebackers in our system.
Speaker 1: We want three down linebackers, and that's what we're you know,
Speaker 1: we'll continue to build as we continue to move forward here,
Speaker 1: So press needs, But how did you looking at that
Speaker 1: position coming in? Did you ever think that, Yeah, there's
Speaker 1: some guys that we were very that that we were
Speaker 1: very uh excited about, but obviously there were other guys
Speaker 1: in the league that were very excited about them too.
Speaker 1: So you know, some of the guys that went off
Speaker 1: the board there in the second we had targeted in
Speaker 1: the second, but we just we couldn't get to them,
Speaker 1: you know, And that's just kind of the process. You
Speaker 1: only get you only really you know, get one pick
Speaker 1: per round unless you're trying to really move up in stockpile.
Speaker 1: And just didn't work out for us. But again, we're
Speaker 1: not going to reach at any individual position. Um, if
Speaker 1: we have to go play today, we'll go play today.
Speaker 1: You know, the only guy that's not here from last
Speaker 1: year is Todd Herriman's So you know, I still think, um,
Speaker 1: do we want to add to that position. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: certainly do, but we feel like we still have another
Speaker 1: day left in the draft. In this draft, I think
Speaker 1: it was there was three or four guys at the
Speaker 1: top um that we were really excited about, and then
Speaker 1: I think then I think there's ah, it drops off
Speaker 1: a little bit after that. You mentioned it need the talent.
Speaker 1: I'm crossing what if it's the reverse where somebody's great talent,
Speaker 1: you really don't have any need of that position at all.
Speaker 1: I don't I would say, I don't think there's any
Speaker 1: position that we don't have needs or talent. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're always going to take good football players, um, and
Speaker 1: then figure it out after that. You also can say, hey,
Speaker 1: we're we feel great about this thing, and then you
Speaker 1: go out of the first practice, first training session we
Speaker 1: have next week and the kid kid goes down and
Speaker 1: then you're like, well, wish we had that guy. So, UM,
Speaker 1: I don't think there's any team in the league that
Speaker 1: we'll say, hey, we're one percent set at this position,
Speaker 1: and we're not gonna look, We're gonna look a blind
Speaker 1: eye and just say hey, we're not going to take
Speaker 1: anybody that position. So we're gonna look at them, look
Speaker 1: at them all. If it's even you know, when you
Speaker 1: look at two guys that are even in terms of
Speaker 1: how you've addressed them, then obviously you're going to lean
Speaker 1: towards we need this position more than we need that position.
Speaker 1: But UM, I think you hurt yourself and you just say, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, we're just taking this guy because is it's
Speaker 1: a need at that position, and you pass up some
Speaker 1: really good players inside back. Or Kiko and Demigo. Where
Speaker 1: are they in their recovery? Um, they're both running around now.
Speaker 1: I mean I know they've been out with the conditioning coaches.
Speaker 1: I don't know exactly how clear they'll be when we
Speaker 1: get out there um on Monday, so that you know,
Speaker 1: that's a little bit to be answered. But I from
Speaker 1: my understanding, I know they're both one percent by August,
Speaker 1: so I'm not concerned about that. But I think um,
Speaker 1: Kiko is probably a little bit ahead just because of
Speaker 1: when his surgery was. The then Demko Sami, you know,
Speaker 1: anticipating Kiko will go through OTAs and all that. I
Speaker 1: don't know exactly what Demko will be in terms of
Speaker 1: when we get going against each other, but when we're
Speaker 1: working on air, those guys have been running around right now.
Speaker 1: So you don't expect to trade that where you don't pay,
Speaker 1: they'll be traded. No, I mean, we haven't talked to
Speaker 1: anybody about trading those guys during this draft. Yeah, okay, well,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to protect the future, but I haven't
Speaker 1: talked to anybody. I think a lot of those reports
Speaker 1: about us offering all these players is kind of faults,
Speaker 1: and I did have to make some fun calls the
Speaker 1: guys on our team saying that that's not the case.
Speaker 1: But we haven't offered any of our players in any
Speaker 1: packages for anybody for anything. And you know, I think
Speaker 1: what and I know what people do. They look at
Speaker 1: you and say, hey, Fletcher Cox is really good player.
Speaker 1: Michael Kendricks is a really good player. I would throw
Speaker 1: them in if we were trying to go somewhere, but
Speaker 1: we didn't throw any players in. So but that name
Speaker 1: gets out there. But we haven't had discussions about nothing
Speaker 1: bothers me. You guys are gonna write whatever you want
Speaker 1: to write. I mean, it don't bother me. It bothers
Speaker 1: some of our players, though, but I'll talk to those
Speaker 1: guys about it. But it don't bother me. I mean,
Speaker 1: it happens all the time. So it makes sports great.
Speaker 1: I mean, you have nothing to talk about in sports radio.
Speaker 1: Let's say, hey, let's talk trades, and then everybody comes
Speaker 1: up with the trade. It's great, that's what sports are
Speaker 1: all about. I think it's fun. But if the guy
Speaker 1: getting talked about in the trade gets a little nervous,
Speaker 1: my point is I got to tell him just not
Speaker 1: to listen to that stuff. But I mean, everybody can
Speaker 1: trade trade me. I don't care, I know, and everybody
Speaker 1: is tradeable, and coaches included. Rights didn't have to be here.
Speaker 1: And you said he wanted to help with his brother,
Speaker 1: But yeah, did it bother you? Now? Nothing? And I
Speaker 1: tell our guys, it's one voluntary that's what the league
Speaker 1: set up and that's the way it is. So if
Speaker 1: you want to be here, then I think you're gonna
Speaker 1: get outstanding teaching, coaching and all those other things. But
Speaker 1: I'm not going to make you come here. And you
Speaker 1: know that's that's that's your decision. But I understand where
Speaker 1: Michael's coming from. You know, it's only one time her
Speaker 1: brother gets drafted, you know, And I think it's a
Speaker 1: special time for his family. And he told us he
Speaker 1: was going to be with his brother Eric, and we
Speaker 1: anticipate him coming in next week. So, I mean, the
Speaker 1: one thing I know about Michael, he always works. So
Speaker 1: I don't think Michael's gonna show up here and be
Speaker 1: twenty five pounds overweight. I think He's gonna come running
Speaker 1: through the front door and running around like he can
Speaker 1: always do. So we're excited to see when we gets
Speaker 1: back in here on Monday. So all right, So that
Speaker 1: is Chip Kelly and Chip Kelly talking about the need
Speaker 1: for three down linebacker in this defensive scheme and Jordan
Speaker 1: Hicks is that kind of a player, an inside linebacker
Speaker 1: who will be on the field for three downs as
Speaker 1: well as special teams. And by far, George Hicks the
Speaker 1: highest rated player on the Eagles board with pick number
Speaker 1: eighty four. Yeah, and Chip wasn't getting involved in any
Speaker 1: discussion about whether or not Michael Kendricks is going to
Speaker 1: be traded. He said he was with his brother during
Speaker 1: this week of the draft and he expects him in
Speaker 1: this week and spoke as if Michael Kendricks is not
Speaker 1: on the block, and he said, but that's what makes
Speaker 1: talk radio. And if you want to write that, go ahead.
Speaker 1: That's the fun of sports. But he said it doesn't
Speaker 1: bother me. He said, it may bother some players. It
Speaker 1: is time now to introduce Eagles fans to the newest
Speaker 1: Philadelphia Eagle here on Eagles Drafts Central, presented by Deeton Watson,
Speaker 1: Dave Spidero with Merrill Reese, and we welcome in Texas
Speaker 1: linebacker Jordan Hicks, who has the Eagles third pick of
Speaker 1: this two thousand and fifteen drafts. Who joins us on
Speaker 1: the telephone, Jordan, Congratulations, How does it feel to be
Speaker 1: a Philadelphia Eagle? Man? Oh, my goodness, best best filling ever.
Speaker 1: I'll tell you it's been. It's been a long roag
Speaker 1: get to this point. And um, obviously I couldn't have
Speaker 1: do it by myself, but you know, I just feel blessed.
Speaker 1: I feel, um, just so proud to be an Eagle.
Speaker 1: I know the Eagles spent a lot of time with you,
Speaker 1: including a visit to an overcare complex and I remember
Speaker 1: seeing you in the cafeteria. Can you take us back
Speaker 1: to that day and what it was like the vibe
Speaker 1: that you got from walking around the halls here, meeting
Speaker 1: the coaches, meeting some of the people on the staff. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and you could you could just tell it was a
Speaker 1: special organization from the beginning, you know, walking into the facility, Um,
Speaker 1: you know how prepared everybody was, how um, you know,
Speaker 1: just organized everything was and wanted to show you the
Speaker 1: best and make sure that you were a good fit.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, for me, it was it was
Speaker 1: it was right away. I felt comfortable, um, with the
Speaker 1: whole coaching staff. Um, you know, all the personnel, and
Speaker 1: you know, met some players and you know, just felt
Speaker 1: comfortable and uh, you know, I I'm, like I said,
Speaker 1: I'm so excited, so blessed just to just to be
Speaker 1: a part of the organization. Jordan, what does it feel
Speaker 1: like to be joining an inside linebacker corp that includes
Speaker 1: people like Damco Ryans and Michael ken Rooks and the
Speaker 1: newly acquired Kiko Alonso. Yeah, something special, um and some
Speaker 1: special I you know, I'm obviously I'm I'm a competitive person.
Speaker 1: I want to come in and complete, but you know,
Speaker 1: I respect it and I can't wait to get in
Speaker 1: there and just learn. I enjoy learning this game. I
Speaker 1: love this game, and that's what I'm excited to do
Speaker 1: to get around these these people who have been there
Speaker 1: and done that and and just take as much and
Speaker 1: absorb as much from them as possible. What do you
Speaker 1: think specifically you have to learn to make the transition
Speaker 1: from Texas to the NFL. Yeah, you know, and that's
Speaker 1: that's something I've I've asked myself quite a bit, and
Speaker 1: I think most people say if the transition, you know,
Speaker 1: the transition UM coming from college being learning to be
Speaker 1: a pro Um, you know, you never know until you're
Speaker 1: in that situation. And uh, you know, I think getting
Speaker 1: under somebody's wing and getting into a linebacker core like that,
Speaker 1: um will make that ensition that much better and that
Speaker 1: much easier. Jordan, for those of us who aren't familiar
Speaker 1: with your game, we haven't watched a lot of you
Speaker 1: in college, Can you talk about yourself? What kind of
Speaker 1: linebacker are you? What do you love about the game
Speaker 1: and in this defense? Where do you see yourself fitting in? Yeah? Um,
Speaker 1: to me, is the biggest thing, UM that I that
Speaker 1: I pride myself on is it is uh, you know,
Speaker 1: my my inspectual um play and the ability to understand,
Speaker 1: um what offenses and defenses, you know what the chess
Speaker 1: game between the offense and the defense. You know. I
Speaker 1: pride myself and my mentality the way I prepare, um,
Speaker 1: you know, going into a game. So the one thing
Speaker 1: you know you see with me is is somebody who
Speaker 1: doesn't make very many mistakes and gets people around him
Speaker 1: lined up. I try to be a leader out there
Speaker 1: on the field as much as possible, and UM, you
Speaker 1: know I take that that role head on, and UM
Speaker 1: you know I see, UM, I enjoy playing in the box.
Speaker 1: I enjoy um, you know, defending the run. I enjoyed
Speaker 1: defending the past. I like the way everything comes together
Speaker 1: as a whole. So you know, for me, I'm willing
Speaker 1: to play wherever they put me, you know, at this point,
Speaker 1: but I think primarily they've seen you as a will lineback.
Speaker 1: Sure you are playing, You've played at the University of Texas,
Speaker 1: but you grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Are you familiar
Speaker 1: with any of the Eagles who not only grew up
Speaker 1: in Ohio but played at the University of Cincinnati, like
Speaker 1: Jason Kelsey or Brent Sellick. Yeah. Actually I had a
Speaker 1: teammate who who is who? High school teammate who went
Speaker 1: to the University of Cincinnati and was an old lineman.
Speaker 1: There was also teammates with with Jason Kelsey, so you know,
Speaker 1: I'm familiar with them. Don't know him personally, but but
Speaker 1: definitely a unfamiliar with Jordan. As far as the injuries go,
Speaker 1: it must been very frustrating for you early in your
Speaker 1: career in Texas to have to battle through those injuries.
Speaker 1: The achilles, the hip and things have kept you off
Speaker 1: the field. How how much about patienced you learned during
Speaker 1: those times. Oh man, Um, everything you know, I you
Speaker 1: you put so many eggs in one basket, and you
Speaker 1: define yourself as as as a certain type of person.
Speaker 1: You realize that when when that all gets taken away
Speaker 1: from you, who you really are. And for me, it
Speaker 1: was huge. Um two years in a row. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: had to deal with injury and then and had to
Speaker 1: get it out of my system and I did. And um,
Speaker 1: obviously it was a tough time, and it was hard
Speaker 1: not being out there with everybody and the teammates and
Speaker 1: coaches after putting that in, putting in all that work.
Speaker 1: But you know, it all paid off in the end,
Speaker 1: and you learn a lot about yourself. You learn a
Speaker 1: lot about um, who you want to be and and
Speaker 1: both on the field and off the field. So it
Speaker 1: was it was huge for me. Can't you tell us
Speaker 1: something about the off the field shortened? Hicks? Your interests,
Speaker 1: your hobbies, your major at the University of Texas, Yeah,
Speaker 1: major with sport management, graduated in three and a half years. Um,
Speaker 1: I h you know, I'm I'm pretty normal guy. Enjoy
Speaker 1: hanging out with friends, Um, you know, being my family,
Speaker 1: playing Xbox, you know, just being a guy. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, just just a just an old person.
Speaker 1: Jordan's final question, what was the whole process like from
Speaker 1: the time your senior season ended and all the prep
Speaker 1: to get to this point. Um. They say that this
Speaker 1: is the best moment in the young man's life. Hearing
Speaker 1: his name called, having the phone call come from an
Speaker 1: NFL team put it in perspective at that at this moment, wow. Um. Yeah,
Speaker 1: just looking back, it seems like so long ago, you
Speaker 1: know that we had played in our bowl game and
Speaker 1: what I was preparing for the senior Bowl. Um. But
Speaker 1: but then again, it also feels like it went by
Speaker 1: self fast. You know, it's finally here. You never think
Speaker 1: this moment is gonna actually be here. I'm gonna tear
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, you're you're excited, you you prep
Speaker 1: yourself for the moment, but you know, it's it's one
Speaker 1: of those things you don't you don't really understand it
Speaker 1: until you're you know, you hear your name on that
Speaker 1: on the teeth and you get that phone call that
Speaker 1: the excitement really really really starts to settle in and
Speaker 1: then you realize it's here, and you know, it becomes surreal.
Speaker 1: So you know, like I began saying, I'm just just
Speaker 1: blessed to be in this situation, blessed to be a
Speaker 1: part of the Eagles organization. Manau, I'm so excited to
Speaker 1: get started. Well, Jordan Hicks, congratulations to you. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining us, and we'll see in Philadelphia tomorrow. Awesome,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you. Jordan Nicks, the Eagles third round
Speaker 1: selection in the twenty fifteen NFL Draft. We're back with
Speaker 1: Eagles Draft Central, presented by Deeton Watson. In just one moment,
Speaker 1: It's Eagles Drafts Central presented by Deetson Watson, Dave Spidero,
Speaker 1: Merril Reese. We're live with an overcare complex and Merrill,
Speaker 1: Eagles have made three selections and you have something to say. Yeah, Well,
Speaker 1: for those of you who wonder why the Eagles took
Speaker 1: an inside linebacker, you know they satisfied a need with
Speaker 1: a wide receiver at the offensive back and you obviously
Speaker 1: knew that the other big area of need was the
Speaker 1: offensive line. But Chip Kelly explained it by saying, we
Speaker 1: selected the guy who was our highest braided player by far.
Speaker 1: When he said by far, he is telling you that
Speaker 1: Jordan Hicks is up there and any offensive lineman available
Speaker 1: at this point is down here. So he did the
Speaker 1: wise thing, right, Okay, then that's Merrol Reese's statement and
Speaker 1: that's what he's sticking to. Let's bring in from the
Speaker 1: fan cave, Bo Wolf and Greg co Sell a little
Speaker 1: film breakdown. How does Jordan Hicks potentially fit into this
Speaker 1: Eagles defensive scheme? All right, Greg, let's take a look
Speaker 1: now at what the inside linebackers are asked to do
Speaker 1: in this Eagles defense. What Jordan Hicks will be asked
Speaker 1: to do. Sideline to sideline responsibilities getting after the quarterback,
Speaker 1: playing the pass game, and getting upfield, shooting gaps in
Speaker 1: the run game. Will start with pressuring one of the
Speaker 1: toughest quarterbacks to pressure Russell Wilson. Right. And this is
Speaker 1: an interesting play because this is a spy situation. And
Speaker 1: the last year they played Russell Wilson Cam Newton. This
Speaker 1: year the Eagles will play Kim and again. So situations
Speaker 1: where you may want to spy the quarterback. You're going
Speaker 1: to look at Michael Kendricks here, number ninety five, and
Speaker 1: you're going to see him. Bo Is, the play starts,
Speaker 1: he's clearly spying on Russell Wilson and then what he sees.
Speaker 1: And this is where speed is so important, and that's
Speaker 1: something that is critical in any defense, but certainly the
Speaker 1: Eagles want that. Look at Kendricks and then he sees
Speaker 1: it and he goes and you can see it if
Speaker 1: you just play it, look at him, go look at
Speaker 1: that kind of speed. Jordan Hicks will be able to
Speaker 1: do that kind of thing within the context of the
Speaker 1: Eagles defense. And as Chip Kelly talked about, Jordan Hicks
Speaker 1: did test very well to combine has those that athletic
Speaker 1: ability that he's going to be able to do those things.
Speaker 1: If we take a look at this play and you
Speaker 1: get a chance to go back here, we're going to
Speaker 1: look at Demiko Ryans, who's number fifty nine. And the
Speaker 1: key thing you're looking at right here is this is
Speaker 1: a classic case and it's critical for inside stacked linebackers
Speaker 1: and this is the three four defense to be able
Speaker 1: to read what's in front of them and be able
Speaker 1: to shoot gaps in the run game. And Demiko, of course,
Speaker 1: is very good at that. He's been very good at
Speaker 1: that his whole career. There's a play recognition element to that,
Speaker 1: there's a quick reaction time element to that. That's what
Speaker 1: you're looking for with the ability to shoot gaps, because
Speaker 1: you can't be wrong when you shoot a gap, and
Speaker 1: Damiko Ryan's did that very well. Then obviously that incorporates
Speaker 1: football knowledge, being able to recognize plays very quickly. It
Speaker 1: certainly sounds like Jordan Hicks is a smart young man
Speaker 1: who should be able to transition. Tell you from watching
Speaker 1: Texas on tape that Jordan Hicks had very good play recognition.
Speaker 1: So that's something that will be a strong suit to
Speaker 1: his game. And again, now we're gonna look again at
Speaker 1: Michael Kendricks right here, and again this is a play
Speaker 1: that deals with play recognition because this will be what
Speaker 1: we call a gap scheme run where this guard's gonna
Speaker 1: pall and you have to be able to recognize that.
Speaker 1: You see this guard poll you know the run is
Speaker 1: going to this side, so you have to recognize that.
Speaker 1: And then again you're going to see Michael Kendricks react
Speaker 1: with speed and so if you let this play run,
Speaker 1: you'll see that the guard poles, there goes Kendricks. He's
Speaker 1: gonna go and boom he can chase down. And speed
Speaker 1: is a critical element to play the weak side inside
Speaker 1: linebacker position in the Eagles three four. That's the position
Speaker 1: Jordan Hicks will ultimately be groomed to play the weak
Speaker 1: side inside linebacker. And in this defense, the idea behind
Speaker 1: the two gapping defensive line up front is to free
Speaker 1: the linebackers to be able to roam freely sideline to sidelines.
Speaker 1: That's the critical part. You want your defensive linement, and
Speaker 1: the Eagles defensive line last year played terrific football. You
Speaker 1: want them to be able to occupy and control the
Speaker 1: defensive line. So those two stacked inside linebackers have a
Speaker 1: chance to read what's in front of them and then
Speaker 1: move freely to the football. All right, guys, So a
Speaker 1: position that was beset by injuries last season, inside linebacker,
Speaker 1: all of a sudden stacked now for the Eagles defense
Speaker 1: with a selection of Jordan Hicks. Back to you, guys
Speaker 1: and the Xfinity Studio, Bo and Greg. Great breakdown there
Speaker 1: and we see just how Jordan Hicks potentially fits into
Speaker 1: this defense. It has been a very very interesting and
Speaker 1: relatively long Day two of the two thousand and fifteen
Speaker 1: NFL Draft. Checkout the way it looked at Lincoln Financial
Speaker 1: Field earlier today. A little time lapse for you from
Speaker 1: the Friday mid the early morning to the afternoon. It's
Speaker 1: been all football here and Lincoln Financial Field as we
Speaker 1: take a look at it, de sends into nighttime. Meryland.
Speaker 1: We're already at eleven fifteen and ready to wrap things
Speaker 1: up as we get ready for a very very busy
Speaker 1: day three. The Eagles with four draft selections on Saturday.
Speaker 1: We spend a month here one Friday night. That's exactly right.
Speaker 1: The Eagles making two selections today, two defensive selections. Eric
Speaker 1: wrote the defensive back from the University of Utah, trading
Speaker 1: up in round number two to select him, and then
Speaker 1: in the third round staying put with that eighty fourth
Speaker 1: overall selection and taking Jordan Hicks, an inside linebacker from
Speaker 1: the University of Texas, one that I picked that I
Speaker 1: think caught a lot of people by surprise, but as
Speaker 1: Chip Kelly explained, someone who was a no brainer in
Speaker 1: the Eagles draft room, far better rating than anyone else
Speaker 1: on the Eagles board. Makes sense. So tomorrow we are
Speaker 1: back with Eagles Draft Central presented by Diets and Watson,
Speaker 1: Merrill and I and crew at eleven thirty Prior to
Speaker 1: the twelve o'clock start of the third day, of the
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen NFL Draft, Eagles with four picks, one in
Speaker 1: round four, two in round six, and one in the
Speaker 1: seventh round. They've traded both of the fifth round picks
Speaker 1: to Miami in the deal that netted them Eric Row
Speaker 1: and Merrill. As we close tonight, some positions you're interested
Speaker 1: in for tomorrow offensive line, but not if there is
Speaker 1: a quality offensive linement out there, right, and there appears
Speaker 1: to be nobody to get excited about, So we'll see
Speaker 1: what happens. There have been people who believe that maybe
Speaker 1: a quarterback could be taken someplace in the seventh rounds.
Speaker 1: I'm starting to doubt that because I don't know that
Speaker 1: there is a worthy quarterback out there, somebody who could
Speaker 1: be even thought of as a backup in the future
Speaker 1: of the remaining quarterbacks. But we'll see, right, We'll see again.
Speaker 1: We can get into a situation at some point where
Speaker 1: somebody at a position you're not even thinking of is
Speaker 1: their highest rate of bat rate. You go with the
Speaker 1: highest on the board. We'll find out just how that
Speaker 1: board stacks up on Saturday, with the third and final
Speaker 1: day of this NFL draft. For Merrill reason, I'm Dave Spidero,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us on Eagles Draft Central,
Speaker 1: presented by Diets and Watson. Have a great Eagles night everyone,