Eagles meet with QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson of UCLA at NFL combine; TE Tucker Kraft on Dallas Goedert

INDIANAPOLIS — The Eagles are far from a team in need of a quarterback, especially after the masterful performance budding star Jalen Hurts put together in a narrow Super Bowl loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In fact, wide receiver and tight end are not big needs for the Eagles either, as they possess the tandem of DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown on the outside and Dallas Goedert as a vertical tight end threat.

Friday’s media session consisted of those three positions, the moneymakers and game-changers on offense. The attention surrounded the four top quarterbacks in this draft class: Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young, Kentucky’s Will Levis, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson.

None of those quarterbacks will be a target for the Eagles, but the Birds have shown interest in one particular quarterback here in Indianapolis: UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a four-year starter under former Eagles coach Chip Kelly, who took the reins for the Bruins in 2018.

Thompson-Robinson said he met with the Eagles. Throwing for more than 10,000 yards in his career, with 88 passing touchdowns, including a career-high 27 in his final season, his growth as a passer over the years has been evident. After sitting in the 60s of completion percentage his first three years as a starter, the Las Vegas native completed 70% of his passes in 2022.

What makes Thompson-Robinson an alluring prospect is his dual-threat ability, totaling 1,826 yards on the ground in his career, including a career-high 645 yards last season. While he has some electrifying ability out of structure, picking his spots was something he focused on as an improvement, after getting banged up during his career.

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“Obviously, availability is the best ability, so when I have a chance to strike and attack, to do so, but also at the same time, you have to be able to protect yourself to be able to stay in the game,” Thompson-Robinson told reporters. “I definitely pick and choose my spots now, something I didn’t do before earlier in my career, but it’s something I’m still trying to work on every day.

The Eagles love to utilize Hurts’ running ability as another dynamic to their offense, and it has helped maximize their scheme and build a tough, multifaceted RPO system. Thompson-Robinson was used in a similar manner with the Bruins, with designed quarterback runs to get him on the perimeter and in space.

When mentioning quarterbacks he watches and models his game after, two of them use their athleticism as a runner and passer: the Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

“Obviously, Lamar with his athleticism and the way he can create and do all of those things from the quarterback position,” Thompson-Robinson said. “And I think Justin Fields, with us being so close in age and going through high school [at the same time] and seeing how his game has translated from the college to the pro level has really helped me a lot.”

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When the Eagles selected Goedert with the 49th pick in the 2018 draft, he became the highest-drafted player in South Dakota State history and just the second tight end selected from the school since 1999.

Tucker Kraft, a talented pass-catcher out of South Dakota State who rose on draft radars after his dominant 2021 season as a redshirt sophomore with 65 catches, 773 yards and six touchdowns, will likely be taken in the first three rounds in April.

Utilized in the slot, as an H-back, in-line, along with running jet sweeps in the Jackrabbits’ run-first offense, Kraft credits Goedert’s athleticism and skill set for enabling him to have such a large role offensively.

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“I’ll never live down the comparisons,” Kraft said. “Dallas paved the way for guys like me. I’m happy that I could share that line of alma mater through SDSU. He’s done great things, has great film, and that’s why I was also able to succeed at SDSU, because of the plays that he was able to succeed in there.”

Possessing the yards-after-catch ability, Kraft excels in his ability to create explosive plays from the tight end position. He was limited to just nine games in 2022 (four in the playoffs) after suffering a lower-body injury in his season opener against Iowa. He still churned out just under 13 yards a catch this season.

“I believe what separates my game from other people is that I can catch the ball in space and do something with it, it’s going to take more than one guy to bring me down,” Kraft said. “Having that background of running back in high school, although it might have been nine guys on offense and defense, I felt like when I caught the ball, I saw running lanes.”

The Eagles have met with a handful of receivers, despite not having an overwhelming need at the position. Michigan State’s Jayden Reed and Oklahoma’s Marvin Mims both confirmed formal meetings with the Birds.

Mims, who finished 2022 with 54 receptions, 1,083 yards and six touchdowns, has a deep-threat profile that would fit nicely alongside the Brown-Smith tandem. Similarly, Reed projects as a slot receiver with natural straight-line speed, with special-teams upside after serving as a return specialist for the Spartans as well.