Edgerrin Cooper? Marshawn Kneeland? Eagles doing NFL combine homework on edge rushers, linebackers

INDIANAPOLIS — Defensive linemen, edge rushers, and linebackers took center stage on the first day of NFL combine media availability for NFL prospects. As it happens, those are areas of need for the Eagles given star rusher Haason Reddick’s future with the team is in question and the struggles of last season’s linebacker group. The combine allows the opportunity to explore potential options in the NFL draft.

Looking at the Eagles’ depth at pass rusher, Josh Sweat and Reddick are the headliners, with 2023 first-round pick Nolan Smith in the mix and veteran Brandon Graham, set to be a free agent this offseason. Speed is paramount off the edge with the trio of Smith, Reddick, and Sweat, but adding power into the mix would be ideal.

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At the top of this year’s class is Florida State’s Jared Verse, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, and Alabama’s Dallas Turner, with the three projected to be drafted within the first 20 picks. Verse has a blend of power and explosiveness. Latu is the most refined and developed pass rusher in this class. Turner has unreal explosiveness and untapped potential as an outside linebacker.

The order after those three players come off the board varies, depending on what teams want in a pass rusher. The class is deep enough where the Eagles don’t have to address the position in the first round, with plenty of intriguing Round 2 and 3 options.

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Of the players projected to go in that range, Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland, whom we believe the Eagles should target with one of their two second-round picks, stands out.Kneeland said Wednesday he met with several teams so far, including the Eagles, at the combine. He said he sees a lot of similarities in his game to that of Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, citing their relentlessness and being bigger edge rushers.

“I like to use my physical abilities over guys, I like to show them that I’m physically dominant over them,” Kneeland said. “I am getting recruited to play a couple of different positions, some [teams] say they want me [on] the inside, some on the outside, some say at stand-up outside linebacker.”

Kneeland finished his 2023 season with 4½ sacks and 7½ tackles for losses in 10 games for the Mustangs, winning 17.3% of his pass rushes according to Pro Football Focus. He measured in at the Senior Bowl at 6-foot-3, 268, with 34-inch arms. His film reveals his ability to use his heavy hands and relentless pursuit, specifically as a backside run defender, to disrupt plays.

A later-round player the Eagles had an introductory meeting with was UCLA edge rusher Gabriel Murphy, who played opposite the aforementioned Latu and alongside his twin brother, Grayson. A smaller but explosive pass rusher, who measured in at the Shrine Bowl at 6-2, 249 but has just 30¾-inch arms, he has drawn similarities to New York Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff in physique and play style.

Murphy has a devastating cross-chop pass-rush move, something he developed playing next to Latu.

“We liked to add a lot of pass-rush moves to our repertoire, so when they would work, the next day, we’re working on another move,” Murphy said. “The cross-chop is something that I fell in love with because if you hit the right parts of the arm, a lot of guys can win whether you hit their outside arm or inside arm.”

Latu landed with the Eagles in Mel Kiper’s recent ESPN mock draft. Like former Eagles draft picks Danny Watkins and Grant Calcaterra, Latu spent time as a firefighter when he was forced to medically retire while at Washington in 2021, and has aspirations to be a fire chief someday, he told reporters Wednesday.

When it was time for the off-ball and inside linebackers to step at the podium, Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr., predictably, was the busiest. Son of the former Eagles linebacker known as “The Axe Man,” Trotter confirmed he met with Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni at the combine, saying it would be “a blessing” to play for the same team as his dad.

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Trotter wasn’t the only linebacker with whom the Eagles met. Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, listed at 6-3, 230, saidhe met with the Eagles formally, sitting down to watch film with the staff and discussing his potential fit in the defense.

Cooper played an-off ball hybrid ‘backer role this season for the Aggies. His ability to eat up space with his sideline-to-sideline speed, anticipate and react to plays before they happen, and cover in open space makes him an intriguing option to play alongside Nakobe Dean next season.

The junior said he models his game after that of the 49ers’ Fred Warner and cited his ability to spy quarterbacks in the drop-back passing game as a sign of his versatility in the middle of a defense.

“Just playing bigger, faster quarterbacks in the league, like Lamar Jackson, I feel like I would be a great quality [option] to handle situations like that, and I feel like I’m the kind of linebacker that can do multiple things, you really can’t beat that,” Cooper said.

North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson’s combination of size, speed, and strength should have him on most team’s boards heading into the draft. Although he has a lengthy injury history with multiple knee and shoulder injuries, the fifth-year linebacker finished with an astonishing 138 tackles (17.5 for losses), six sacks, and three interceptions.

“I grew up on a farm, a small town with 9,000 people. Whoever I meet in that hole, wherever I meet you, I want to prove that I’m the bigger man, I’m the stronger man, and if you beat me, I’m coming back 100 times, we’re going to go until I win,” Wilson said. “That’s just my mentality, I want to be the best on the field. I want to be the best in the world.”