Philadelphia Eagles: Draft Day Is Approaching. Kolb Will Still Be an Eagle

Draft day is coming quickly with no sign of a new CBA. Unless there is an eleventh hour miracle, Kevin Kolb will be an Eagle in 2012. If the draft comes and goes without a new agreement, the Eagles will likely decide that they are better off with Kolb in Eagle green. 

A 2012 draft pick will not be as palatable for the Eagles nor for another team willing to trade a high draft pick for an unsigned, mostly unproven commodity. 

Let's assume then that the Eagles go into draft day with the picks they own right now. We can never be sure if Andy Reid will trade up or down. A predictable draft day is rarely in the cards for Eagles fans.

But for the sake of argument, let's say the Eagles stay where they are at number 23 in the first round and number 22 in the second round.

Many prognosticators have the Eagles picking up Wisconsin OT Gabe Carimi.  We know the Eagles could use a better offensive line. With a quarterback who has rarely completed a full season, protecting him has to be top of mind. But this may also be a risky choice. I watched Carimi at the Combine and the big man ran well and was great in drills. 

But in game situations, Carimi tends to use his size and strength to bully his opponents rather than skill and technique. That won't fly in the NFL.  Ask King Dunlap. 

A better choice, if he is available or if Reid is willing to trade up to get him is Derek Sherrod. A little smaller than Carimi, Sherrod has outstanding technique as well as size. He is a bit timid, but I'm sure that can be fixed.  Reid has to have his eye on someone to fill this void.  If not in the first round, a potential all-star is still needed from somewhere.

Some have the Eagles taking Jimmy Smith, CB from Colorado. Smith comes with outstanding ability and a handful of character flaws.  I think this is a very viable option for the Eagles. Reid has done wonders with DeSean Jackson who also came with character issues, though not as severe as Smith's reported transgressions.

If the Eagles are willing to take a chance on Smith, he could turn out to be the answer to a very long asked question. That question is, how does Dmitri Patterson keep his job?

The second round presents its own predictive challenges. The field of candidates becomes much wider after the first round. Here is where the Eagles generally start making magic.  If they choose Smith the first round, offensive line becomes much more important here. Being near the end of the second round makes predictions near impossible, but take a close look at Will Rackley, OT out of Lehigh.

If the Eagles stick to the script, watch out for Brandon Harris, CB out of Miami. 

Finally, the Eagles can choose to scrap the whole plan, or at least the plan we all seem to have for them. Maybe the Eagles still trade Kolb. Teams have also shown interest in Mike Kafka as well. 

Could Reid bundle up these guys and say their goodbyes?  There will be several quality QBs waiting in this year's draft and if the Eagles find a gem like they did with Kolb, there could be a whole new plan.

But first, we wait. For a CBA that can't come soon enough.