The Best Draft Picks in the Andy Reid Era.

Originally posted on March 15, 2007: I have to say after looking at the drafts from 99-06, it was harder to narrow the best draft picks then the worst draft picks. I had a hard time picking 5 bad picks. Could of I put Na Brown or some other 5th round draft pick on the worst list, sure. But making those 5th round draft picks into really good NFL players is not easy. The Eagles have been able to do that on a few occasions. The best picks include 3 players that are already solid Pro Bowl caliber players and 2 that are on their way to being very good NFL players and look like they have a great future with the franchise.

Top 5 Best Picks

5) Lito Sheppard, Florida, DB, 1st Round(26th Overall) Sheldon Brown, South Carolina, DB, 2nd Round (59th Overall): Remember 3 or 4 years ago when the Eagles decided to let Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent go at the same time. What the hell were they thinking? That they had Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown to replace them. Well, they were right. The Eagles DB's didn't flinch. Out of the two I'd have to go with Lito as the better. He's a solid DB. He made it to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and would have made his second trip to Hawaii had he not gotten injured in the Playoffs.

3/10/08: That was then, this is now. I still think Lito was a great pick. He is currently sixth on my list. In 2007 it was just the same old thing with Lito. He got injured in the first game of the season, and missed key games vs. the Redskins and Giants, both of which the Eagles lost. He played from week 7-15 and only had 2 picks. So this year it came down to Sheldon and Lito again. So I looked closely at both guys career stats and ended up going with Sheldon. Sheldon Brown is a good corner who doesn't get as much credit as he should cause he doesn't get a lot of picks. The thing that sticks out most to me is that he has played in every game since his rookie season in 2002. 96 straight games he's played in. He has started every game since taking over the starting RCB in 2004. That's impressive. Lito on the other hand has played in 77 games since 2002, 19 less then Sheldon. Now Lito has more picks than Sheldon with 17 for his career. Compared to Sheldon who has just 13. But again that's not what Sheldon does well. Sheldon is a great tackler and has good coverage skills. He breaks up a lot of passes but again, doesn't get a lot of picks. Sheldon's biggest problem is the fact that he can not cover Plaxico Burress. Now to his credit, Sheldon has one of the best hits ever in the history of the NFL. Of course you remember the playoff game vs. the Saints when Sheldon almost killed Reggie Bush. So this year I moved Sheldon up. Could Lito be here, sure.

4) Trent Cole, Cincinnati, DE, 5th Round(191st Overall): The fifth was hard to choose. You have guys like Sheldon Brown, Corey Simon, and Derrick Burgess. You could make a case for any of those guys to be in this spot, but I went with Trent Cole. It is still a little early to gauge how good Trent Cole will be, but as of right now, he is looking like he could be the Eagles future starting DE. Is there anyone who doesn't think he should be starting over Darren Howard. Cole had 5 sacks his rookie year and 8 sacks last year. He had 8 sacks basically splitting time with 3 guys. Not bad. Right now, I can say that for 191st pick in the draft, Cole is pretty good. The Eagles have locked up Cole up for pretty much the rest of his career barring a trade of some kind.

3/10/08: Trent Cole is slowing climbing up the board. I don't ever expect him to crack the top two, cause with McNabb and Westbrook there, it would take a lot. But if continues doing what he has been doing he could pass Shawn Andrews. Trent Cole had another stellar season in 2007 posting 12.5 sacks, 70 tackles and 4 forced fumbles. Cole also made the Pro Bowl. In his first three seasons Cole has seen action in 47 out of 48 games. Very impressive for the 191st pick.

3) Shawn Andrews, Arkansas, G, 1st Round(16th Overall): The 2004 Draft. I remember it like it was yesterday. The Eagles had traded up to the 16th pick. They were finally were going do it. Draft a RB or LB in the first round. Sitting there were, DJ Williams and Steven Jackson. Which one do I like better? I like both so much, which would I like to be Eagle more. Then with the 16th pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select: Shawn Andrews, G, Arkansas. Shawn Andrews, what the hell? Well in hindsight, it turned out to be a good pick. Would've Jackson or Williams be great for the Birds, sure, but we have a offensive lineman that could be one the best in the NFL in the near future. Made the All-Pro team this past season. His first season as a starter. Great Pick. Start 15 games in 2008.

3/10/08: Nothing more to add still a great pick.

2) Donovan McNabb, Syracuse, 1st Round(2nd Overall): I really don't think I have to go into great detail on why McNabb was a great pick. Looking back, the 1999 draft had some stars in the rough, but also had a lot of land mines that the Eagles could have easily tripped over. Um, Ricky Williams, Akili Smith, and David Boston to name a few. Overall the Eagles made the right decision and I don't think there would be much argument that Donovan is in the top 3 players to come out of that draft class.

3/10/08: Donovan had a rough year in 2007. He struggled after coming back from his torn ACL a couple of months early. I will McNabb a mulligan for last season, but even without it he still deserves to be here.

1) Brian Westbrook, Villanova, 3rd round(91st Overall): Going into the 2002 draft, if someone told you Brian Westbrook was going to be in the top ten best RB's in the league, you would have said they were crazy. Well, they weren't. The Eagles had high hopes for Westbrook and so far so good. He has had an injury here or there, but he is the key to the Eagles offense as it stands today. 91st overall, best pick Andy Reid has ever made. RB's taken before Westbrook: William Green, TJ Duckett, Clinton Portis, DeShaun Foster, Maurice Morris, and Ladell Betts. Clinton Portis is the only one worth mentioning in the same breath as Westbrook.

3/10/08: Ummmm, Westbrook is a top 5 Running Back if not top 3. There isn't much more to say then he continues to perform on a higher level year in and year out. One of the best draft picks in the NFL in the last 9 years.