Did Reid reach for secondary help? Let him explain

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Saturday, April 30, 2011
Posted: 1:30 a.m.

By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
Jaiquawn Jarrett? Wasnt he projected as a third-round pick?

Curtis Marsh? Wasnt he supposed to be maybe a fourth-round pick?

Did the Eagles reach for Jarrett and Marsh in the second and third rounds of the draft Friday?

Head coach Andy Reid says no.

Reid said Friday evening this was an unusual draft in that the real value comes in the later rounds. He said the reason the Eaglesand many other teamsmade picks that may have gone against conventional wisdom and baffled the so-called draft experts is because the second round in particular wasnt strong enough for there to be slam-dunk picks.

With more uncertainty than usual surrounding such early picks, teams didnt really know whether guys they liked would be available two, five, 10, 20 or 30 picks down the line. So they just took guys they liked. In other words, there was more drafting for need going on than normal.

Reid was asked specifically Friday night whether he felt the Eagles could have gotten Jarrett and Marsh later.

You know, thats a good question because Howie and I were talking about itwhat you saw in that second round is that we didnt feel that the second round was necessarily as strong as it has been in the past. So what you saw people doing is they either moved around a little bit or they targeted a guy they like for their system and they went and got him; good, solid, hard-nosed football players.

And thats what we think we got here. And so, who knows if Jaiquawn Jarrett would have fallen any further. The safety from UCLA Rahim Moore went and this is the next guy up. So it really came down to who needed a safety whos willing to pull the trigger.

The Eagles picked Jarrett, the Temple safety, with the 54th pick overall. They took Marsh, a Utah State cornerback, with the 90th pick overall after trading down five spots with the Ravens.

Reid indicated that he expects Jarrett to compete for a starting job immediately and said he expects Marsh to become a starting corner soon as well.

Is Jarrett very worthy of that position? Absolutely, Reid said. And then same way with the third round, there. We moved around a little bit, moved down, were able to pick up Marsh and we just think he fits into our system. I know defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and cornerbacks coach Johnnie Lynn really like him. And so I think we all had very high grades on him, second-round potential, but somebody who had fallen into that third round.

There were a handful of corners sitting there that I think are good, quality players that can help you out. But we felt that this kids upside was good enough to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com.

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