Alliance... » Get to know one of Philadelphia’s UDFA signings.

Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteBleeding Green Nationa Philadelphia Eagles communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsEaglesOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Eagles StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Eagles NewsYahoo Eagles Team PageYahoo Eagles ReportYahoo Eagles Depth ChartYahoo Eagles TransactionsYahoo Eagles PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Eagles Rookie Profile: Six things to know about DeAndre ThompkinsNew Mens Andre Dillard Jersey ,15commentsGet to know one of Philadelphia’s UDFA signings. EDTJared Slanina of Black Shoe Diaries contributed to this post.ShareTweetShareShareEagles Rookie Profile: Six things to know about DeAndre ThompkinsPhoto by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesThe Philadelphia Eagles signed Penn State wide receiver DeAndre Thompkins as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft. The odds are stacked against Thompkins making the final roster but he’s a player to watch this summer. After all, the Eagles reportedly gave him the third highest amount of guaranteed money out of all their UDFA signings. Philly also has an opening at punt returner that Thompkins could fill.In order to learn more about Thompkins, I reached out to SB Nation’s Penn State blog: Black Shoe Diaries. Nittany Lions writer Jared Slanina was kind enough to answer my questions.1) Can you sum up what his college career was like?Thompkins became Penn State’s punt returner as a freshman, but ultimately lost his job after a few mishandled catches. he was able to fix that issue, and would go on to become an electrifying return man later in his career. By his sophomore season, he was seeing plenty of time at receiver where he was became known for his big-play potential as a deep threat. His numbers were solid but not eye-popping as there were only so many passes to go around for him and several other pass catchers who are now in the NFL, including Chris Godwin, DaeSean Hamilton and Mike Gesicki. The 2018 season was supposed to be the year where Thompkins became a primary weapon in the Penn State offense, but it just didn’t quite work out. Thompkins had the opportunities, but was plagued by a bad case of “the drops” that he just wasn’t able to work through throughout his senior year. 2) What are his strengths?Thompkins has all the physical tools you would want in a receiver who is a smidge under 6’0’’. He’s explosive, an excellent route-runner and knows how to get open. He also was a dangerous punt returner with outstanding explosiveness and vision. It was very common for him to pick up 10-15 yards with no room to run Youth Andre Dillard Jersey , and when he had some space, he could make one cute and be gone. 3) What are his weaknesses?If Thompkins was able to hang on to the ball, there’s no doubt he would have been drafted. He’s an outstanding athlete can also provide value as a returner. He just dropped too many balls his senior year. It’s not so much that he has poor hands- he’s proved otherwise earlier in his career. It seemed to be a case of the yips he just couldn’t overcome. He dropped a couple passes right off the bat and couldn’t get out of his own head. Fortunately, it’s a fixable problem, and if he is able to overcome it, could end up sticking around the NFL for a while as he has a broad skillset. 4) Are you surprised he went undrafted? No. There were too many drops last season for any NFL team to feel comfortable using a draft pick on him, despite his upside. 5) How do you see his NFL career playing out?Not to sound like a broken record, but it will come down to his hands. If he continues to drop passes on a regular basis, he won’t make the first round of cuts. If he can fix it, I could see him making the roster and even becoming an explosive return man in the NFL. 6) Anything to know about him off the field?He’s an easy guy to cheer for. Known as a hard worker and excellent teammate who would do anything he can to help the younger guys in his position group.Highlights:Relative athletic score: Third time’s the charm?" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesBleeding Green Nation homepageHorizontal - WhiteBleeding Green Nationa Philadelphia Eagles communityFollow Bleeding Green Nation online:Follow Bleeding Green Nation on TwitterFollow Bleeding Green Nation on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchBleeding Green Nation main menuFanpostsFanshotsEaglesOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Eagles StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Eagles NewsYahoo Eagles Team PageYahoo Eagles ReportYahoo Eagles Depth ChartYahoo Eagles TransactionsYahoo Eagles PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Eagles schedule preview: Atlanta FalconsNew,50commentsThird time’s the charm?EDTFour the third time in four years the Eagles play the Falcons. This time Cheap Andre Dillard Jersey , it’s on the road.When and where: Week 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Sphincter DomeLast season: 7-9. Offense: Scoring 10th, Yards 6th, DVOA 8th; Defense: Scoring 25th, Yards 28th, DVOA 31stNotable additions: Adrian Clayborn, OC Steve SarkisianNotable losses: Tevin Coleman, OC Dirk KoetterWhat are they good at? Passing the ball, and they could be even better in 2019. Julio Jones is of course a great starting point for a group of pass catchers, and 2018 1st rounder Calvin Ridley had a very good rookie season with 64 catches for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns. An improvement by him would make that a top tier duo in the league and make Mohamed Sanu a solid 3rd option. Changing offensive coordinators from Steve Sarkisian, who was never popular in Atlanta, to Dirk Koetter Andre Dillard Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys , who was Falcons OC from 2012-2014, should be an upgrade as well.Or they could take a step back, at least to start the season. Gone is Tevin Coleman, the pass catching half of the Falcons dynamic running back duo alongside Devonte Freeman. Coleman averaged 11 yards a reception during his Falcons career, and they don’t have an obvious replacement. We’ve seen teams struggle to fill the void when they lose their pass catching running back. If this game was in Week 12, it might not matter as the Falcons could find a solution. But this game is in Week 2, and if they haven’t figured out who could fill that role, that could be a difference making factor. What are they bad at? In each of their previous six drafts, the Falcons have used two top 100 draft picks on defenders, including four 1st round picks. Both their head coaches during Thomas Dimitroff’s tenure as GM have been defensive coaches. They’ve invested in coaches and in draft picks on defense and what do they have to show for it? A bad defense. The Falcons haven’t finished with a top 20 defense by DVOA since 2012, and the raw scoring and yards totals haven’t been much better. There’s little reason to believe they will suddenly turn the corner this season Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys Stitched , they didn’t add a premium prospect in the draft or a top free agent.Why the Eagles will winIn addition to the Falcons being a one sided team, Doug Pederson is 3-0 against Dan Quinn. Pederson gave Quinn his worst regular season loss in 2016, beat him in the playoffs in 2017, and then again in Week 1 of the 2018 season. The Eagles are a better overall team and have a coaching advantage. That’s a good combination to have.Why the Eagles will lose In 2016 Jim Schwartz shut down Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. In 2017 and 2018 Jim Schwartz shut down Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, which was a comparatively easy task. But Sarkisian got run out by now-Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter when the Buccanneers beat the Eagles in Week 2. Ryan Fitzpatrick went off for 402 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Falcons will be feeling good about this coaching matchup. However, Ryan Fitzpatrick does this from time to time. That game was the third of his career with 400+ yards and 4 TDs. It was the 7th of his career with 350+ yards and 3+ touchdowns. But Fitzpatrick also has as many starts with fewer than 100 yards passing. There’s a reason he’s a journeyman: he has no consistency. Maybe that game was the fools gold. Or maybe Koetter is a bad matchup for Schwartz, and this time he’s got a better QB.