Eagles Check Out FSU DE ‘Tank’ Carradine

Yesterday, we discussed the Eagles’ front seven and came to the conclusion that Howie Roseman and company still need to add some versatile defensive linemen.

So it makes sense that the team hosted Florida State’s Cornellius “Tank” Carradine for a pre-draft visit on Monday, according to Adam Caplan.

Carradine (6-4, 276) had 11 sacks and 13 tackles for loss last year. He appeared in 12 games, but tore his ACL during a Nov. 24 matchup against Florida.

Carradine’s measurables match much of what the Eagles have been looking for in free agency. Not only is he 6-4, but Carradine has 34 3/4-inch arms. Those numbers are nearly identical to Fletcher Cox (6-4, 34 1/2), but Carradine is 22 pounds lighter.

As for fit, it’s tough to say without knowing the details of the Eagles’ scheme. But Carradine appears to have a versatile skill set. Doug Farrar of Yahoo Sports wrote a good scouting report on Carradine and noted that he could be an interior rusher on pasing downs. He compared Carradine to Aldon Smith:

It’s a real shame that Carradine was hurt in the 2012 season, because I’m pretty sure he would have been my #1 pass-rusher in this draft class had he stayed healthy and played at this level all the way through. Unlike some of the smaller speed ends, there are no strength issues here, and he doesn’t have a risk of long-term health issues like Georgia’s Jarvis Jones does with the spinal stenosis diagnosis. Carradine’s linemate Werner may have a better ability to read and diagnose plays before they happen, but Carradine is by far the better pass-rusher, and given his improvement in diagnosing stuff at the line, I have little doubt that he’ll be fine in this area as well. Put simply, had Carradine stayed healthy, it would be his name, and not Werner’s, you’d see at or near the top of a lot of boards at the defensive end position.

The real question with Carradine is his knee. According to BuffaloBills.com, he’s working with the same doctors and physical therapists that Adrian Peterson used in his rehab.

Carradine is expected to be a first- or second-round pick. He could be an interesting option for the Eagles at No. 35 overall if he’s still on the board.

We’ll do a longer draft profile on Carradine, but below is a Draftbreakdown.com cut-up from a game last year against Virginia Tech in which he was in on 11 tackles and had a sack.

And don’t forget to check out our draft tracker for all the reported visits and workouts.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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