Draft Daily: Eagles Continue To Look At Lee

The Eagles are set to bring in USC wide receiver Marqise Lee for a visit, according to Ross Jones of Fox Sports. This will be the third meeting between the Eagles and Lee, per the report.

As we discussed this morning, Kelly leaned towards players he faced — and was beaten by — on the collegiate level in his first-ever NFL draft last year. Lee (6-0, 192) had 12 catches for 157 yards and two touchdown against Oregon in 2012 (The Ducks beat USC 62-51 that day). In 2011, he helped the Trojans topple Oregon with an eight-catch, 187-yard performance.

According to the Orange County Register, Kelly once said Lee “may be the best receiver I’ve had the opportunity to coach against.” (H/T to Bleeding Green Nation.)

Many of the mock drafts have Lee going in the second half of first round. Perhaps he is still available when the Eagles are on the clock at 22.

Here’s the way I’m looking at their approach to the wide receiver position for the upcoming draft: They won’t hesitate to pluck one in the first round if that player clearly has the best grade of everyone available. In other words, if they have Lee rated extremely high and he falls to them, they’ll pull the trigger. But they feel that there is a wealth of talent at receiver throughout the draft. Strategically, then, it makes some sense to address other positions that aren’t quite as loaded early on assuming the grades are similar.

“I think we’re going to be sitting there in every round and there’s going to be a receiver we  like,”said Howie Roseman. “It’s just going to happen that way…Guys will be pushed back because of the quality and the depth of the class.”

Lee ran a 40-time of 4.52 at the combine. He had 118 catches for over 1,700 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore. Last season he was hampered some by a knee injury and ended with 57 grabs for 791 yards and six scores. He also returned kicks at USC, taking a pair back for touchdowns.