Draft Buzz: Geno Smith Comparison; 2nd-Round Safeties

With the draft exactly two weeks away, here is the latest buzz to get you through the afternoon.

The discussion about where Geno Smith should be selected figures to rage on until the moment that Roger Goodell calls his name on April 25.

Mike Tanier of SportsOnEarth.com has a good piece up about Smith and provides a comparison I had not yet heard:

Geno Smith is Tony Romo! The streaks, the lapses, the rhythm passes, the highlights, the head-scratchers, the athleticism, the polarization. He’s Romo, and he takes too much blame when things go wrong for his team, even though he deserves some of that blame. He can develop into a quarterback who wins five or six games per year for his team all by himself, then loses about two or three all by himself, then plays at a fairly high level in the other eight. Like Romo’s Cowboys, that can result in 13-3 seasons or 6-10 seasons, depending on who is surrounding him.

It’s an interesting comp. Both players are 6-2. Romo is listed at 230, while Smith weighed in at 218 at the Combine. Romo ran a 5.01 out of college, while Smith ran a 4.59.

I’ll probably get killed for this, but the truth is, if Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman believe Smith can be Romo, the Eagles would have to strongly consider taking him with the fourth pick. For all his faults, Romo has a 64.7 career completion percentage, 177 touchdowns and 91 interceptions. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler.

But as I’ve said before, my feeling is they’ll pass on Smith.

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com disagrees with me. The former scout for the Eagles has Smith going No. 4:

With this move, Chip Kelly would be getting a young quarterback who has experience playing in an up-tempo offense. Michael Vick’s veteran presence will give Smith some time to sit and learn before he takes the reins in Philly.

A bunch of the mocks we posted earlier this week also had the Eagles taking Smith.

With the Eagles’ second pick, they very well could eye safety help. Greg Cosell of NFL Films broke down some of the top safeties in this year’s class in his Yahoo Sports column. One name to keep in mind – and he might not be there when the Eagles pick in the second round – is Florida International’s Jonathan Cyprien:

What really stood out was he played the game fast, with velocity, passion and tenacity. There’s no question there were times he was over-aggressive and reckless, although overall he played with an efficient mix of ferocity and control. Given his height – over six-foot – and his physique, he exhibited surprising (to me, anyway, since I had not seen him on television and knew little about his game before my tape study) athleticism, with excellent change of direction and closing speed.

I could see Cyprien becoming the best safety in this draft class three or four years down the road.

Speaking of safeties, the Eagles held a private workout with Arkansas State’s Don Jones, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. Jones (5-11, 191) ran a 4.42 and a 4.40 at his Pro Day, according to NFL.com. He’s projected to be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent.

Click here for all of the Eagles’ prospect visits and workouts.

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