Getty Avonte Maddox of the Eagles wraps up Hunter Renfrow of the Raiders during their October 24, 2021 game.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a necessity for new wide receivers and tight ends when examining their offseason needs — with NBC Sports Philadelphia marking both spots as top 10 “positional needs” immediately after the season.
Well, a cross country trip to the west coast on Tuesday, March 15 may have given the Eagles ideas on who to look into moving forward while sharing the field with 30 other franchises.
The Eagles not only had members of their scouting department present at the UCLA Pro Day held at Spaulding Field, but two UCLA Bruin NFL prospects Kyle Phillips and Greg Dulcich confirmed to Heavy that they spoke with the franchise together — making the Eagles the only team to speak with both potential draft picks at the same time.
Phillips has Striking Measurement Comparisons With the Pro Bowler Renfrow
Phillips has been called a “Hunter Renfrow type” for the Bruins, as noted by Pro Football Network’s Tommy Garrett who called him a “slightly longer version” of the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2021 Pro Bowl wideout.
The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Phillips and Renfrow have near-similar measurements from when they had to run routes and perform in other drills in front of scouts. The Bruin himself cites Renfrow as one of his wideout influences.
“I’ve got four: I like Cole Beasley and Hunter Renfrow — just because I know I’m going to get that comparison being a short slot and all that,” Phillips told Heavy. “I take a lot from their game and with them, I just love how intentional they are with all their movements whether if it’s a (route) stem, a lean, the eyes or the head, everything has a purpose and there’s no wasted movement.”
His other two favorites are Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers and new Raider Davante Adams. Regarding Allen: “At the top of his routes, he’s got a little skip step to freeze the DB before he makes his move. I’ve been able to add that a little bit. The last one is Davante Adams just because of his release package. I love the split release that he does.”
But again, Phillips spoke more about the Eagles being the team he spent the majority of his time with alongside his tight end teammate Dulcich as both went through a “quizzing” period.
“It went really well. They quizzed us on football plays and what not. Me and Greg killed it (in the interview),” Phillips said.
And what went into the quiz format? Phillips said the Eagles helped get them prepared in advance.
“Some teams do it different (the quiz format). Some will pull up your film and it’s not necessarily a quiz, but it’s ‘OK, what’s this formation? What does each guy on the offense have? With the Eagles, they sent us a packet in advance with the formations and plays and when they got here, they were asking questions about it,” Phillips said.
There’s already this Eagles/UCLA connection: Phillips’ head coach Chip Kelly went 26-21 overall in Philly from 2013 to 2015. Phillips said Kelly “prepared us so well.”
UCLA 4⭐️WR Kyle Phillips impressed me last year. Super versatile player who wins all over the field. Here’s his game film from last season against USC. Looking forward to watching him this weekend. Deep dive #devy player.
UCLA WR Kyle Phillips splitting Stanford’s Cover 4 🌲🔪
Motion got the safety leaning right and rotation is late. Phillips put his foot on the gas and boy DTR’s throw is a laser. ASU will have its hands full Sat. stopping this explosive duo.
Film study coming up @DevilsDigest
Dulcich Brings Stretch/Vertical Element
Dulcich has been lauded as a vertical talent who is “long-legged” and is “urgent and determined” as noted by nfl.com scout Lance Zierlein. The former walk-on is considered a potential second rounder by mock drafts.
Greg Dulcich didn’t run in any of the drills but is catching passes.
Projected to go as high as second round
He says scouts who have conversed with him bring up his journey as a walk-on, saying “A lot of teams appreciate that work ethic. And it gets more buzz around you.”
But as noted by Phillips, the towering 6-foot-4, 243-pounder got a chance to break down film with the Eagles and said “it was a really cool” experience in not only breaking down plays but also giving the Eagles a chance to get to know the chemistry between he and the slot wideout. Dulcich adds that a bulk of his conversations with scouts dive into his ability to stretch and play vertically.
“A lot is pretty similar (to past conversations): Saying ‘you can stretch the field, play vertical and do a lot of great stuff. In the run and pass game, you do a great job of sealing guys,'” Dulcich said. “But there’s room to improve as a pass catcher, as a route runner and the run game as well.”
During the 2021 playoff run, the Eagles ranked 25th in passing yards — hence the need for more options. Rookie DeVonta Smith led the team with just 64 receptions for 916 yards and 5 touchdowns. Outside of Dallas Goedert, the Eagles lost TE depth following the Zach Ertz trade.
The Bruins duo won’t know their NFL fate until late April. But both thrived in a pro-style attack and are officially on the Eagles’ radar after meeting with them together.