Opinions were mixed on the Eagles' decision to wait until the second round to draft their running back.
But teammates of LeSean McCoy -- and those who played against him -- don't need any convincing.
"One thing about him, he was one of the most explosive backs in this year's draft,"
said Eagles reserve lineman Mike McGlynn, a former Pitt offensive lineman.
"(Knowshon) Moreno is up there and some of those other guys, but hey, (McCoy) is up there with pretty much the best of them at making big plays. I think it was a great pick for the Eagles."
McGlynn is, admittedly, biased. He helped create space for McCoy when the two were teammates at Pittsburgh in 2007. Without an effective passing game, McGlynn said the Panthers put the ball in McCoy's hands and let the kid's natural talent take it from there.
"In the open field, he can make you look stupid,"
McGlynn added. "He'd pull one move on a guy, and the guy is falling."
McCoy used to clash against former University of Delaware tight end Robbie Agnone on the high school gridiron. Agnone's Redland High School played annually against McCoy's Bishop McDevitt, the same school that produced former Eagles running back Ricky Watters.
From memory, Agnone recalled McCoy busting loose for more than 400 rushing yards in his first game against Redland.
"At the time I didn't know who LeSean was,"
said Agnone, who recently signed with the Redskins as a rookie free agent. "After that, I knew who he was. You knew this guy's got something special."
McCoy and McGlynn will reunite today when the Eagles report for full-squad minicamp, which opens with intrigue surrounding an overhauled offense and with much curiosity about the health of right tackle Stacy Andrews, right guard Shawn Andrews and running back Brian Westbrook.
Each of them underwent surgery in the past year, but head coach Andy Reid said Westbrook's shouldn't impact the Pro Bowl back's availability for camp.
Still, the coaches almost will limit Westbrook's workload as they begin the critical search for his primary backup.
