I love the Eagles’ acquisition of Ernie Sims. They have been seeking an upgrade to anchor the linebacker position for them, and Sims makes a lot of sense. He’s a talented young player and it alleviates a need before the draft. Philly ends up sending just a fifth-round pick to Denver as part of the deal.

To me this is a heck of a deal for the Eagles. Kamerion Wimbley went from the Browns to the Raiders recently for a high third-round pick. I’ll take a fifth-round pick for Sims. Now, the Eagles will have to extend Sims at some point — he is finishing out his rookie deal — but I am told no deal is imminent, according to a league source.

The Broncos were very interested in unloading TE Tony Scheffler, and end up getting a fifth-round pick (from the Eagles) and also end up parting with a seventh-round pick. With high-profile receivers Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. going for a fifth-round pick, you could see that Scheffler wouldn’t yield much more than that. He wasn’t a fit for the Broncos’ system, but the pass catcher will be another nice weapon for young QB Matt Stafford in Detroit.

The Lions end up parting with Sims — who has playmaking ability on a defense that badly needs explosion — and come away with Scheffler and a seventh-round pick. The immediate question is if they got a tight end because Brandon Pettigrew, a first rounder in 2009, is not recovering well from surgery. According to a league source, Pettigrew is doing very well, but the Lions are looking for weapons of all sorts, and could use two tight ends with some regularity. Also, there was a sense that Sims was not a fit for the scheme they were running (he was drafted before Jim Schwartz took over the defense), and with him seeking a new contract, they were willing to trade the former first-round selection.

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