Quick, who was the Eagles' top draft pick in 2008?

Many would think it was wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who had an outstanding rookie season with 62 catches, 912 receiving yards and three total touchdowns.

But drafted two spots ahead of him was defensive tackle Trevor Laws out of Notre Dame. The 6-1, 304-pound Laws played in every game this past season and recorded 16 tackles in the regular season. Certainly not the flashy numbers that Jackson posted.

"I've been used to that my whole career," Laws said recently after a workout at the NovaCare Complex.

Laws may not have had the gaudy numbers, but he was instrumental as the first defensive tackle off of the bench. By the end of the season, Laws said that he was playing about 10-15 snaps per game. The only problem is that Laws has two outstanding players ahead of him on the depth chart in Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley. Laws' quickness makes him very similar to Patterson.

What will help Laws as training camp approaches is the fact that he 100 percent healthy to get his body in the best shape possible. Last year, Laws battled a foot injury that kept him from reaching his potential early on. Despite the setback, Laws' performance drew rave reviews from his teammates.

"It's tough going through a rookie year in this defense," defensive tackle Dan Klecko said. "Laws did very well last year."

Now, it's time to see if he can make the type of jump the two ahead of him make from their first to second seasons. Bunkley, a first-round pick in 2006, went from 13 tackles in his rookie year to 75 in his second to 82 tackles last season. In the last two years, Bunkley also have 5.0 sacks. The Eagles' run defense has improved from 24th from Andy Reid's arrival in 1999-2006 to sixth-best in the last two seasons.

"I just want to get out there to help more this year and I fell good about it," Laws siad.