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During our last preview, we made the argument in support of the Philadelphia Eagles trading up to draft one of the big three wide receivers: CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy or Henry Ruggs III. A lot has changed since then.
For those following loosely the Eagles traded away the 85th and 166th picks in this year’s draft. This move, while greatly improving the secondary, leaves the Birds with only two picks in the top 100. Without the 85th pick in their back pocket, the price to move from 21 to the teens would likely cost the Eagles their second-rounder – something they should be unwilling to do.
All of that said, nothing changed the biggest need on the team: wide receiver. After the big three, who will surely be gone by 21, the next group has fallen into place with less than two weeks to draft day. Justin Jefferson from LSU is the consensus fourth-best receiver but from there the waters get murky. Denzel Mims from Baylor and Jalen Reagor from TCU project to be late first-round selections while Laviska Shenault from Colorado, Tee Higgins from Clemson, Brandon Aiyuk from Arizona State and KJ Hamler from Penn State have second-round grades.
With that information in hand, all Howie Roseman has to do is choose the best available wide receiver and send the pick in. If Jefferson’s there it’s him; if he’s not flip a coin for Mims or Reagor. Easy enough, right?
“Not so fast!” he says in his best Lee Corso voice.
The Eagles have two choices for pick 21, either trade back or draft a defensive player. Let’s start with the first option.
For reference, the Eagles traded the 32nd pick and the 132nd pick in the 2018 draft to the Ravens for the 52nd pick, 125th pick, and a 2019 second-rounder. At the 2019 draft, the Eagles made another move with the Ravens, this time moving up three spots from 25 to 22 to select Andre Dillard. That move cost the team a fourth and sixth-round pick.
With this knowledge, the Eagles should try to find a trade partner in the latter half of the first round, whether it’s the Packers, Ravens or Saints, that want to get to the early 20s. This trade back should net the Eagles another mid-round pick and a sixth or seventh, too.
Assuming the top four are off the board by the time the Eagles pick in the late 20s, I’d take a long hard look at the next best wide receiver. Is it the ultra-athletic, surprisingly speedy Denzel Mims? Or is it the electric playmaker from TCU, Jalen Reagor? Either of them would look good in midnight green.
Now, on to option No. 2. Let’s say the virtual draft goes absolutely bananas: Four wide receivers are off the board by the 15th pick and there’s no way the Eagles can get out of the 21st pick. I, for one, don’t want Mims or Reagor at 21 – that’s a bit of a reach in my opinion. If they’re the top two on the board by the time the Eagles are on the clock, I’m looking elsewhere – specifically at the defensive side of the ball.
Say one of Jeff Gladney or Kristian Fulton, cornerbacks from TCU and LSU respectively are available, The Eagles should think long and hard about taking one of the two. The two are first-round talents and would be better suited to play outside with Darius Slay than any cornerback on the roster. Sorry, Sidney Jones and Avonte Maddox. With Slay and Gladney/Fulton the Eagles would have their best cornerback tandem since Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. From there, the Eagles should take the best receiver available in the second round whether it be Aiyuk, Higgins or Hamler.
A dark horse name for the Eagles is Penn State defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos. If you follow trends you know Howie loves taking lineman in the first round: Andre Dillard, Derek Barnett, Lane Johnson, Fletcher Cox, Danny Watkins, *shivers* Marcus Smith. You get the picture.
Jim Schwartz’s defense depends on a heavy pass rush and with more questions than answers on the edge position, taking an explosive athlete with a bunch of upside, with room to learn in year one, would be a great pick. Derek Barnett is largely unproven and entering the final year of his rookie contract, Brandon Graham is on the books for 17 million dollars in 2021 and outside of that, there isn’t a lot to write home about. Josh Sweat looked OK last season, Shareef Miller couldn’t buy playing time and Genard Avery was traded here and couldn’t get on the field – too many variables for my liking.
If the Eagles were to walk out of the first two rounds with Gross-Matos and Aiyuk – then Howie Roseman will have won the weekend. The hard part is hitting on picks in rounds three through seven, but that’s a story for another time.
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