The Philadelphia Eagles have 10 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, but if they can’t improve on their ability to judge collegiate talent, then the wheeling and dealing will be all for naught.
Pro Football Focus and ESPN teamed up to grade the 2019 rookie class from all 32 NFL teams utilizing wins above replacement metric (PFF WAR) to rank all 32 teams.
Not surprisingly, with Miles Sanders as the only rookie on the roster to flourish week in and week out, the Eagles rookie class was ranked 25th out of 32 teams.
25. Philadelphia Eagles
Why they’re ranked here: The Eagles drafted two players in the first two rounds (offensive tackle Andre Dillard and wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside) who added negative wins above replacement values. That isn’t great. Arcega-Whiteside was especially disappointing, earning targets on a higher percentage of his routes than only Andre Patton of the Chargers. All the opportunity was there to take advantage of a larger role with the offense’s injuries, but it never materialized.How their top pick fared: Dillard (No. 22 overall) was limited to reserve work when Jason Peters or Lane Johnson went down because of injury, and that was a good thing for Carson Wentz based on how he graded. He allowed a pressure rate of 14.7%, higher than any other tackle in the NFL.
Best value pick: Running back Miles Sanders (No. 53 overall) still has some work to do as a runner, but he has already shown that he can be a positive in the passing game out of the backfield. He led a depleted Eagles’ roster with 165 receiving yards on passes 20 or more yards downfield.
The Eagles had five picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, with only Dillard and Sanders showing flashes of future greatness.
ROUND/PICK NAME POS
1/22 Andre Dillard OT
2/53 Miles Sanders RB
2/57 JJ Arcega-Whiteside
4/138 Shareef Miller DE
5/167 Clayton Thorson QB
Arcega-Whiteside’s inability to muster any production was alarming and the biggest disappointment of the draft class, especially when the Redskins, 49ers, Seahawks, and Titans all had guys picked after the Eagles rookie, have super successful seasons.
Shareef Miller worked through a professional redshirt season and will look to find a place in the Eagles defensive end rotations next season.
Clayton Thorson was unable to grasp Doug Pederson’s offense and ultimately landed on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.