Yesterday, draft pundit and former GM Charley Casserly went on air noting the Philadelphia Eagles as candidates to move up in the 2019 NFL Draft. His reasoning was solid: Howie Roseman likes to be aggressive during the draft process and won’t settle for secondary options or vanity picks. The Eagles are in a fortuitous position with two second round picks in hand and few dire needs to address. Conclusively, Casserly suggests Philadelphia will move up to swipe Ole Miss tackle Greg Little off the board to fill the shoes of aging legend Jason Peters.
While I disagree with his final diagnosis, the question of whether or not Howie will stay put in the first round is an overlooked debate. Players that have been firmly on the Eagles pre-draft radar don’t exactly fit seamlessly with the team’s draft position. Without spoiling the coming paragraphs, names like Ed Oliver and Montez Sweat — two top caliber prospects in terms of talent and scheme fit — will be long gone by the time Philadelphia takes the podium. Other options — Josh Jacobs, insert safety name — would seem a tad rich to the taste of most talent scouts if plucked off the selection board at 25. In what superficially seems like a very deep draft class, having two second round selections holds more weight than in most years. That is not lost on Howie Roseman and I expect him to field some phone calls on draft day.
The question is: will the Eagles move up or move down? After last season, it would seem it is more within Howie’s m.o. to drop into the early second round and reap the benefits of overeager re-builders. Nevertheless, having a roster with few holes and a front office in win now mode, the Eagles may feel they are one great player away from booking flights to Florida come February. On the
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