The Case for Staying Put
Or lack thereof . . .
As is with every year, draft scouts are never perfect and an overlooked talent or an imperfect prospect is bound to take a first-round tumble. Last season, arguably the draft’s most NFL-ready quarterback fell to third overall. Many who thought CB Josh Jackson and RB Derrius Guice carried first-round tags watched them fall all the way to the second round. In 2017, LB Reuben Foster trickled down to the bottom of the first round due to off-field concerns after being considered one of college’s most dominant defensive players. Thought of as perhaps the top corner in the draft, the Ealges took a chance on injured Washington prospect Sidney Jones in the second round. The list goes on.
Biding one’s time until the 25th pick hoping that a top tier prospect stays overlooked can be an arduous process. However, Philadelphia is definitely sitting in a favorable position to stop the tumble of a tantalizing talent. At least one defensive lineman with top 20 talent will be available; my guess is Dexter Lawrence, Jerry Tillery or the injured Jeffery Simmons are all credible options. The team may even get lucky and find Christian Wilkins sitting on his hands — this would be ideal. Who knows, maybe Montez Sweat’s health concerns could cause cold feet. Outside of Wilkins who has spearheaded my 2019 Draft Dream Board, or Sweat, each option comes with their pitfalls. Lawrence is a jagged fit due to his shortcomings rushing the passer. Tillery is inconsistent which has pushed his valuation all over the map, despite a dominant 2018 season. Finally, Simmonds may not even be available for the 2019-2020 season.
The Eagles may also have their pick of the top safeties in the draft. Nassir Adderly, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and Johnathan Abram should all still be waiting for phone calls by the time the screens turn midnight green. Whether or not any of them are worthy of a top 25 selection remains to be seen. It is reasonable to believe that any of the three may still be available in the mid second round. If not, there are ample options at the position that will be.
Outside of LSU’s Devin White, there’s not a clear prediction for when linebackers will fly off the board either. While Devin Bush might be just outside of their reach, there’s not a team with clear need for a first-round linebacker from picks 19-25, save for the Steelers and Raiders — both teams have bigger holes. The Eagles have tended to veer away from spending first round selections on linebackers and are likely to have unfavorable valuations of second tier prospects. Unless Bush does happen to fall, I do not imagine any other backer finding themselves on the Eagles’ first-round tracker. Perhaps the front office has higher opinions of Mack Wilson or Blake Cashman than most, but consider it doubtful.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Eagles could no doubt add Josh Jacobs to their roster without much outside competition. Philadelphia has been the only team linked to his name in the first round if you’re to believe the mock drafts. However NFL correspondent Lance Zurlein recently stated that his sources had informed him that Jacobs is likely to fall to the early second round. Whether due to his slow 40-time or lack of college production, I tend to agree with Zurlein’s informants. Especially after acquiring Jordan Howard from the Bears and being linked to Brown’s RB Duke Johnson, it seems as if the Eagles have removed themselves from the first-round running back race.
Philadelphia could also look to bolster their aging offensive line. There are a couple of problems with this scenario. The most obvious is that no offensive tackle prospect truly has a late first round tag. Perhaps versatile Cody Ford or tackle Greg Little will fall, but they are bound to be swept up by the offensive line-starved Houston Texans. The Panthers, Ravens, and Vikings could also use the help and the Texans will have to settle for whatever scraps are left. Later options such as Dalton Risner, Kaleb McGary or Chris Lindstrom feel much more like second-round selections than first-round fall candidates. The second is contingent on the opinion that outside of Andre Dillard, there are no true left tackles in the top end of the draft. This may push protection-needy teams towards forcing square blocks with rounded edges into round holes earlier in the first round. In this case, Howie may be completely out of luck when diving into the offensive line barrel for talent in the late first round. This brings us to…
