Eagles seven-round mock draft: Most athletic in the room edition

I know, I know, I said I wouldn’t do another mock. I lied.

Every team has their draft board. Whether it’s ranked by need or “best player available”, each player has their own score.

One score that should be factored in is the Relative Athletic Score. This score, made famous by Pride of Detroit writer Kent Lee Platte, scores players based on their measureables based on their peer group.

The Eagles had one of the most athletic draft classes in 2016 (3rd in the league), but that dropped to last in 2017 with their selections. 2018 was another athletic one, while 2019 was a mixed bag.

With the reports that the Eagles are prioritizing speed throughout the class, shouldn’t they also prioritize athletes? The top two athletes from last season, Dillard (9.79) and Sanders (9.49), produced almost right away. Yes, Dillard produced and will produce.

In 2018, Sweat (9.71), Goedert (9.56), and Maddox (8.88) led the way. While Sweat has shown flashes, we’ll need to see consistency. But Goedert has become a force and Maddox showed in his rookie year that he can dominate, while his sophomore year left a lot to be desired. Genard Avery was a part of that draft class and scored a 9.28. We’ll see how that pans out in 2020.

It’s been shown that the athletes have produced for the Eagles, while the lower scores (J.J. Arcega-Whiteside: 6.16, Shareef Miller: 6.21, Shelton Gibson: 2.29) have left A LOT to be desired.

So with all this being said, which players would be picked if the Eagles were solely going by RAS scores? Let’s check it out.

*I will be drafting based by round projection and RAS grade. For example, you won’t see me drafting a guy in the first who is projected in the sixth round because his RAS score is high. I’m crazy, but not that crazy*

**I will be conducting my mock on The Draft Network, selecting from players available to me at the time of selection**

Round 1 pick 21: Justin Jefferson, WR, RAS: 9.69 (4th among all WR)

I’m cheating a little bit here as Jefferson is actually ranked behind Mims’ 9.76, but obviously not by much. Mims performed all combine drills and his 1.96 score on his 20 yard short shuttle is very poor. Jefferson did not run the drill, so I’d expect his score to be higher than Mims’ if he did run the drill.

Round 2 pick 53: Jeremy Chinn, S, RAS: 10.00 (1st among all S)

A 10.00 score? Sign me the (bleep) up.

The Southern Illinois product has elite height, weight, speed, explosiveness as compared to all the safeties in the 2020 class. He’d be the perfect fit in Schwartz’s scheme. Imagine the fits he’d bring to opposing offenses, while Darius Slay (remember, we have him now!) locks down the number one receivers.

Round 3 pick 103: Logan Wilson, LB, RAS 8.84 (7th among all LB)

There were a number of different ways I could’ve gone here. Should Kelce’s replacement be picked? What about a defensive lineman to mold?

Logan Wilson’s score stood out among the options, so here he is.

Finally adding to the linebacker corps, Wilson brings much needed athleticism and sideline to sideline speed.

Round 4 pick 127: A.J. Dillon, RB, RAS 9.16 (3rd among all RB)

If you follow me on Twitter (@Infante54), you know I am fully on board with taking Dillon to be the power back the Eagles need. His RAS score solidifies it for me.

An athlete of his size and ability could turn the Eagles rushing attack from great to elite.

Round 4 pick 145: John Simpson, G, RAS 8.55 (5th among all G)

The Eagles love athletes on the offensive line. Simpson is a perfect fit. The way he anchors makes him almost impossible to move and his strength allows him to not only make running lanes, he makes running highways.

If the Eagles view Seumalo as the heir the Kelce, Simpson can take his spot. At the very least, he’ll provide solid insurance behind Brooks.

Round 4 pick 146: Reid Harrison-Ducros, CB, 8.02 (17th among CB)

The Eagles go small school again (Chinn) and select a player not getting talked about enough.

Reid Harrison-Ducros wasn’t invited to the combine, but he made sure he made a name for himself at his mock pro day. His 4.39 40 would’ve been second in the entire combine, and his 3.85 short shuttle would’ve been tops in the entire combine. His 6.42 3 cone drill nearly gets a perfect 10 (9.97) from the RAS system.

The lower scores come from his height, but don’t let that fool you. He has all the tools to be a great corner.

Reid’s score is not featured on the RAS site, but you can hear our interview with him here.

2019 stats: 36 tackles and four interceptions

Round 5 pick 168: Tyrie Cleveland, WR, RAS 9.62 (7th among all WR)

Here’s your second wide receiver that I’m sure you were looking out for. Cleveland brings another elite athletic profile to an Eagles group lacking a receiver over an 8.0 RAS (Jackson is highest at 7.49). His 4.46 40 was 13th at the combine among wide receivers, but he projects as a true deep threat.

With Jefferson being able to line up anywhere, not just slot, Cleveland will be able to provide nice insurance behind Jackson. He can also be what we all wanted Mack Hollins to be.

Round 6 pick 190: Trevis Gipson, EDGE, RAS 8.79 (5th among all EDGE)

If the Eagles are looking to draft a developmental edge rusher, Gipson is that guy. While his 3 cone wasn’t the best, he still scored elite numbers in the other drills.

Due to his extremely raw skill set, teams may not view him this high. But his athleticism is extremely promising and, with the proper development, he could be a key part of the edge rotation for years.