The outbreak of COVID-19 may have plunged a thorn into the side of draft preparations, but it hasn’t stopped teams from doing as much homework as possible on potential prospects. The Eagles are no exception, but reports of players they’ve met have been hard to find all in one place. With that in mind, here’s a look at every player to have communicated with the Eagles so far and some analysis for each position group -kicking things off offensively.
Quarterback
James Morgan – FIU – Shrine Game – Proj. rounds 4-5
Shea Patterson – Michigan – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 6+
Jordan Love – Utah State – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 2-4
The Eagles are clearly looking for some QB3/4 depth here to come in and compete with Nate Sudfeld who returns on a one-year tender. Sudfeld hasn’t been trusted with the QB2 reins and almost beat Thorson and Kessler out by default last year. Expect this year to be tougher.
James Morgan out of FIU is the name to watch. He fits what the Eagles are looking for as a bigger QB with some sneaky mobility to his game and a cannon for an arm that just needs chiseling.
Running back
Antonio Gibson – Memphis – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 4-6
Lamical Perine – Florida – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 3-5
Artavis Pierce – Oregon State – Senior Bowl – Proj. Late
Antonio Gibson is picking up where Darrell Henderson left off last year as a Memphis RB that turns into a draft crush, and Perine would be a tremendous fit for the Eagles. It’s clear they’re not valuing the running back position as highly as others (and rightly so), but we could expect a day-3 back to come in and act as a change-of-pace behind Miles Sanders, or a bulldozer to grow into Jordan Howard’s old role.
Wide receiver
Jordan McCray – Oklahoma State- Shrine Game – Proj. Late
John Hightower – Boise State – Shrine Game – Proj. Rounds 4-5
Jauan Jennings – Oregon – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 5-6
K.J Hill – Ohio State – Combine – Proj. Rounds 4-6
Justin Jefferson – LSU – Combine – Proj. Round 1
Henry Ruggs – Alabama – Combine – Proj. Round 1
Donovan Peoples-Jones – Michigan – Combine – Proj. Rounds 3-4
Quez Watkins – Southern Miss – Combine – Proj. Rounds 3-5
K.J Hamler – Penn State – Top 30 – Proj. Rounds 1-2
Aaron Fuller – Washington – informal – Proj. Rounds 5-7
Quartney Davis – Texas A&M – Facetime – Proj. Rounds 3-4
Denzel Mims – Baylor – Facetime – Proj. Round 1
Jalen Reagor – TCU – informal – Proj. Round 2
The Eagles are definitely doing their homework on the wide receiver position. Not only have their pre-draft notebooks been updated from the Shrine Game all the way up to top-30 visits, but the 13 players met with is by far the most of any position. DE comes second with 5 (and a double-down). Speed is definitely the aim here, but there’s a nice balance of slot guys who are littered throughout the draft, and then those with a much higher outside ceiling. A double-dip here would not be surprising at all.
Offensive tackle
Colton McKvitz – West Virginia – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 6-7
Ezra Cleveland – Boise State – Combine – Proj. Rounds 2-4
Saahdiq Charles – LSU – Combine/ Top-30 – Proj. Rounds Rounds 3-5
Jake Juriga – Western Michigan – Facetime – Proj. Round 7-UDFA
The big-name to note here is LSU’s Saahdiq Charles, who has officially had two ‘meetings’ with the Eagles throughout this process. There seems to be an average projected round of 3-5, which definitely hints at a developmental prospect, aligning perfectly with exactly what the Eagles need from the position to step into Vaitai’s old shoes.
Offensive guard
Cameron Clark – Charlotte – Shrine Game – Proj. Rounds 4-6
Ben Bredeson – Michigan – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 4-6
It’s minimal here, but that’s expected. The Eagles may need some developmental talent behind Seumalo and Brooks, but Matt Pryor showed he’s more than ready to become the team’s primary option as a backup.
Center
Lloyd Cushenberry – LSU – Combine – Proj. Rounds 3-6
Nick Harris – Washington – Facetime – Proj. Rounds 4-5
Cesar Ruiz – Michigan – informal – Proj. Rounds 1-2
The recent love for Cesar Ruiz shouldn’t come as a surprise at all, but the Eagles may well be looking to the heart of the Draft for Jason Kelce’s heir to the throne. This is the perfect draft to find that talent and let him marinate under Stoutland for a year or two.
Tight End
Sean McKeon – Michigan – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 4-6
Adam Trautman – Dayton – Senior Bowl – Proj. Rounds 2-3
Josiah Deguara – Cincinnati – Facetime – Proj. Rounds 4-6
Giovanni Ricci – Western Michigan – informal – Proj. Round 7
It’s not an overly deep TE class, but the Eagles could absolutely do with adding a TE3 after the Richard Rodgers experiment failed in back-to-back seasons. Trautman is arguably the top positional talent in this class, but all eyes are on rounds 4-6 when it comes to adding a third tight end.
Takeaways:
- The Eagles have understandably done a LOT of work at WR in the early rounds.
- Meeting with Saahdiq Charles twice is something to keep a note of.
- Rounds 4-6 seem to be the offensive hot-spot.
Mandatory Photo Credit: AP Photo/Vasha Hun
