If you thought the second-round pick of Jalen Hurts was confusing, buckle up.
The Eagles had three picks in the fourth-round and things started out promisingly enough with the drafting of Clemson Safety K’Von Wallace. Then, things took an interesting turn.
The conveyor belt moves on
At pick 145, the Eagles selected OT Jack Driscoll out of Auburn. This makes a lot of logical sense.
Halapoulivaati Vaitai was selected in the fifth-round a in 2016 and would go on to play in over 50 games as an Eagle before going on to sign a 5-year $50M deal with the Detroit Lions this offseason. Without Vaitai around, only Jordan Mailata remains as the primary backup behind Lane Johnson and Andre Dillard. The Eagles needed depth and they find some here.
Driscoll started 45 out of 46 games for the Auburn Tigers and is widely regarded as one of the most athletic tackles in the class. His wingspan leaves a little to be desired, but in terms of a raw profile that the Eagles will look to develop, he’s very reminiscent of a somewhat less stable version of Andre Dillard, who also came out of college with concerns about his wingspan and initial kickstep, which was technically refined at the NFL level.
Then….
The Eagles traded pick 146…to the Dallas Cowboys…who took a center.
You can’t write it.
The immediate compensation was pick 163, and a fifth-round pick next year.
Dallas avoided drafting Cesar Ruiz and even a Safety in order to spite the Eagles and take CeeDee Lamb. The Eagles needed a Center prospect to groom behind the aging legend of Jason Kelce, and Tyler Biadasz was widely regarded to be a late-round fit.
It’s not so much that the Eagles are letting Biadasz slide and taking another area, as much as it is knowing the Cowboys have a more pressing need for the position and the trade, that acquires another fifth-round pick, gifts them a player that makes the Cowboys stronger on a silver platter.
Gifting players to a rival is rarely good idea, but doing so that also expels a potential long-term option for a need of their own.
Confounding.
Howie Roseman’s explanation will be very interesting to say the least.
Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
