Defensive line
The Eagles had a very productive defensive line, but they are aging big time without much depth.
Brandon Graham will be 33 in April, Cox will be 31 late next season, Vinny Curry (free agent) will be 33 in June, Hargrave turns 28 in February, and Derek Barnett is a cut candidate due to his $10 million price tag.
Genard Avery is under contract for 2021, but he’s unlikely to return. Josh Sweat will be coming off injury. This team needs depth.
This draft isn’t crazy deep in terms of prospects for both EDGE and DL, but the EDGE prospects for the first round would definitely help the Eagles.
Targets: Kwity Paye – Michigan, Gregory Rousseau – Miami
Linebackers
Alex Singleton can’t do it all himself, and he’s set to be a free agent.
With #47 FINALLY off the team (as I write this I fully expect to see news of an extension), the Eagles need to finally address the position they have severely ignored for decades.
The Eagles, despite my above post, have a strong defensive line. One that even adequate linebackers can benefit from. Yet, only Alex Singleton has really taken advantage of that this season. The Eagles have struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks and defend drag/slant routes across the middle of the field. A stud linebacker helps that.
While there’s only one LB in the draft worthy of a top ten pick, there are others worthy of a first-round selection that could be targeted with a trade down.
Targets: Micah Parsons – Penn St., Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – Notre Dame, Zaven Collins – Tulsa, Nick Bolton – Missouri, Dylan Moses – Alabama
Defensive back
Have you seen the corner/safety play? Darius Slay came to the Eagles and immediately made an impact. Outside of him? Yuck.
The team severely needs a corner opposite Slay. Slay is probably out after 2022, and there is zero depth behind him.
At safety, Mills is unlikely to be back now that Schwartz is gone. McLeod most likely misses a good portion of 2021 with injury. That leaves K’Von Wallace and Grayland Arnold as the only adequate talent at the position. Yeah, I know Marcus Epps is there.
I do not believe there is a legitimate prospect at safety for the first round, but you can find a few corners for that selection.
Targets: Patrick Surtain II – Alabama, Caleb Farley – Virginia Tech, Jaycee Horn – South Carolina, Eric Stokes – Georgia
As you can see, this team has too many needs to hone in on one for their first round selection. It’ll be an interesting few months with the Senior Bowl, Combine, and Pro Days to weed out the options, but there are many names across all positions to keep an eye on for the Eagles on April 29th.
Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire
