Welcome to Mock Draft Mania! We’re running a contest between now and the end of the week between six of our writers, who will each be dropping their very best Eagles Mock Draft. Pitted against each other in a bracket-style tournament, YOU get to decide the winner by voting on our Twitter page! Make sure you give us a follow @PhiladelphiaSN to stay tuned!
Liam’s Mock Draft
After my full first-round mock went down about as well as Shareef Miller’s Eagles career, it’s time to step up my game for Mock Draft Mania. If I’m going down, I’m going down swinging!
Round 1 pick 12: CB, South Carolina, Jaycee Horn
The Eagles really are in a luxurious spot here and can afford to take one of the top cornerbacks knowing fully well that there are some stars in the making at wide receiver just a little further down the line.
Patrick Surtain II might be out of reach, but the Eagles cannot afford to leave this draft with Avonte Maddox as their CB2. Jaycee Horn is as physical as corners come and he feasts at the line of scrimmage. Schematically, he might not be the coziest fit, but Jonathan Gannon has worked with some stud corners in his time and should be able to get the most out of confident corner who will not waver when facing the best that the NFC East has to offer.
Horn has future CB1 written all over him and that’s exactly why this team shouldn’t hesitate.
TRADE
Round 1 pick 21: WR Rashod Bateman
Colts Send: Pick 21
Eagles send: pick 37 (second-round), Andre Dillard, pick 150 (fifth-round)
The more I think about this potential trade, the more I like it. The Colts are losing Anthony Castonzo and need to really find a long-term solution at LT to protect Carson Wentz’s blindside pronto Frank Reich will be very aware of what can happen when one of those OL cogs is missing and while a trade-up makes sense, a trade-down preserves value. Reich, Wentz, Taylor, and Groh all have familiarity with Andre Dillard and the Eagles should be able to pitch an immediate solution with some contract flexibility, while able to retain their first-round selections next year. This also throws a bucket of Water over the Dillard vs Mailata battle and hands it to the rightful winner.
On top of that, the Eagles can then go out and draft a true X-receiver in Rashod Bateman. If Sirianni is truly a WR whisperer, than he will love everything about what this physically imposing wideout has to offer. Bateman runs a crisp route-tree, is physical through the stem, and embodies everything that the new Head Coach would want in an X-wideout to partner alongside Jalen Reagor.
Round 3 pick 70: IOL Quinn Meinerz
At 6’3, 320 lbs, Meinerz showed versatility throughout Senior Bowl week playing at both guard and center and working hard to prove doubters wrong. His D-3 level of competition shouldn’t matter and Meinerz has all the intangibles of a starting center in the NFL, despite being fundamentally raw. Could you imagine a better fit than Meinerz and Eagles OL Coach Jeff Stoutland, who has groomed Jordan Mailata into a starting caliber left tackle?
Round 3 pick 84: S, UCF Richie Grant
I’m a sucker for UCF DB’s and Richie Grant is no exception. A true ball-hawking safety at 6’0, 195 lbs, Grant would enter a DB room that has short-term security, long-term uncertainty. If K’Von Wallace and Richie Grant could be groomed as long-term replacements for Rodney McLeod and Anthony Harris, then the secondary would be set. Jonathan Gannon is a former DB’s coach who may lobby for one of his guys here.
Round 4 pick 123: DE Victor Dimukeje
The last time the Eagles drafted an EDGE in the fourth round, it didn’t end too well at all. Dimukeje has the potential to change that as a jack-of-all-trades. There’s a lot of Vinny Curry to his game, which is funnily enough exactly what the Eagles are after. Dimukeje has a big first step, powerful hands to complement a nice array of pass-rushing moves, but size isn’t really on his side at 6’2. If the Eagles can look past this, they may have their EDGE3 of the future.
Round 6 pick 189: TE Tre McKitty, Georgia
If the team are going to pass on Hunter Long, then Tre McKitty is the bargain-bucket pick. There isn’t a strong receiving resume here due to an injury setback that took half of his 2021 season away, but he does have a lot of menace about him with the ball in his hands and reminds me a lot of Tyler Higbee. At 6’4, 246 lbs, McKitty isn’t the strongest blocker in the world and has all the tools in the world but hasn’t been able to apply them just yet. The Eagles take a punt to develop a future TE2.
Round 6 pick 224: DT Darius Stills, West Virginia,
The Eagles lost Malik Jackson this offseason and are able to add a rotational weapon here in Stills. He had 12 TFL in as many games in 2019, while racking up 7.5 along with 3.5 sacks in nine games this past season. Production isn’t something that has evaded Stills, who is extremely fun to watch. Stills penetrates by using leverage as opposed to raw power and if the Eagles can coach him up, he could be a real motor in the middle moving forward.
Round 7 pick 234: CB Rachad Wildgoose Jr, Wisconsin
Great name? Check. Nickel corner without a lot of tape but plays extremely aggressively? Check. The Eagles will have their starting CB trio but they lost two nickels this offseason. Wildgoose Jr is agile, aggressive and is very productive around the ball, but a shoulder injury and a shortened 2020 season have meant that his stock has remained capped throughout the offseason.
In 2019, he allowed a completion percentage of just 48.1% along with a passer rating of 78.4 when targeted.
I’m all in.
Round 7 pick 240: QB Zac Thomas, Appalachian State
The QB factory continues but in a way that doesn’t threaten Jalen Hurts with toxicity. Thomas is a fun QB prospect who is athletic enough to make plays outside of the pocket, but a sporadic touch on the deep ball does him no favors. A little undersized, Thomas struggles zipping balls into tight windows, but this only gives the Eagles more of a resume to build out. He ended last season with 64.3% of his passes being completed for 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
