What would Howard Roseman do? - 4/27/21 Mock Draft

[eaglesfan0075]

As the title clearly states, this is my mock draft trying to predict more or less which players are most likely to end up wearing midnight green on draft day. This is not necessarily a list of my preferred players (although there are a few of these prospects that I wouldn't mind seeing the Eagles draft under the right circumstances). Without further ado, I present to you, what would Howard Roseman do?

TRADE: Eagles trade 70th overall pick and 84th overall pick to the Cardinals for 49th overall pick – The Cardinals next pick after 49 isn’t until pick 160 as they do not have any 3rd or 4th round draft selections, whereas the Eagles look to move back into the 2nd round to grab their guy. Per the draft pick value chart, this is an even trade as the value of the 70th and 84th overall picks combined are valued at 410 points, whereas the 49th overall pick is also valued at 410 points.

Rnd 1 – Kwity Paye DE Michigan – Don’t be surprised if Paye is the Eagles first round pick, as he is the classic undersized athletic Eagles DE prospect. In all three previous instances where the Eagles picked between picks 10-15 under Howie Roseman, they have drafted a DL: Brandon Graham at 13th overall in 2010, Fletcher Cox at 12th overall in 2012, and Derek Barnett at 14th overall in 2017.

Rnd 2 – Terrace Marshall Jr. WR LSU – He’s not the LSU WR that Eagles fans have been clamoring for, but the Eagles have reportedly spent a lot of time with Marshall in the pre-draft process and he fits the size and athleticism to address the hole at XWR that JJ Arcega-Whiteside has been unable to fill adequately, allowing Jalen Reagor to slide to his natural position at ZWR.

Rnd 2 (ARZ) – Asante Samuel Jr. CB Florida State – With the Eagles likely transitioning to more of a zone coverage scheme under new DC Jonathan Gannon, they trade back into the 2nd round to select the son of former Eagle free agency success story, Asante Samuel. Like his father, Samuel Jr. is also a ball-hawk and will complement Darius Slay well as the CB2.

Rnd 4 – Darius Stills DT West Virginia – The Eagles love bolstering the trenches and while Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave are the presumed starters at DT, they look to add more depth as Cox is not getting any younger and the team may move on from him down the road.

Rnd 5 – Trill Williams CB Syracuse – The Eagles have reached out to Williams in the pre-draft process, and it is unclear whether they view him as a CB or convert him to S, but depth is needed in either case.

Rnd 6 – K.J. Costello QB Mississippi State – The Eagles aren’t going to stop adding to the QB factory and find their replacement QB3 for Nate Sudfeld in K.J. Costello.

Rnd 6 (comp) – Larnel Coleman OT UMass – Coleman is small school sleeper OT who can develop into a quality reserve swing tackle down the road with experience at LT and RT.

Rnd 6 (comp) – Jon Rhattigan LB Army – The Eagles add another young LB to their group in Rhattigan, who met with the team in the pre-draft process.

Rnd 7 – Jordyn Peters S Auburn – Peters was the 3rd safety at Auburn and was a valuable ST player, which is the role he will look to play for the Eagles.

Rnd 7 – Brandon Kennedy C Tennessee – Jason Kelce is back for another year, but the team needs a young prospect to groom at the position, which is where Kennedy comes into play.

(EDIT: I found a way to fix the small font issue from copying my text from Word for Mac to the thread, hopefully it's easier to read now)

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Do you know what... This seems like a Howie type draft and I'll be honest I don't mind it. I'm not huge on Paye but there's upside there for sure. I like Marshall and I like Samuel Jnr and then I like the pick of Stills.

[eaglesfan0075]

6 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Do you know what... This seems like a Howie type draft and I'll be honest I don't mind it. I'm not huge on Paye but there's upside there for sure. I like Marshall and I like Samuel Jnr and then I like the pick of Stills.

My overall reaction to this mock after I finished it is somewhat similar to yours. I don't necessarily hate it per se, although I can't help but feel that we could have maximized our draft resources better (specifically going Paye in Round 1). I also tried focusing on prospects the Eagles have met with or interacted with in the pre-draft process to make it more realistic. 

This is more or less, an OK draft in my opinion. Not great, not terrible, and we have certainly seen worse from Howie.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 minutes ago, eaglesfan0075 said:

My overall reaction to this mock after I finished it is somewhat similar to yours. I don't necessarily hate it per se, although I can't help but feel that we could have maximized our draft resources better (specifically going Paye in Round 1). I also tried focusing on prospects the Eagles have met with or interacted with in the pre-draft process to make it more realistic. 

This is more or less, an OK draft in my opinion. Not great, not terrible, and we have certainly seen worse from Howie.

I have to say... If they got Surtain or Horn instead of Paye then suddenly this looks like a very good and very exciting draft. That first round pick is absolutely vital especially this year. 

[eaglesfan0075]

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I have to say... If they got Surtain or Horn instead of Paye then suddenly this looks like a very good and very exciting draft. That first round pick is absolutely vital especially this year. 

We're on the same boat here. I'd love either of those guys at 12, but given the Eagles draft history and the draft buzz surrounding those two, suggest that either both are off the board by 12 or the Eagles still pass on one of them for a guy like Paye when they're on the clock. Dallas is virtually a lock to draft a CB (most likely Surtain) and there is buzz about Jaycee Horn possibly going to the Panthers at 8.

I'd love either Alabama WR at 12 also, but once again, I just have a hard time seeing this front office go back to back 1st round WR. They have paired 1st and 2nd round WR prospects in back to back years in the past a few times though in recent memory:

2008-2009: DeSean Jackson (2nd round), Jeremy Maclin (1st round)

2014-2015: Jordan Matthews (2nd round), Nelson Agholor (1st round)

2019-2020: JJ Arcega-Whiteside (2nd round), Jalen Reagor (1st round)

It wouldn't surprise me if the team waits until Day 3 to address WR (which would be a big mistake IMO, but not out of the picture given the team's draft history and recent draft pick investments at the position) The only silver lining here is if Nick Sirianni and his WR coach background can get the most of our recent draft picks at WR, it's possible we have yet to see the best of our current batch of WRs. Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins are all entering Year 2 while JJ Arcega-Whiteside is entering the crucial Year 3 of his development. I'd say it's a make or break year for JJAW: if he doesn't take a big step forward this year, he probably isn't going to show much going forward. The first three guys still have time to grow before we can definitively call them a lost cause. I think Reagor could be a legitimate breakout candidate this year, if used correctly.