11/8/21 Eagles Mock Draft

[eaglesfan0075]

Rnd 1 (MIA) - Aidan Hutchinson DE Michigan - The Eagles need an heir apparent to Brandon Graham, who is nearing the end of his career as the longest tenured current Eagle. Derek Barnett hasn't lived up to his draft billing and the team can benefit from a consistent force opposite Josh Sweat on the DL. It's very fitting that Graham's replacement also hails from his alma mater of Michigan as well.

Rnd 1 - DeMarvin Leal DT Texas A&M - Javon Hargrave has been lights out this year, but the writing is on the wall for borderline future HoF player Fletcher Cox, as he has not been his dominant self this year. The Eagles did not move him at the trade deadline, but when the opportunity to draft a premium DT prospect presents itself, does the team re-consider its stance in the offseason after missing the playoffs?

Rnd 1 (IND) - Desmond Ridder QB Cincinnati - One of the more polarizing QBs in this draft class, Ridder has adequate size at 6'4 and 225 lbs, and has been projected as high as round 1 and late as Day 3. There are questions about his consistency with accuracy and throwing mechanics, which prevent him from being one of the top 3 QBs selected (I am projecting Matt Corral, Malik Willis, and Kenny Pickett going off the board before this pick and think the Colts win a few more games). Desmond Ridder possesses a stronger arm than Jalen Hurts, and is just as athletic with regards to rushing ability and making plays outside of the pocket. While more of a boom or bust prospect compared to guys like Pickett, Ridder possesses elite upside that Hurts simply does not have.

Rnd 2 - Roger McCreary CB Auburn - The Eagles have both Steven Nelson and Avonte Maddox hitting free agency in 2022 and have not invested a premium pick on CB in some time. The time is now to invest in the CB position early, as Darius Slay is not getting any younger and can use a quality running mate on the other side 

Rnd 3 - Lewis Cine S Georgia -  Like CB, the safety position has also been neglected by the Eagles in recent years. The highest pick the Eagles have invested in a safety within the last several years was the 4th round pick they used on K'Von Wallace, who hasn't panned out as a starter. One can even argue for two early picks being used on safety here.

Rnd 4 - DeMarvion Overshown LB Texas - Linebacker has been an afterthought on this team for years and while a 4th round pick is hardly putting an emphasis on the position, the team needs more competition at the position to push the current group of TJ Edwards, Alex Singleton, and Genard Avery. Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley have not shown much since being drafted.

Rnd 5 - Bubba Bolden S Miami - The Eagles double dip here at the safety position, in the hopes of getting lucky with a late round gem, or at least fortify depth at a position where both veteran incumbent starters are free agents.

Rnd 5 (WFT) - Jamaree Salyer OG Georgia - Brandon Brooks is not getting any younger and the Eagles would be well suited to add more depth to the guard position. Landon Dickerson will likely move back to center after Jason Kelce retires, so there will also be a hole at LG that will need to be filled as well.

Rnd 5 (ARI) - Andrew Vorhees OG USC - As stated above, the team can use more depth on the interior OL given the advancing age of the OL

Rnd 5 (NYJ/IND) - Ainias Smith WR Texas A&M - The Eagles already have quite a few young WR with something to prove, but Smith comes in as a punt return specialist to help with special teams, allowing guys like Quez Watkins and Jalen Reagor to focus on developing at WR

[Ray75]

I love, love, love the Hutch, Leal and McCreary selections. Those are homeruns.

I think I rather stick with Hurts/Minchew than using a first on Ridder. a) I don’t think he’s ready (could use another year in college); b) I don’t think he’s that much of an upgrade.

Although I can definitely see this happening, waiting until the 3rd and 4th round to address our most dire needs in LB and S would be a mistake IMO. Cine is probably better suited to play at/around the line of scrimmage while Boldin isn’t what you call one of the best deep safeties in college. Overshown’s hasn’t done anything to boost his draft stock this year. Heck, it only crashed. His athletic profile is intruiging but if you take that many bad angles and wiff on so many tackles, you won’t sniff a roster anytime soon, even in Philly.

So basically I’m deeply in love with your 1st, 2nd and 4th pick, the rest just doesn’t do it for me...sorry...

Especially the safeties and the one LB you took don’t give those units the boost they need and we fans deserve. But that’s just my opinion.

[eaglesfan0075]

21 hours ago, Ray75 said:

I love, love, love the Hutch, Leal and McCreary selections. Those are homeruns.

I think I rather stick with Hurts/Minchew than using a first on Ridder. a) I don’t think he’s ready (could use another year in college); b) I don’t think he’s that much of an upgrade.

Although I can definitely see this happening, waiting until the 3rd and 4th round to address our most dire needs in LB and S would be a mistake IMO. Cine is probably better suited to play at/around the line of scrimmage while Boldin isn’t what you call one of the best deep safeties in college. Overshown’s hasn’t done anything to boost his draft stock this year. Heck, it only crashed. His athletic profile is intruiging but if you take that many bad angles and wiff on so many tackles, you won’t sniff a roster anytime soon, even in Philly.

So basically I’m deeply in love with your 1st, 2nd and 4th pick, the rest just doesn’t do it for me...sorry...

Especially the safeties and the one LB you took don’t give those units the boost they need and we fans deserve. But that’s just my opinion.

 

I think you can certainly justify passing on QB in the 1st round, draft BPA, and give Hurts/Minshew another year. However I think there's a good chance the front office decides to use a 1st rounder on a QB this year.

I was also originally on the don't draft a QB in the 1st boat, but have warmed up to the idea of either Pickett or Ridder in the 1st round of the batch of QBs projected to go early. 

I don't see this FO drafting a LB or safety in the 1st round, but I can see them go CB with the Colts 1st, safety with our 2nd rounder, and LB with our 3rd rounder 

[Ray75]

2 hours ago, eaglesfan0075 said:

 

I think you can certainly justify passing on QB in the 1st round, draft BPA, and give Hurts/Minshew another year. However I think there's a good chance the front office decides to use a 1st rounder on a QB this year.

I was also originally on the don't draft a QB in the 1st boat, but have warmed up to the idea of either Pickett or Ridder in the 1st round of the batch of QBs projected to go early. 

I don't see this FO drafting a LB or safety in the 1st round, but I can see them go CB with the Colts 1st, safety with our 2nd rounder, and LB with our 3rd rounder 

100 % agree.

I too was warming up to the idea of the Eagles taking a QB in the first until Hurts has been showing progress the last couple of weeks and I came to the conclusion that if you compare him to rookie QB’s like Lawrence, Fields, Wilson and Jones he isn’t playing bad at all. He’s putting up similar numbers than a vet like Baker Mayfield and although that isn’t saying much because Mayfield is having a bit of a down season, it’s still kinda remarkable Hurts was able to go toe to toe with Herbert.

If Hurts continues to progress, I wonder if any QB in this class will truly be an upgrade over him. We might as well keep rolling with Jalen. The intangibles are off the charts and if he can become an even better pocket passer, we might have something. So basically I jumped back on the bandwagon and hope he does prove all doubters wrong.

If he does, I’d like to see something like this;

Round 1) Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan;
Round 1) Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame;
Round 1) Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah;
Round 2)  Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn;
Round 3)  George Pickens, WR, Georgia;
Round 4) Cade Mays, OG, Tennessee;
Round 5) Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota;
Round 5) Kolby Harvell-Peel, SS, Oklahoma State;
Round 5) Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State;
Round 6) Adisa Isaac, DE, Penn State;

Yeah, Yeah...I know! Eagles don’t value the S and LB position that high but remember they were reportedly really high on VanderEsch a couple of years ago and he was a first round prospect too. Maybe just maybe with 3 first rounders to play with, Howie defers from their mantra and takes a safety and linebacker high. 🙏

[Couch Potato]

1 hour ago, Ray75 said:

Round 1) Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan;
Round 1) Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame;
Round 1) Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah;
Round 2)  Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn;

Ray, this would be absolutely outstanding, and set the foundation for a kick-ass new D for the future.

Of course, the Eagles would never do it. Gonna splash at least 2 of those R1 picks on Russell Wilson IMO

[Ray75]

40 minutes ago, Couch Potato said:

Ray, this would be absolutely outstanding, and set the foundation for a kick-ass new D for the future.

Of course, the Eagles would never do it. Gonna splash at least 2 of those R1 picks on Russell Wilson IMO

Thx! 

You’re probably right about them trading for Russ. Still hope they roll with Hurts and do something like this.

[Rob331]

Eaglesfan - thanks for the read but I'm just not with you on this one. 

No way I take a boom or bust quarterback - we already have one and personally I'd stick with him for another year - see where it goes. 

This need to be a defense heavy draft which you've done, but with Dickerson and Driscoll showing what they can do over the past few weeks and Herbig on the bench we don't need guards even if Kelce retires and Seumalo moves to center. 

That being said - it's great to see some new names and thinking and I appreciate it. 

[eaglesfan0075]

20 hours ago, Rob331 said:

Eaglesfan - thanks for the read but I'm just not with you on this one. 

No way I take a boom or bust quarterback - we already have one and personally I'd stick with him for another year - see where it goes. 

This need to be a defense heavy draft which you've done, but with Dickerson and Driscoll showing what they can do over the past few weeks and Herbig on the bench we don't need guards even if Kelce retires and Seumalo moves to center. 

That being said - it's great to see some new names and thinking and I appreciate it. 

Rob, I agree with you here, especially with the strides that Jalen Hurts have made since Nick Sirianni decided to make a solid commitment to the running game.

As other posters have stated in the past, the best way to maximize Jalen's skillset is to cater the offense to him like the Ravens do with Lamar Jackson.

I have been on the fence regarding drafting a QB in the first versus staying put for some time, but I were to make an updated mock today, it would not include a QB in the 1st round.