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Second-day Eagles draft prospects worth pairing with Darius Slay


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Second-day Eagles draft prospects worth pairing with Darius Slay

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Might the Eagles wait until Round 2 to find their other starting corner?

Despite the way it ended, the 2021-2022 Philadelphia Eagles season proved to us that this team wasn’t a total train wreck. That’s a good thing, but embarrassing losses versus some of the NFL’s better competition reminded us of how far this team was from being a contender. It also reminded us of a few things that we tried to convince ourselves weren’t true.

This team has some pieces. It also has some holes. Darius Slay falls in the category of the former. Questions about who steps in at the other starting cornerback are demonstrations of the latter.

Now, we shouldn’t discredit the job that Steben Nelson did. He was okay at times, but he’s closer to ‘good’ than ‘great’. He’s also at the end of his one-year deal, and so far, Philly’s brass hasn’t shown a ton of interest in bringing him back.

The Eagles waited until Round 4 in the 2021 NFL Draft to select Zech McPhearson. Some believe they should have taken a cover guy sooner, and so far, the jury is out on whether McPhearson’s selection has proven that theory to be true.

Don’t be shocked if they take a cornerback early in the next selection meeting. Don’t be shocked if they ignore the position in Round 1 to address other needs. You also shouldn’t be shocked if one of those first-round selections is traded away.

This isn’t a deep class of cornerbacks, but there are solid options, especially on Day 2. Here’s a ranking of five guys who should be available in rounds two and three that would pair well with Big Play Slay.

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Could the Eagles go fishing in Alabama’s pool again for Jalyn Armour-Davis?

The Eagles finally figured it out. If you select the best players from the best college football programs, it leads to better draft classes.

Before last April, Philadelphia hadn’t drafted anyone from college football’s premier program, the Alabama Crimson Tide, since they took Freddie Milons in Round 5 of the 2002 selection meeting. In 2021, both of their first two selections came from The Tide. Both of those guys, DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson, are going to work out. Who would have thunk, right?

Another April will be here before you know it. You saw how quickly January flew by. Everyone’s again looking at Alabama’s NFL farm system in hopes that they find someone to stock their NFL cupboard.

The six-foot-one and 192-pound Jalyn Armour-Davis won the starting job opposite Josh Jobe following Patrick Surtain’s departure, but by the time we reached the college football season, it was Armour-Davis, not Jobe, that had established himself as the more NFL-ready cover guy.

We all love numbers and statistics. Here’s a look at Armour-Davis’ production: 32 total tackles, three interceptions, and four pass breakups. If those numbers were to transfer to his rookie season for a team like the Eagles, there isn’t anyone walking that would complain about getting that type of work from the CB2.

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Every Eagles executive should be tossing ideas around about Akayleb Evans.

The Missouri Tigers, upon their entrance into the SEC, looked like they’d be able to become one of the Eastern Division’s annual contenders. They’ve learned a huge lesson and done so very quickly.

Being one of the elite programs in college football’s best conference won’t come easy, but that isn’t a final nail in the proverbial coffin. This is a program that has recruited decently, but they’ve also used the transfer portal well, Akayleb Evans being one of the best examples of that statement’s accuracy.

This is a young man that checks the boxes for any team looking for a good tackler that provides length and physicality on the outside. He’s, by no means, a finished product though.

After spending four seasons, 2017 to 2020, with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, he transferred to Missouri for his fifth and final NCAA season. There have been ups (Central Michigan). There have been low points (Tennessee).

He has an array of stabs and punches he uses at the line of scrimmage, but if he’s beaten, he’s had some difficulty in finding the ball when it’s in the air which was evidenced by the fact that he had zero career interceptions before joining the Tigers this past season and he only boasts one pick in five years.

That’s okay though. That’s why teams have coaches. Evans isn’t a ballhawk. He may never become one, but he’s more ready to start than some guys who are currently on the Eagles’ roster. You can argue among yourselves about who that statement applies to.

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Alontae Taylor is one of those big corners the Eagles tend to fall in love with.

If you know anything about SEC football, you’re well aware of the Tennessee Volunteers. You’re familiar with the history and atmosphere. You’re also very much aware that by, Vols standards, the current position of this once-proud program won’t cut it for fans and the alumni.

Tennessee’s looking up at the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators, but you can’t blame that on guys like Alontae Taylor. The Draft Network’s Joe Marino compared him to Shaquil Griffin of the Seattle Seahawks in his profile of the six-foot, 193-pound star. Raise your hand if you’d like to have a Shaquil Griffin clone on the Eagles’ roster.

Yep! That’s what we thought!

Taylor didn’t get as much burn as some of the SEC’s other talented corners, and that was partially because of Tennessee’s lack of on-field success. Make no mistake about it though. Had he been on a contending team’s roster, some of the guys we’re talking about wouldn’t have been discussed as much.

The numbers are impressive though. In 44 career games, he racked up 162 tackles, three forced fumbles, 15 pass breakups, four interceptions, and two defensive TDs (one of those came off of a fumble recovery).

This is probably someone that comes off of draft boards in Round 3, but don’t be shocked if he sneaks into the back half of Round 2. It’s doubtful that he’ll wind up in an Eagles jersey, but if he did, he’d start on Day 1 of the 2022 NFL season. We can be quoted on that.

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This time, the Eagles could strike gold by taking a Washington corner.

The Washington Huskies’ knack for finding secondary talent is one that other college football programs must study. You may have your reservations about how prepared their players are for the next level upon leaving, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that, in the Pacific Northwest, Washington is finding guys and signing them.

It’s easy to shun a young prospect because he played at the same school or in the same conference as another former highly-touted star that flamed out. Unfortunately, from a draft or scouting standpoint, that’s also the laziest form of analysis there is.

All that’s been said to say this. Washington’s top two corners from the 2021 college football season enter the selection meeting in April, and even though there are quite a few Eagles fans that will dismiss them because ‘Sidney Jones played there’, both Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon could find their way onto every NFL team’s list of the best players that will be available at the position. The Eagles, if they’re doing their due diligence will be among the interested parties.

McDuffie should come off of the board in Round 1. Gordon would be a solid pick for any team in Round 2. Both would be solid playing on the opposite side of Darius Slay.

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Might Daxton Hill be among the five best Eagles cornerback prospects?

The answer to that question is, in a word, yes. Here’s the consensus. Derek Stingley, formerly of the LSU Tigers, and former Cincinnati Bearcats star Ahmad Gardner are the top two prospects entering the next NFL Draft. Once we get past those two, many regard the aforementioned McDuffie as the third guy that would come off of the board.

That’s where things can begin to get cloudy. Some see Kaiir Elam as someone who could sneak into the back half of the first round. Others, though they like his size, are unimpressed with his speed, and that’s led to some second-day grades.

Despite where you may fall in all of those discussions, here’s something we all can agree on. College Football Playoff performance notwithstanding, the Michigan Wolverines’ run through the 2021 NCAA season was one of college football’s best stories. It also introduced the entire country to a few future NFL stars. Throw Daxton Hill‘s name in the mix.

He tallied 69 tackles, one-half sack, and two interceptions to go along with eight pass breakups en route to a First-Team All-Big Ten Award. He’s six-foot-tall and 192 pounds, which a lot of NFL scouts and teams will like. He’s also versatile enough to play outside receivers and slide inside to cover slot guys if need be.

Philadelphia is set at the slot with Avonte Maddox. It would be nice to know that they have some insurance with Hill should anything happen.

https://insidetheiggles.com/2022/02/07/eagles-draft-prospects-darius-slay/

Posted
9 hours ago, time2rock said:

Might the Eagles wait until Round 2 to find their other starting corner?

I'd say there's a pretty good chance of that to be honest. I mean sure they could use a first round pick on one of course they could but I'm not sure they will. This team prioritises the trenches and I think they'll do that again. 

Posted
14 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I'd say there's a pretty good chance of that to be honest. I mean sure they could use a first round pick on one of course they could but I'm not sure they will. This team prioritises the trenches and I think they'll do that again. 

The wild card is what they do with that third 1. If they use all 3 of their 1s I think there is a pretty decent chance they use one on a CB.  If Howie trades one then hard to say because I think it is almost a lock one is used on an edge rusher … question becomes what does he do with the other.  Really also hinges on what they do in free agency … do they re-sign Nelson or sign another?  

  • Like 1
Posted
7 hours ago, time2rock said:

The wild card is what they do with that third 1. If they use all 3 of their 1s I think there is a pretty decent chance they use one on a CB.  If Howie trades one then hard to say because I think it is almost a lock one is used on an edge rusher … question becomes what does he do with the other.  Really also hinges on what they do in free agency … so they re-sign Nelson or sign another?  

See I think even if they plan to draft a CB in the first round they should still look at bringing back Nelson or bringing in a solid veteran. For a start I don't think you can expect a rookie to go straight in and play well. And also you don't know how the board is going to fall. Now if Nelson or a solid veteran is still on the market come draft time then I guess you can wait. 

Posted
4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

See I think even if they plan to draft a CB in the first round they should still look at bringing back Nelson or bringing in a solid veteran. For a start I don't think you can expect a rookie to go straight in and play well. And also you don't know how the board is going to fall. Now if Nelson or a solid veteran is still on the market come draft time then I guess you can wait. 

No doubt I completely agree that would be the smart strategy and what I would like to see them do.  Unfortunately have to take into consideration who has final say on the draft - too often Howie isn't guided by what is smart.  

  • Like 1
Posted

i’ve seen hill from michigan listed at safety in most mocks and a lot have him going in the first round am i missing something!

Posted
8 hours ago, time2rock said:

No doubt I completely agree that would be the smart strategy and what I would like to see them do.  Unfortunately have to take into consideration who has final say on the draft - too often Howie isn't guided by what is smart.  

Despite thinking he's the smartest man in the room. 

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