EF0075's 2/23/23 Mock Draft

[eaglesfan0075]

Round 1 (10) - Paris Johnson Jr. OT Ohio State - A lot of mock drafts have the Eagles selecting a CB here with this pick, and one can make a legitimate case for one here, but it simply is not the MO of this front office to use an early 1st on a DB. I can easily see as many as 4 EDGE rushers go in the top 9 picks (Anderson, Wilson, Murphy, Van Ness), allowing the Eagles to get the top OT prospect in the draft in Johnson, with positional versatility to start at RG right away, as Isaac Seumalo is very likely to get a big offer in free agency from another team. 

Round 1 (30) - Isaiah Foskey DE Notre Dame - The Eagles need another solid pass rusher regardless of whether or not Brandon Graham comes back for another season. Derek Barnett is coming off an ACL injury and the Robert Quinn trade was a bust. That really leaves Josh Sweat as the closest thing to a guarantee at DE next year. Foskey is still a bit raw as a prospect and needs to work on developing counter moves, but was a productive pass rusher at Notre Dame, notching back to back seasons with 11 sacks. He has prototypical size for a 4-3 DE at 6'5 and 265 lbs.

Round 2 (62) - Deonte Banks CB Maryland - While it remains to be seen who the Eagles bring in as their next defensive coordinator, and whether the team continues to employ a zone coverage heavy scheme or implement more man coverage, Banks has the size at 6'2 and 205 lbs to match up against bigger WRs as an outside CB and play press, which compares favorably to James Bradberry, who will likely leave in free agency

Round 3 (94) - Zach Evans RB Ole Miss - While Miles Sanders has openly expressed his desire to be re-signed, it is very likely that the Eagles let him walk instead of investing significant money on his second contract, as Sanders will likely get a decent offer elsewhere in free agency. Evans brings an element of size (6'0, 215 lbs) and skillset as a strong interior runner, that will complement those of Kenny Gainwell and Boston Scott.

Round 7 (221) - Malik Cunningham QB Louisville - Jalen Hurts is set to receive a big contract extension and there's no doubt that he is the guy moving forward. However, the backup QB spot leaves a bit to be desired after Gardner Minshew had his share of struggles filling in for Hurts this season. To be fair, the coaching staff did not adjust much of the play calling to adapt to his skill set. Cunningham has dual-threat ability as a developmental prospect to be able to run the same playbook as Hurts, although he needs to work on his anticipation and locking onto his first read. 

Round 7 (250) - Adam Korsak P Rutgers - Punter is in fact an area of need for the Eagles as both Arynn Siposs and Brett Kern simply did not get it done effectively in the playoffs, including the infamous shanked punt by Siposs in the Super Bowl. Korsak is an Australia native with a background in Aussie rules football before playing college ball at Rutgers and won the Ray Guy award for best punter in college football.

[Rob331]

Eaglesfan - thanks for the read. Interesting?

• Johnson - I just don't think an OT will be a 1st round pick for us. It would not make sense to have a 1st round pick on a redshirt year. Sure he could start at guard but we can get that guy later. If your thoughts about corner are right, and they might be, then DT would be the way to go. I'd still take a corner but otherwisse Bresee would be my pick. 
• Foskey - I know he's raked up ther but I watched a coulpe of ND games and he was a non-factor. I get where you're going but I just don't like the player, If it's a DE maybe Will McDonald. BTW - I think you are forgetting Janarius Robinson - he was a 4th round pick. 
• Banks - nice player but to compare him with BRadberry is a bit of a stretch. i'd prefer Forbes or Ricks. 
• Evans - you're right, We need a RB. I;d personally go for Charbonnet, but Evans would be a safe pick too. 
• Cunningham - they are high on Book and will need a vet as a backup so I don't think QB is the direction with this pick. More likely a G/T combo for Stoutland to coach up. 
• Korsak - completely agree. Great pick!

Your mock demonstrates the Eagles big problem They have more holes than draft picks. You ndid a good job, but there was no room for a DT, a LB, or a Safety. To me that spells T-R-A-D-E-S. 

Really nice logic and I appreciate the thought behind your picks. 

[Cheesteakitis]

Paris Johnson Jr definitely will be our list depending how things go this off-season…. he could very well be in the running to start at rg and backup both tackle spots.

[mattwill]

7 hours ago, Rob331 said:

Your mock demonstrates the Eagles big problem They have more holes than draft picks. You ndid a good job, but there was no room for a DT, a LB, or a Safety. To me that spells T-R-A-D-E-S. 

Howie’s 2024 ammunition will include four good Comp Picks.  I suspect that will cause him to trade one or two for 2023 picks.

[eggs]

6 hours ago, mattwill said:

Howie’s 2024 ammunition will include four good Comp Picks.  I suspect that will cause him to trade one or two for 2023 picks.

Yes - we’ll probably use some of the mid round picks we have in 2024 to fill the void of pick in round 4-6 this year so we can get a couple players that we like for depth probably at OL, DT and just about anywhere as it wouldn’t hurt to have a developmental QB, WR, LB, S, CB  so find the BPA. Next year, we’ll still have more picks than we can use even if we trade a couple this year. 

i also expect us to look to trade back from the 10 pick and get more picks. 

[eaglesfan0075]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:56 AM, Rob331 said:

Eaglesfan - thanks for the read. Interesting?

• Johnson - I just don't think an OT will be a 1st round pick for us. It would not make sense to have a 1st round pick on a redshirt year. Sure he could start at guard but we can get that guy later. If your thoughts about corner are right, and they might be, then DT would be the way to go. I'd still take a corner but otherwisse Bresee would be my pick. 
• Foskey - I know he's raked up ther but I watched a coulpe of ND games and he was a non-factor. I get where you're going but I just don't like the player, If it's a DE maybe Will McDonald. BTW - I think you are forgetting Janarius Robinson - he was a 4th round pick. 
• Banks - nice player but to compare him with BRadberry is a bit of a stretch. i'd prefer Forbes or Ricks. 
• Evans - you're right, We need a RB. I;d personally go for Charbonnet, but Evans would be a safe pick too. 
• Cunningham - they are high on Book and will need a vet as a backup so I don't think QB is the direction with this pick. More likely a G/T combo for Stoutland to coach up. 
• Korsak - completely agree. Great pick!

Your mock demonstrates the Eagles big problem They have more holes than draft picks. You ndid a good job, but there was no room for a DT, a LB, or a Safety. To me that spells T-R-A-D-E-S. 

Really nice logic and I appreciate the thought behind your picks. 

Appreciate the feedback Rob.

Yeah, I agree that not mocking any trades does limit how many holes that you can fill and while it's certainly harder to nail down mock trades even more so than trying to guess which player the Eagles will take, I will be shocked if Howie doesn't at least make one trade on draft day. I'll probably incorporate a mock trade(s) in version 2.0.

Regarding the Johnson pick, I think OT might not be the "obvious choice" but very much a realistic possibility if we're making the argument for BPA at a position of need. OT specifically might not be a need right now, but RG will almost certainly will be if Seumalo leaves in free agency (which I think he will). I'm not opposed to DL at this spot; Bresee at DT as you suggested is probably better value than the 4th/5th EDGE on the board. Regarding drafting a CB in the 1st, I'll believe it when I see it. It's been over 20 years since the Eagles drafted a CB in the 1st round (Lito Sheppard in 2002), and Howie Roseman has been with the team since 2000

Yes, I did forget about Janarius Robinson being a former 4th round pick of the Vikings practice squad (good call), but he's a complete wild-card in the sense we have no idea what impact he'll bring. I wouldn't complain if he turns out to be another 4th rounder turned stud like Josh Sweat, but would not forego using a high pick on a DE because he's on the team. I agree, there definitely are some interesting names out there at DE in the late 1st/early 2nd round outside of Foskey, such as McDonald.

Perhaps the Brock Purdy phenomenon has elicited some excitement over the idea of drafting a developmental QB in the 7th round, but I think whether the Eagles go with a veteran or a rookie, a QB with scrambling ability would be ideal in case Hurts were to get injured.