We are now less than a week away from the draft. Here's my last mock before we see what the Eagles end up actually doing. 

 

TRADE: Raiders trade 38th overall pick and 100th overall pick to the Eagles for 30th overall pick - Kept this trade in this mock because I can realistically see it happening from a value standpoint. However I am not including the Budda Baker trade for pick 38 in this mock given cap considerations from the long-term contract he would demand in light of Jalen Hurts new deal going forward. The Raiders move into the 1st round to pick up Hendon Hooker and be able to secure a 5th year option with a first round pick, leapfrogging other potentially interested teams in the early 2nd round. The Eagles get another pick in the top 100 for trading down. This is an even trade per the draft pick value chart: 30th pick (620 points) = 38th pick (520 points) + 100th pick (100 points).

 

Round 1 (10 via NO) - Paris Johnson Jr. OT Ohio State - While OT is not an immediate need right now, Lane Johnson has already stated he intends to play for 2 more years, so it's not unreasonable to plan for the future given this opportunity. The Eagles don't plan on picking in the top 10 very often and not only did we lose our depth swing tackle in Andre Dillard, we do have a hole at RG after Isaac Seumalo left in free agency. At the moment, we are projecting last year's 2nd round pick Cam Jurgens into the starting RG spot, however the fact remains that Jurgens was handpicked to be Jason Kelce's successor at C, and did not play guard in college at all, so it's quite the projection to move him from C to RG. Johnson has started at RG for Ohio State in his sophomore year and was 2nd team All-Big 10 as a guard before moving to LT this year and playing at an even higher level. Paris can start at RG until Lane retires and slide out to RT afterwards. 

Round 2 (38 via LV) - Will McDonald IV DE Iowa State - The Eagles need more depth on the DL and you can't have too many pass rushers. McDonald is a solid pass rusher with deficiencies in run defense, and is a bit light for a 4-3 DE at 6'4 and 240 lbs, but can start out as a designated pass rusher as a 3-4 OLB with the potential to move to DE in a 4-3 alignment after bulking up some, depending on what direction the team goes with their base defense under Sean Desai. In terms of official visits/reported visits it appears that the Eagles have scouted quite a few 3-4 OLB in comparison to traditional 4-3 DE prospects. 

Round 2 (62) - Antonio Johnson S Texas A&M - It has been some time since the Eagles drafted a safety in the 2nd round (Nate Allen in 2010, Jaiquawn Jarrett in 2011); with CJ Gardner Johnson and Marcus Epps both gone and only Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans signed to replace them, there is likely a starting spot up for grabs, unless the team really is convinced that former UDFA Reed Blankenship is ready for a full time starting role.

Round 3 (94) - Jaquelin Roy DT LSU - After losing Javon Hargraves in free agency, and with Fletcher Cox back on a 1 year deal, potentially his last season as an Eagle, the team needs another starting DT to pair long-term with last year's 1st round pick Jordan Davis. The Eagles brought in Roy for an official visit, and while he has limited starting experience at LSU, he possesses upside as a pass rusher, with the hope that he can develop into a starter by year 2. The Eagles have had success with LSU defensive players in the past, and had a good run with former 3rd round pick Bennie Logan.

Round 3 (100 via LV comp) - Tyjae Spears RB Tulane - With Miles Sanders now with the Panthers, the Eagles now have a rotation of oft-injured Rashaad Penny, Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Trey Sermon in the backfield. Spears was extremely productive at Tulane his last season with 1581 rushing yards and 19 rushing TDs and did well at the Senior Bowl. The Eagles met with Spears at the Combine and have historically shown a tendency to draft players who did well at the Senior Bowl in the past. 

Round 7 (219) - Andrew Voorhees OG USC - Perhaps this is a bit of a stretch despite the ACL tear at the Combine, considering Voorhees was considered to be a solid 4th round prospect before the injury and might not fall this far in the draft. However, this is a solid draft for IOL and it's not out of the realm of possibility that other prospects that were previously ranked below Voorhees are selected before him. For what it's worth, NFL.com has Voorhees draft projection as 5th-7th round. Other sites still have him ranked higher, so we will see how the injury affects his stock when the draft rolls around. With Paris Johnson starting at RG while Lane is still playing, the Eagles can afford to have Voorhees redshirt his rookie year, with starting RG upside in the future.

Round 7 (248) - Kahlef Hailassie CB Western Kentucky - The Eagles brought Hailassie in for an official visit. He transferred to WKU from Oregon for his last two seasons and has decent size at 6'1, 200 lbs for a developmental prospect at CB. Hailassie finished his WKU career with 4 interceptions and also logged 3 sacks his final season with the Hilltoppers. 

very nice! I like Paris if he is there would be a solid pick.. i could imagine all the memes we will be seeing with the two Johnson’s double teaming Cox.

like Anderson as well think he would be solid as well as a couple other de/rushers in that range. As you know i also like that trade though i think it’s hinging more and more on the raiders passing on Will levis with their first pick. they do have a lot of need though and i think the most picks in the draft so they could still be looking for that 5th year option at the end of round 1.

 

Antonio Johnson can’t say i looked into him much i’ll have to check him out again

Roy — really like him would fit in perfect with the draft so far i think he could go before this though. 

 

Spears — another player i haven’t look, I don’t know what to make of the rb position you can say we don’t have a #1 rb but i really like both Gainwell, and Penny. Penny has had a massive injury bug but he is a former first round pick and what i remember most about his a couple of seasons ago when he won me my fantasy football league by coming back and leading the league like the final 5 weeks of the regular season with like 150 plus yards every game he was almost unstoppable behind the seahawks poor oline. They also seem to love Scott and they kept Sermon on the roster all year for some reason.. I personally like Vaughn but the room is crowded maybe we are better suited to take another position at this spot.

Voorhees— your correct he might not be here but if we are interested… i thought i saw a few places he was considered a 2nd round pick before the injury we have enough draft picks next year we could package a couple to get anywhere we want in the draft.

On 4/24/2023 at 7:13 AM, Cheesteakitis said:

very nice! I like Paris if he is there would be a solid pick.. i could imagine all the memes we will be seeing with the two Johnson’s double teaming Cox.

like Anderson as well think he would be solid as well as a couple other de/rushers in that range. As you know i also like that trade though i think it’s hinging more and more on the raiders passing on Will levis with their first pick. they do have a lot of need though and i think the most picks in the draft so they could still be looking for that 5th year option at the end of round 1.

 

Antonio Johnson can’t say i looked into him much i’ll have to check him out again

Roy — really like him would fit in perfect with the draft so far i think he could go before this though. 

 

Spears — another player i haven’t look, I don’t know what to make of the rb position you can say we don’t have a #1 rb but i really like both Gainwell, and Penny. Penny has had a massive injury bug but he is a former first round pick and what i remember most about his a couple of seasons ago when he won me my fantasy football league by coming back and leading the league like the final 5 weeks of the regular season with like 150 plus yards every game he was almost unstoppable behind the seahawks poor oline. They also seem to love Scott and they kept Sermon on the roster all year for some reason.. I personally like Vaughn but the room is crowded maybe we are better suited to take another position at this spot.

Voorhees— your correct he might not be here but if we are interested… i thought i saw a few places he was considered a 2nd round pick before the injury we have enough draft picks next year we could package a couple to get anywhere we want in the draft.

Appreciate the feedback!

With regards to drafting another RB, I feel that relying on Penny to stay healthy is a big-time gamble, even in a RBBC situation with Gainwell/Scott/Sermon. Not to mention that Gainwell is the only one under contract for beyond this season, it's not unreasonable to draft another RB in the middle rounds. I don't necessarily think we need to select one in Rounds 1 or 2, but I think the 3rd-4th round is a solid area to get some value here. We don't hold a 4th round pick currently, thus I used the 3rd round pick from the LV trade with pick #100. I think Spears will go off the board somewhere between late round 3 to round 4.

Alternatively, I think you can make a case for another LB since we are currently relying on Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow to fill the void of TJ Edwards and Kyzir White. I think Dean will be fine as the new MIKE but Morrow leaves a lot to be desired. In this mock, I guess you can argue that Will McDonald at 6'4 and 240 lbs is more of a LB than DE in build as it stands (for reference, Kyzir White was 6'2 and 234 lbs whereas Haason Reddick is 6'1 and 240 lbs). 

After giving it more thought, Voorhees in the 7th round even with the ACL tear appears to be a big stretch and I probably would have been better off putting another player in that spot to keep things more realistic. I'm not sure if the Eagles would give up future picks to move up on day 3 to select Voorhees, but I can see a legitimate argument for it, if they feel he's a solid starting guard. The Eagles potentially could have the luxury of redshirting Voorhees a rookie and not giving up a Day 1 or 2 selection, but rather Day 3 picks.

On 4/23/2023 at 10:43 PM, eaglesfan0075 said:

 

I see what you've done and your thinking is both solid and logical yet I'd still be disappointed withthis draft. 

I'm a big Bijan fan and would trade down if he and Carter are gone. 

I'd hope Bresee would be ther eat 38 but if he's not Roy works. Johnson is a solid pick. 

Thanks - good read to wrap up the year. 

Wow so Vorhees did end up falling to 229 in the actual draft to the Ravens, I guess my mock having him at 219 was not so far fetched after all 😂

However, I'd much rather have the haul that Howie accumulated 😁