20 players who make sense for the Eagles on Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft

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20 players who make sense for the Eagles on Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft

The Eagles have four picks on Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Here are 20 targets for the Birds.

BY JIMMY KEMPSKI
PhillyVoice Staff

BRIANA SANCHEZ/USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas RB Roschon Johnson

We're through the first two days of the 2023 NFL Draft, and so far the Philadelphia Eagles have made four selections. They are scheduled to make four picks on the final day of the draft on Saturday, but won't be picking until the sixth round, barring a trade up.

Their picks:

Round	Overall	How acquired	Pick
1	9	From Saints	Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia
1	30	Eagles' own pick	Nolan Smith, Edge, Georgia
3	65	From Texans	Tyler Steen, OG, Alabama
3	66	From Cardinals	Sydney Brown, S, Illinois
6	188	From Texans
7	219	From Vikings (via Texans)
7	230	From Texans
7	248	Eagles' own pick

Here are 20 players who make sense for the Eagles on Day 3.

• Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati: Scott averaged 16.9 yards per catch the last two seasons at Cincinnati. He had a season high of just 899 yards (in 2022), but he is a game breaker. Scott played inside and outside at Cincinnati. He also played running back in high school, and you can see that translate to wide receiver with his run after catch ability. Ran a 4.37 40.

• Chase Brown, RB, Illinois: Brown topped 1000 yards in each of the last two seasons. In 2022, he finished fourth in the nation with 1643 rushing yards, though he had an insane workload to get there, carrying 328 (!) times in 12 games, or 27.3 times per game. He also had 27 receptions for 240 yards and 3 TDs. Chase Brown is the twin brother of Sydney Brown, who the Eagles selected in the third round.

• Daniel Scott, S, California: Scott has good size at 6'1, 208, and he's an impressive athlete. He also had good production the last 2 seasons. 82 tackles, 3 INTs, 5 pass breakups, and a forced fumble in 2021. 85 tackles, 3 INTs, 7 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles in 2022. 

• Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas: Johnson had an interesting college career. He was originally recruited as a quarterback, but moved to running back after Texas suffered a number of injuries there prior to the 2019 season. He had a good freshman season, but lost carries in 2020 and beyond after Bijan Robinson arrived at Texas and became the clear lead back. Johnson is thought of as a smart, unselfish player who might have put up bigtime rushing numbers at another program. He does a lot of little things well and could give the Eagles valuable snaps immediately in a rotational role.

• Jaren Hall, QB, BYU: Hall had 51 TDs vs. 11 INTs for BYU the last two seasons. He has just OK velocity, but he can feather throws in with impressive touch. He can also throw on the run and make plays with his legs. He reminds me a little of Russell Wilson, with a weaker arm. The downside is that Hall will be 25 years of age when he is drafted in April, and he's short. Teams looking for "the answer" at quarterback will be turned off by both of those facts, but for the Eagles' purposes, Hall makes sense as a No. 3 behind Jalen Hurts and Marcus Mariota who can grow into a cheap No. 2, who oh by the way has some similar traits as Hurts.

• Andrew Vorhees, OG, USC: Vorhees is an older interior offensive line prospect who has experience at both guard spots, and has been available in a pinch for USC at LT. He gives me some Landon Dickerson vibes (minus the center experience), with his hulking size, positional versatility, and nastiness, but limited athletic upside. Vorhees played six years at USC (medical redshirt in 2019, but played two games that season), and he's already 24 years old. That will no doubt hurt his value, as will the ACL tear he suffered at the NFL Combine. Otherwise, he might have gotten Day 2 consideration. Whatever team drafts Vorhees should only do so knowing that he could miss his entire rookie season. At a minimum, he'll miss all of training camp, and is certain to start the season on the NFI list.

• Jay Ward, CB/S, LSU: Ward is a converted cornerback to safety, who I believe is being overlooked for some reason by the draft community, but who is a good player. You'll see him attack WR screens on the other side of the line of scrimmage, he can knife through the line and make negative plays in the run game, and he's a good cover guy both from the slot and on the back end. He had 158 tackles, 6 INTs, 17 PBUs 2 FFs in 32 games the last three seasons.

• Andrew Vorhees, OG, USC: Vorhees is an older interior offensive line prospect who has experience at both guard spots, and has been available in a pinch for USC at LT. He gives me some Landon Dickerson vibes (minus the center experience), with his hulking size, positional versatility, and nastiness, but limited athletic upside. Vorhees played six years at USC (medical redshirt in 2019, but played two games that season), and he's already 24 years old. That will no doubt hurt his value, as will the ACL tear he suffered at the NFL Combine. Otherwise, he might have gotten Day 2 consideration. Whatever team drafts Vorhees should only do so knowing that he could miss his entire rookie season. At a minimum, he'll miss all of training camp, and is certain to start the season on the NFI list.

• Jay Ward, CB/S, LSU: Ward is a converted cornerback to safety, who I believe is being overlooked for some reason by the draft community, but who is a good player. You'll see him attack WR screens on the other side of the line of scrimmage, he can knife through the line and make negative plays in the run game, and he's a good cover guy both from the slot and on the back end. He had 158 tackles, 6 INTs, 17 PBUs 2 FFs in 32 games the last three seasons.

• Ryan Hayes, OT, Michigan: 6'6 with 32 1/2" T-rex arms, but he played LT at RT at Michigan, and he has some appealing athletic traits.

• Dylan Horton, DE, TCU: Horton entered the 2022 season without much production through his first four seasons with New Mexico and TCU, but he had a breakout season in 2022, notching 10.5 sacks and four batted passes. He had a monster game against Michigan in the college football playoff, with four sacks, as well as two sacks in the Big 12 Championship Game. He has an explosive first step, which at a minimum makes him appealing as a late Day 3 pick, but he has a ways to go as a run defender, and will probably be unplayable for a while until he improves in that area.

• Bryce Baringer, P, Michigan State: Baringer averaged 48.4 yards per punt in 2021, and 49.0 yards per punt in 2022 at an outdoor, cold weather school. He also wears goggles, which improves his value immeasurably.

• Elijah Higgins, WR, Stanford: Higgins is a hefty receiver at 6'3, 235 with huge 10 1/2" hands who could find work in the NFL as a receiver / tight end hybrid. He is thought of as a good blocker. Maybe a Zach Pascal replacement? 

• Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse: Tucker rushed 246 times for 1496 yards (6.1 YPC) and 12 TDs in 2021, breaking Syracuse's single-season rushing record. He added 20 receptions for 255 yards and 2 TDs. In 2022, he wasn't as effective, rushing 206 times for 1060 yards (5.1 YPC) and 11 TDs. He has a track background and good initial acceleration, but he missed the Combine and Syracuse's pro day with an undisclosed medical issue, making his draft projection difficult.

• Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma: Gray had a big senior season, carrying 213 times for 1366 yards (6.4 YPC) and 11 TDs, while also chipping in 33 receptions for 229 yards. He has good vision and can make defenders miss, but he does not possess great top speed (4.62 at OU's pro day).

• Chris Rodriguez, RB, Kentucky: Rodriguez is a banger who averaged 6.2 yards per carry over his career at Kentucky. He is a one-cut, north-south runner who will move piles and gain yards through contact. The downside is that he's not much of a receiver, as he only has 20 career catches, and he probably won't be a threat to break off long runs in the NFL. Great late round fit, in my opinion.

• Kahlef Hailassie, CB, Western Kentucky: Hailassie originally enrolled at Oregon, but he transferred to Western Kentucky after mostly riding the bench. At WKU in 2022, Hailassie had 51 tackles (8 for loss), 2 INTs, 12 pass breakups, 3 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Good size at 6'1, 200.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/20-players-who-make-sense-eagles-day-3-2023-nfl-draft/

[eggs]

I guess he really likes Vorhees and Ward, Vorhees and Ward.

That said, these would be some good late picks although I suspect they’ll also take a LB for depth and special teams. I also wonder if they can justify one of the top punt returners for a roster spot like Derius Davius or Charlie Jones who is also a wr. 

[Road to Victory]

Jaren Hall would’ve made a really nice backup but with the run on QB’s in the 5th, we had little chance of getting him in the 6th. 

Hoping Ivan Pace Jr. Is there is the 6th. He’s undersized but an absolute missile. At worst, he’ll be an awesome ST player.