Coming out of the week 5 bye and into a game against the Cleveland Browns, the Eagles are expected to start rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean in the slot, replacing Avonte Maddox.
The move comes as Philly’s defense ranks 27th after four games, giving up approximately 365.8 yards each. It also places the Eagles’ top two 2024 Draft selections together in the defensive backfield for the first time ever. Hopefully, the first time is for a long time.
DeJean was a Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, a Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year, and a unanimous consensus All-American at the University of Iowa.
PHOTO: WikiCommons
Twenty-two years earlier — in the NFL Draft of 2002 — the Eagles selected Sheldon Brown alongside Lito Sheppard to help anchor Jim Johnson’s secondary. Sheppard was taken in the first round, Brown in the second. The result of both additions helped to produce one of the finest Eagles’ defenses since the early 1990s — an attacking defense with innovative blitz packages from the creative mind of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, whose defensive schemes made opposing teams feel like the Eagles had twenty-five defenders on the field instead of eleven. As a team — those Eagles would advance to three more NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl before both players were no longer on the team.
Through four games of the 2024 NFL season — Quinyon Mitchell has been targeted and singled out by opposing defenses. By en-large, he has not only shown his ability and skills as a defender but also his fiery will to compete. For fellow draft-class member Cooper DeJean — the road to his first NFL action has been a little more tenuous. DeJean injured his hamstring before Training Camp. Thrust into action on special teams due to a shoulder injury to returner Britain Covey, last week DeJean fumbled a punt return when the officials picked up a flag for kick-catch interference after Isaiah Rodgers, Jr. blocked a Tampa Bay Player into him. Later, Kelle Ringo plowed in DeJean on another return opportunity.
Avonte Maddox — selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft one year removed from the Eagles Super Bowl Championship— has been to five playoff appearances with the Eagles, including Super Bowl LVII in 2023. After a string of injuries over the next four years, Maddox was released by the Eagles in March of 2024 and re-signed with the team one month later.
For the Eagles — the hope is that starting the future of the secondary now can help solidify a Vic Fangio defense that has yet to battle NFC East receivers such as Malik Nabers, CeeDee Lamb, and Terry McLaurin in 2024.
If the secondary doesn’t make those plays in 2024 — they won’t be playing into the winter of 2025.
How Will the New Rules Benefit An Already Explosive Eagles Offense?
In January of 2016 — Doug Pederson began the arduous process of evaluating and turning over the Chip Kelly’s roster. Kelly had gone through the same process back in 2013 when Head Coach Andy Reid left Philadelphia after fourteen seasons.
One of the more intriguing prospects on the roster was former Oregon talent and wide receiver Josh Huff. Under Chip Kelly at Oregon, Huff was nearly unstoppable on the field. In Kelly’s fast-paced offense, he caught 144 passes for nearly 2,400 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career in the Ducks’ offense. As a senior, he earned All-Pac 12 Conference honors and broke a 43-year record with 1,140 yards receiving.
As a professional — Huff was a roller coaster. At times, showcasing his incredible athleticism and speed, at other times fading away into the void of unproductivity combined with off-field issues.
Against the Tennessee Titans in 2014, Huff set an Eagles record on the professional level with a 107-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff of the game. In 2016 against the Minnesota Vikings, Huff returned a second quarter kickoff 98 yards to the house. During that same season, Wendell Smallwood returned a second quarter kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown against the Washington Football Team after a penalty forced Washington to kickoff from the 35 instead of the 20 yard line.
This season in the NFL, the excitement of the kickoff return is back. The new 2024 rule states that all kickoffs are from the 35 yard line with 10 players on the 40-yard line. This already energizing an Eagles offense that was ranked eighth in the league last year, has the best receiving duo’s in the league, as well as one of its best running backs. Flipping the field position is a gift for an offense like the Eagles who have the potential for chunks of yardage on any given play.
In November of 2016 — after Huff was arrested when drugs were found in his vehicle — the Eagles released the dynamic special teams player and wide receiver. After stints with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Josh Huff was released in again in August of 2018. Huff would then play in both the CFL and AFF until his contract was not renewed in 2022.
Could the speed of Britain Covey and Cooper DeJean not only setup the Eagles offense with a short field but put up some points of their own?
When asked about the new NFL kickoff rule in the spring, Eagles Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay said, “We have to use it as a weapon.”
Today marks the first day of the NFL season with an actual game being played.
I was lucky enough to share that day with the Eagle’s open practice.
Hall Of Fame Game
The Eagles might not have had any relations to this year’s Hall of Fame class, including Steve McMichael and Devin Hester, giving the Bears their second appearance at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in the last six years. But they might soon, with some Eagles greats who have recently retired, like Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce.
Perhaps the Eagles will end their 18-year absence one day, with 17 nominees in the 2024 class. Or once either of these recently retired players hits eligibility five years from now.
FletcherCox: 6x Pro Bowl / 1x All-Pro / HOF All-2010’s Team / Super Bowl 52 Champ
Jason Kelce: 7x Pro Bowl / 6x All-Pro / Eagles-Record 145 Consecutive Starts / Super Bowl 52 Champ
Open Practice!
On the other side of Thursday was the Eagles open practice, and if you’ve been as impatient as I have for football season, then today was a pretty good day.
Nearly 50,000 fans showed up at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday, and almost 75% of the Linc was filled for practice.
For once, the Eagles won’t host the Vikings in the regular season to start their year; instead, it’ll come one week earlier in their final preseason match.
Regardless if the Eagles starters see any real action in the coming weeks, there are plenty of names to look out for, but they might not even see much of the playing field this season.
Jalyx Hunt
After cutting Barnett late last season, the Eagles’ defensive line depth weakened. After acquiring Huff and moving on from Reddick, they would need more insurance in the defensive end position. Enter the Eagles’ third-round pick.
If Vic Fangio is committed to playing those who deserve playing time, we may see more rookies play than we have in the past. While that opens the door for the rookies, it could also limit some of the other playmakers on the roster.
Isaiah Rodgers
The Eagles had Rodgers tucked away on the suspended list for most of last season, and now that the year is beginning, we’re finding out the Eagles have a massive logjam in the secondary.
Multiple rookies, Mitchell and DeJean(injured), as well as plenty of other sophomores and veterans, are vying for a roster spot.
Looks like Isaiah Rodgers will get the first stab at outside cornerback today. Kelee Ringo in with the twos. #Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean will start 2024 training camp on the NFI list with a freak hamstring injury, according to a report from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
#Eagles DB Cooper DeJean will begin camp on NFI and will be sidelined sidelined three weeks with a hamstring injury suffered when he was caught in an awkward position during offseason training, per league source. It is unrelated to any prior injury. The Eagles are confident in a…
DeJean was a second-round pick (40th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Eagles thought of him as a first-round talent, as did a number of notable draft analysts. He was Mel Kiper’s 14th ranked player overall, Daniel Jeremiah’s 24th ranked player, and Dane Brugler’s 27th ranked player.
He did not compete at any of the major offseason pre-draft events, like the Senior Bowl or the NFL Combine because he was still recovering from a fractured right fibula suffered in practice at Iowa. That injury ended his 2023 season, and may have caused him to slip to the second round.
DeJean is an ultra-versatile defensive back who was expected to compete for starting jobs either at outside corner or in the slot. His chances of starting Week 1 took a big hit as a result of this setback.
The PUP list is a tool teams use for players prior to the start of training camp, in case the player is not ready for the start of the regular season. The PUP list must be applied to a player prior to the start of training camp, or it cannot be used at all. Once a player practices in camp, at all, they immediately become ineligible for the PUP list during the regular season. The player cannot participate in practice while on the PUP list.
The benefit of the PUP list is that a player is eligible to come off of it during training camp, or, if the team deems it necessary, after the first four games of the regular season. Once the regular season starts and the player remains on the PUP list, they must spend the first four weeks on the PUP list, and they would not count toward one of the 53 roster spots. (They would still count toward one of the 90 roster spots while on PUP during training camp.)
A short explanation of the NFI (non-football injury) list, which DeJean will be on, is that it essentially functions the same way as the PUP list, but is reserved for players who were injured outside of normal team activities.
Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles had one of the worst defenses in football. They had one of the best offenses to combat that, so they were still a great team, but their upside was capped as a result.
With a new defensive coordinator as well as some more pieces to work with, that unit is the ultimate X-factor of the Eagles’ 2024 season. It has the potential to be great, but can it? What might that actually do for Philadelphia?
Eagles’ Defensive Woes in 2023
In terms of expected points average (EPA) per play last season, the Eagles had the third-worst rushing defense and the fourth-worst defense overall. With their EPA per play allowed being nearly seven times higher than the closest playoff team (0.058 versus the Green Bay Packers 0.009), Philadelphia’s offense did all of the heavy lifting in 2023—ideally, that can’t be happening again.
The Eagles, while going 11-6 and threatening to boast the best record in the NFC before an abysmal six-game stretch to end the season, were 30th in points against across the NFL and seventh in points for. The offense kept them in games, but they were never able to win in a blowout because the whole 53-man roster was never able to put it together. Whether it was the offense or defense not doing their fair share, something always went wrong—that is poised to change.
Can the Eagles Return to Form with Fangio?
PHOTO: —
We can’t say for certain how much the Eagles’ defense will improve—if at all—but overhauling the coaching staff on that side of the ball and emphasizing the secondary in the 2024 NFL Draft should definitely help. Bringing in Vic Fangio, a long-time defensive guru and Pennsylvania native, a voice like his should definitely change some things around. Seeing as he hasn’t manned a bottom-27 defense in terms of points since 2005, it’s safe to say he’ll be an upgrade for the Birds.
He should do especially well (or, at least, not as poor as Sean Desai and Matt Patricia) because of one big reason: the potential in the group he is taking over. There is simply too much talent to be outdone by 29 or more teams in the league.
When the Eagles went to the Super Bowl in 2022, they had the fourth-best defense in EPA per play but did rank 23rd against the run. With their elite pass defense, they had the eighth-best points-against rate in the league—it should come as no surprise that they went 14-3, as they coupled that with the league’s third-best offense.
Considering the fact that the Eagles added Saquon Barkley during the 2024 offseason, there isn’t too much of a reason to believe their offense will actively get worse. Yes, they lost Jason Kelce, but a player of Barkley’s talent would rather inspire that Philadelphia’s offense can be better—that unit should soar no matter what.
But the defense? That’s where everything is a complete mystery. Going from 70 sacks to a measly 43 from 2022 to 2023 and severely regressing in pass defense, having a bolstered secondary with Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson could help out more than words can describe.
The sky is the limit for Fangio here, but can he put it all together? Will the Eagles’ defense be poor again? Will it be around average (which would be a significant upgrade from last season)? Or can it be great, perhaps taking Philadelphia back to their Super Bowl expectations from 2022? That’s what’s on the line.
Fangio doesn’t need to field the NFL’s best defense, because that would be asking for far too much. However, he has the tools to work with to help the Eagles shine in 2024. He has never won a Vince Lombardi Trophy partially due to a lack of roster talent through the years—the 65-year-old finally has it.
With 14 Corners under contract and over 2 months before any final roster decisions, the Eagles will have a deep secondary. But who will make the cut?
Similar to the last few seasons at defensive tackle, the Eagles have made acquisition after acquisition in the secondary to revamp a defense that gave up 252.7 passing yards a game, ranking 31st in Passing Yards against.
Even with the draft picks, the Eagles will have most of the same secondary they did last season, with the following players returning.
Darius Slay
James Bradberry
Avonte Maddox
Kelee Ringo
Zech McPhearson
Eli Ricks
Josh Jobe
With the additions of Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Isaiah Rodgers, there will be a few odd men out unless something changes with those already under contract.
During the last training camp, the Eagles had 5 options at running back before only using 3 throughout the entire season. (We’ll still never know why Swift didn’t play week 1)
But for the Eagles’ corners, things changed throughout the last 3 days, as we’ve seen Kelee Ringo and Isaiah Rodgers at CB2 already. With Mitchell, DeJean, and Rodgers sharing 2nd team throughout the week, the Eagles might finally have the depth if multiple injuries occur once the season picks up.
So, Who’s Out?
During the Eagles minicamp, multiple things came up.
Wow — Nick Sirianni says James Bradberry is taking reps at safety
Says lots of great corners have gone on to be great safeties
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) June 4, 2024
The Eagles seemed to already have assessed the Safety position this offseason, bringing back C.J. Gardner-Johnson on a three-year deal. And if Maddox is ‘learning the safety position,’ that will end up being another depth piece behind those penciled-in starters.
If Bradberry is also getting a change of scenery on the field, perhaps this is the end of the road before getting traded or cut. We’ll have to wait and see, as Bradberry went to the medical tent at the start of the minicamp and wasn’t a participant for the rest of the week.
While I’m sure, there are plenty who may want Bradberry off the team as soon as possible. The Eagles have the cap space committed to the player, and he was a ‘part of the plans‘ (12:04) during the Combine. If there’s a team in desperate need of a corner, Bradberry might be on the block to make room for the new additions to the Eagles.
With another month plus break before more Eagles football. Who do you have making the roster in the secondary?
Heading into Day 2 of the draft after selecting CB Quinyon Mitchell in the first round, it felt a lot like the Philadelphia Eagles would address their offensive line, wide receiver, or maybe even linebacker with their two second-round picks at 50 and 53. However, just eight picks into Round 2, the Birds were suddenly on the clock at pick 40 after trading up with Washington. They then double dipped at defensive back, selecting Iowa’s Cooper DeJean.
Pick 40: Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa
We’ll get to DeJean in a moment, but first let’s look at the trade, and the value of each pick according to the trade value chart:
Eagles got
Commanders got
Pick 40 (500 points)
Pick 50 (400 points)
Pick 78 (200 points)
Pick 53 (370 points)
Pick 152 (31 points)
Pick 161 (27 points)
731 points
797 points
The Eagles gave up 66 points of value to move up, or roughly the equivalent of a fourth-round pick. In other words, you could say that the Eagles paid a premium of a fourth-round pick to make that deal. They did it because they felt they were getting a player they had rated as a first-round player at pick 40.
“He was a first-round player for us,” Howie Roseman said. “You know, Jeffrey [Lurie] said this tonight, you know, it’s rare for us to be picking in the 20s and to get two first-round players. You know, both those guys were first-round players for us. We didn’t have 32 first round guys, so when you get that opportunity to get two first-round guys, especially picking where we were, we felt like it was an opportunity and it was obviously an area we wanted to address. We felt like we addressed a lot of the areas of our football team through free agency, but that was one area we could address [in the draft].”
If the Eagles had just sat tight, they might not have had another cornerback worth of a mid-second-round pick reach them. And personally speaking, while I liked McKinstry, Lassiter, and Melton, I found DeJean to be a much more intriguing prospect than any of them.
DeJean is an extremely versatile player who can play outside corner, slot corner, safety, or even some linebacker. He was also one of the best punt returners in college football, and he’s an outstanding gunner. He is simply a ridiculous athlete and was a great college football player.
In 2022, DeJean had 75 tackles, 5 INTs (3 pick-sixes), and 8 pass breakups. Here are all five of those picks:
In 10 games in 2023, he had 41 tackles, 2 INTs, and 2 punt return TDs (one didn’t count).
DeJean’s 2023 season was cut short when he fractured his right fibula in practice. He missed most of the pre-draft process, and he likely slid in the draft as a result. It will be interesting to see what kind of plan the Eagles have for DeJean, who Vic Fangio can plug in wherever he sees fit.
Roseman wasn’t very revealing about their specific plans for DeJean.
“He’s such a good player,” Roseman said. “You know, I think whatever he does he’s going to do at a high level. Obviously we’ll get him in here, and like everything else on this team, see how the pieces fit when [Fangio] and his staff get their hands on these guys.”
The Eagles’ secondary depth chart now looks something like this:
Defense
1
2
3
4
5
CB
Darius Slay
Cooper DeJean
Josh Jobe
James Bradberry (likely cap casualty)
S
Reed Blankenship
Sydney Brown
Mekhi Garner
S
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
Tristin McCollum
CB
Quinyon Mitchell
Kelee Ringo
Isaiah Rodgers
Eli Ricks
SCB
Avonte Maddox
Zech McPhearson
Tyler Hall
Mario Goodrich
Tiawan Mullen
The Eagles’ pass defense in 2023 was atrocious, and the Eagles have put significant resources toward fixing that, beginning with the addition of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in free agency, and then the selection of a pair of highly-rated defensive backs in Mitchell and DeJean in the first two rounds of the draft. They also still employ Darius Slay, and they have other young players in the pipeline like Kelee Ringo, Isaiah Rodgers, Sydney Brown, and Reed Blankenship. This is a group that can grow and mature together.
Grade: A-
Trade: The Eagles moved back from Pick 78 to Pick 86
Among that group of players, I thought that Puni, Lloyd, and Isaac would have all made sense for the Eagles at that juncture. Smith and Jones would too, if the Eagles hadn’t already drafted two defensive backs.
Side note: The Eagles traded what became “Pick 86” to the Texans last year for a fourth-round pick that was used to select Kelee Ringo. They then re-acquired it, and traded it away again.
Pick 94: Jalyx Hunt, EDGE, Houston Christian
Hunt was a safety at Cornell who transferred to Houston Christian and became an edge rusher. The Eagles announced him as a linebacker. He’ll likely play the SAM position.
The last two seasons (21 games) at Houston Christian, Hunt had 13.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles. He had an impressive Combine performance.
I won’t pretend to have watched Houston Christian games, so we’ll let Lance Zierlein of NFL Network do the heavy lifting on the scouting report here:
Hunt is a small-school edge defender possessing notable athletic traits and the potential to get bigger and stronger. He currently lacks the lower-body anchor and general play strength to go up against NFL opponents, but the team drafting him is likely to view him as a developmental prospect in need of time to build his frame and his game. Hunt’s speed is obvious as a pass rusher and in run pursuit, but proving he can survive against a downhill running attack could be the difference between challenging for a rotational role or hoping to become a designated pass rusher.
The Eagles have plenty of short-term depth on the edges in Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, Brandon Graham, and Zack Baun. Hunt is developmental prospect and likely won’t get much playing time as a rookie. The Eagles will hope that they can get the most out of his raw athletic ability long-term.
“He’s got freaky tools in his body,” Roseman said. “He’s an explosive guy. If you watch his best plays, he’s doing things that are unique. He can bend. He can close. He can finish. He’s long. He’s an extremely smart kid obviously coming from Cornell.
“You know, we feel like we got a good edge rush group. He doesn’t have to come in here – we’re going to develop him like we talk about. This is a perfect developmental guy for us because of the tools in his body and his character and work ethic, and we think we can really find something with him. That’s on us. That’s on how he’s going to work.
“You know, you can say, well, that’s the third round and you’re a good team, why are you doing that? Because these guys are hard to find. We believe in edge rushers and we just felt like there was a tremendous buy-in from our staff about this player. Obviously from the coaching staff, from the front office we thought this guy had tremendous tools. When you get guys like that it’s exciting to see what they can become. Again, we feel like we like our edge group. We didn’t have to add there, but it’s exciting to get a guy like this.”
Because Houston Christian games aren’t exactly easy to find, I can really only have so much of an opinion on this player.
The pessimistic view is that the Eagles have had their share of third-round developmental types who have busted in the past, like Davion Taylor, Curtis Marsh, Bryan Smith, etc.
The optimistic view is that two of the three draft analysts we mentioned above in the DeJean section had Hunt rated at least 24 spots higher than where he was drafted.
The now former Toledo Rocket was the first corner taken in the draft.
Talk about having your choice of pick at #22!
Things took an amazing turn for the Eagles when 14 picks had gone by and all of them were offensive players.
The bad news at the time, was the first defensive player taken off the board was Laiatu Latu. Notably at the top of my list for the birds to hopefully land (see more here). Fortunately, the best option for the Eagles was a Cornerback at 22, and with every option available. Quinyon became the surprisingly easy choice.
Tons of mock drafts were shaken up when the first 12 picks included 6 Quarterbacks. The below mocks had Quinyon projected to go at the following picks:
CBS (Prisco): Jaguars @ 17th NFL (Jeremiah): Jaguars @ 17th ESPN (Yates): Eagles @ 16th, acquiring 81 in exchange for 22 and 50 Bleacher Report: Falcons @ 8th
Stats From Toledo
In the past 2 seasons, Mitchell was productive for the Rockets.
With 41 Tackles each year. 6 Interceptions (5 in 2022). And 37 Passes Defended. (Stats From Sports-Reference)
Mitchell was a lockdown corner in Toledo, allowing a 44.7 QBR when targeted.
Coming in at 6’0, 197lbs, Mitchell posted a 4.33s 40-yard dash at the combine and turned heads at the Senior Bowl. Getting praise tonight from Nick Saban and Howie Roseman about his performances going up against some of the NCAA’s best.
While some worry might come from the level of competition faced in the MAC. The same concern was voiced when the Jets drafted Sauce Gardner, and I don’t think they’re complaining about his play in MetLife.
2 More Draft Days, 7 More Picks
We’ve only gotten through 32 picks of the Draft. And the Eagles already made another standout pick. Even after tonight, big names like Kool-Aid McKinstry and Cooper DeJean are still on the board. And even with some other positions of need available as we’ll approach the middle of the 2nd round. The Eagles have already addressed plenty of question marks in the roster during the off-season with their plethora of free agent moves. Even if they’re not looking for Year 1 starters, below are a few picks I could see the Eagles making tomorrow (subject to availability)
S Javon Bullard, Georgia
TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas
LB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M
LB Junior Colson, Michigan
Edge Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan
Who do you think the Eagles will take with their Day 2 draft picks?
With three weeks until the NFL draft. Rosters are beginning to take shape and some clear picks are beginning to show.
With the Bears, Patriots and Commanders expected to take their QBs of the future. There will be a long way to go to see who might fall to the Eagles with the 22nd overall pick.
While the Eagles have recently ended the conversation whether they would trade Reddick or Sweat. Another hole has opened in the depth of the roster.
Sure the Eagles have already signed Bryce Huff to a $51M deal and have Nolan Smith waiting in the wings after only playing 188 defensive snaps in his rookie season. Barely seeing an increase in playtime after the Eagles had waived Derek Barnett prior to their Week 11 game against Buffalo.
Laiatu Latu – Edge, UCLA
Re-filling the edge-rusher position after trading away Reddick, with Brandon Graham on his final season all while not knowing what you have in Smith and Huff is probably one of the best options for the Eagles at #22. Similar to drafting Davis and Carter in lieu of Hargrave and Cox departures in the last two seasons.
The biggest area of concern regarding Latu is from a neck injury he suffered during a preseason workout in 2020. An injury that had the University of Washington medical staff refusing to medically clear him to continue playing.
The Eagles have had multiple instances of drafting players with this warning, including Josh Sweat and Nakobe Dean.
If the Eagles don’t believe that Huff and Smith are able to take over enough of the defensive snaps. Bringing in Latu could be the final piece to a new defensive line.
NFL.com has multiple mock drafts with Latu going to the Rams at 19 and 24, as well as the Buccaneers at 26. He might fall perfectly within the Eagles range.
Kool-Aid McKinstry – CB, Alabama
After the disastrous end to the Eagles season. It’s clear a new CB might be needed on the roster. They’ve already gone and re-signed C.J. Gardner Johnson and now brought back Avonte Maddox as well.
James Bradberry was “part of the plan” when Howie Roseman spoke at the combine, but things can always change by September.
There’s plenty of available Cornerbacks in this draft. From Quinyon Mitchell, Nate Wiggins, Cooper DeJean and McKinstry are all projected to go in the late 1st round per NFL.com’s mock drafts.
Much like Latu. The Eagles may have to look at trading up if they wanted to go after Mitchell in the draft. However, if they wanted to move back in the 1st, McKinstry could be available past 22nd. Allowing the Eagles to regain assets later in the draft.
With Bradberry and Slay still under contract for multiple seasons. The Eagles should be looking to drafting their predecessors like they have on the defensive line. Unless Eli Ricks or Kelee Ringo have breakout sophomore seasons, a long-term solution needs to be put in place alongside Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown in the secondary. McKinstry could be that answer, and could even allow them to trade Bradberry before the start of the season. Rumors have swirled about the Eagles landing Surtain from the Broncos, but I’d prefer to draft and acquire a starting caliber player still on a rookie deal.
No Offensive Picks?
The offence may not have been able to score at will last season. But the Eagles defense hemorrhaged yards and points beyond belief last year. Was it all on coaching?
The Eagles have already gone and signed Saquon Barkley, DeVante Parker, Matt Hennessy and Parris Campbell plus more additions for the offense. Taking another day one defensive pick won’t hurt an offense that recently extended two players on the offensive line. With Mailata, Dickerson and Jurgens all under contract for multiple years. There’s multiple options for the Eagles to find a Right Guard late in the draft if Steen hasn’t won the starters spot.
The Eagles will still have 7 draft picks following the 22nd pick. Where they’ve been able to make successful picks in the later rounds, including 2 more picks in the the top 60.
Who do you have the Eagles drafting in the 1st round?
