Mel Kiper Jr. – great hair, pretty good draft analysis.

Mel’s mock draft 2.0 came out this morning, and he has the Eagles taking a cornerback????… with the 25th overall pick.

The blurb:

Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson

Injuries in the secondary really hurt the Eagles in 2018, as the defense couldn’t match the play that led it a Super Bowl LII victory. And with Ronald Darby possibly leaving in free agency, cornerback is a spot to target here or with one of their two second-round picks. Mullen had an inconsistent 2018 season, but he has some excellent 2017 tape. And at 6-foot-2, 186 pounds, he’s a big corner. He should test well in Indianapolis.

I find this somewhat interesting. Sure, defensive back looked like a huge area of need midway through the season, when guys were dropping like flies, but the Eagles rebounded nicely and we saw some positive things from the likes of Cre’Von LeBlanc, Avonte Maddox, and Rasul Douglas.

In addition to those three at corner, the rest of your secondary looks like this:

  • safety: Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod (on restructured deal), Deiondre’ Hall, Tre Sullivan
  • corner: Jalen Mills, Sidney Jones, Josh Hawkins, Elie Bouka

So that’s a reasonable CB group of LeBlanc, Maddox, Douglas, Mills, and Jones.

If ask me what I think the Eagles need most, it’s going to be help on the defensive line. You’ve got the departure of Brandon Graham in free agency, Derrick Barnett is returning from injury, and there are a lot of depth and contract question marks across the unit.

With the draft being strong at defensive tackle and edge rusher, the Eagles are more likely to find a day one contributor in that department, rather than corner.

That’s what Todd McShay has the Eagles doing in his 2.0 mock draft, which came out February 7th:

Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson*

It’s no secret that the Eagles want a cornerback, but this is some really, really good value. Put Lawrence next to Fletcher Cox and let those two plug the middle of a line that was in the bottom third in rush defense this season.

Mock drafts at CBS Sports and NFL.com also have the Eagles drafting a defensive lineman, so Kiper’s mock seems to stand alone. The Birds could also use help at linebacker with the departure of Jordan Hicks in free agency.

Lawrence’s name appears on a few different mocks I see, so I’ll leave you with some clips of his play. He’s a big boy: