So far, so good.

The Eagles traded up, didn’t overthink it, and ended up with Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Rounds two and three are tonight, and some really intriguing names remain. The Birds are on the clock at #37, which will be the fifth pick of round two. That gives them a very appetizing platter of talent to choose from. This buffet includes first round talent that slipped into the second round, and based on how the board currently looks, here are five guys we think would be worthy of consideration for the Birds:

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

He’s the Notre Dame linebacker/safety hybrid. Most experts had him going in the first round.

Owusu-Koramoah is a shade under 6’2″ and plays at about 221 pounds, so it’s true that he’s somewhat of a tweener in body type. But the guy won the Butkus Award while coming in as a finalist for the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy. For context, the four guys who won the Butkus Award prior to “JOK” were Isaiah Simmons, Devin White, Roquan Smith, and Reuben Foster, all of whom were first round draft picks.


He’s a super-talented player who only logged two seasons in South Bend, about 25 games total, but racked up 10 sacks, five forced fumbles, and 134 tackles in that time frame.

Trevon Moehrig

The safety out of TCU.

Yes, the Eagles did go out and draft K’Von Wallace last year, and they added Anthony Harris this year, but Rodney McLeod isn’t getting any younger, and they need secondary help wherever they can find it, especially in the form of a young guy who can play single-high and track the ball.

Moehrig was actually a corner coming out of high school, but converted under defensive guru Gary Patterson.

Chad Reuter at NFL.com:

“…voted first-team All-Big 12 by league coaches after posting 62 tackles, 1.5 for loss, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He ascended to an Associated Press second-team All-American, Jim Thorpe Award (top DB) winner and first-team all-conference pick as a junior (47 tackles, two for loss, two interceptions, team-high nine pass breakups)”

Good player. Even in the shortened 2020 season he logged 9 PBUs and 2 interceptions.

Azeez Ojulari

The Georgia edge rusher.

He was projected as a first rounder, but there’s been a little bit of smoke about injuries on Twitter:

If healthy, the guy is a beast. He had 9.5 sacks this year and four forced fumbles. 12.5 of his 31 tackles were for a loss, which is crazy. Especially in the SEC, which always features pretty good OTs.

Ojulari was the consensus #4 EDGE in this draft, on most boards. Kwity Paye, Jaelen Philips, and Zaven Collins were the top three, and all went in the first round.

Christian Barmore

Would the Eagles take TWO players from Alabama? Barmore is a Philly native who came out of Neumann-Goretti High School.

He played DT for the Tide, and that’s a position the Eagles don’t exactly need right now, though depth would really help. Fletcher Cox isn’t getting any younger. Javon Hargrave hasn’t exactly lived up to his deal. Hassan Ridgeway is coming off injury. You tell me if you’d go DT in this draft, factoring in what we know about the Birds and their love of defensive linemen.

Good senior year stats for Barmore, who logged 37 tackles, 9.5 for loss, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles. He also batted down three passes. A lot of mocks had him going somewhere at the end of the first round.

Asante Samuel Jr.

Let’s be honest, 99% of what we know about the younger Samuel is based on the reputation of his father. I’d venture that most Eagles fans didn’t watch a single snap during his time at Florida State.

Here’s how Lance Zierlein describes him:

Cornerback with NFL bloodlines and disruptive strength to make contested catches a true challenge for wide receivers. Samuel has good feet, but average size and transition burst to shadow breaks. He allowed too many catches in front of his face, especially early in the 2020 season. He plays with good technique in closing out and crowding receivers headed down the field but has a tendency to go overboard when face-guarding, turning his coverage into flags. He has the traits and talent to turn some catches into incompletions with a change in approach. Samuel has nickel talent, but might just be average as a pro.

He really is similar to his dad. Samuel, Jr. has natural ball hawking skills. Good awareness and can keep up with anybody. On film, he does sometimes get grabby, as Zierlein mentions. And he’s not a stout tackler, which was a hallmark of the elder Samuel, who whiffed more times than I can recall.

But the Birds need a corner and five are off the board already, with a late first round run after Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain went. It will soon be slim pickings in this area, and if Samuel Jr. is there you have to think about it.