There have been a million rumors and mock drafts and various tidbits floating around in the weeks and months leading up to the NFL Draft.

Experts seem to think cornerback makes sense for the Eagles at #12. They could definitely use another receiver. Help on the offensive line is always wanted and never rule out a quarterback.

But defensive line hasn’t been mentioned really at all, until this week. There’s now a Kwity Paye rumor floating around out there. There is smoke, wafting into the air, but is fire the source? Or is the smoke a byproduct of bloviating bullshit?

The Paye mention we shared yesterday came from Daniel Jeremiah, who said this on WIP:

“A defensive lineman would make some sense. Maybe they would feel comfortable with Jaelan Phillips. If they did, he’s a freak show talent. Could go Kwity Paye or something like that.”

Not much there at all. Just dropping the name. Paye is a good EDGE coming out of Michigan who has drawn some BG comparisons when linked to the Eagles.

Here’s another Paye tidbit, from Tony Pauline of the Pro Football Network:

“(12:55 PM ET) I’m told the team loves Kwity Paye, the edge rusher from Michigan, and view him as a clone to another former Wolverine — Brandon Graham — the Eagles’ former first-round pick. Could they take him with the 12th overall selection? I’d say right now, it’s possible.”

Who is Tony Pauline? He used to work with the Birds’ official website. He predicted the Jalen Reagor selection last season, along with Lance Zierlein. They were the two dudes that were on top of that one.

On paper, Paye does seem to be the type of player the Eagles would draft. They love edge rushers. They’ve selected a million of them in the past. And with BG soon moving on, and Derek Barnett on the last year of his deal, the only guarantee moving forward is Josh Sweat. There’s a very brief shelf life for this unit, as currently constructed.

Paye is about 6’3″, 265 pounds, and played four season at Michigan, but only four games this season with 19 starts across the entirety of his career. In 2019, he logged 49 tackles and 6.5 sacks on a Wolverines team that went 9-4 and lost to Alabama in the Citrus Bowl. The consensus take is that he’s athletic with a ton of upside, but still a little raw and in need of technical refinement.

Zierlein wrote the Paye profile at NFL.com:

The explosive testing will surely get teams and evaluators excited, but it might be hard to bang the table for him based on the tape. Paye’s traits and potential should not be discounted, as he’ll continue to be skilled up in technique and fundamentals. However, he’s a choppy-stepping short-strider who doesn’t play with the feel and instincts of an NFL playmaker. He can overcome his lack of stride length as a rusher with a more focused, upfield attack and better hands at the top of his rush, but he might be better-suited as a reduced rusher on passing downs, where his quickness could overwhelm guards. The traits and explosiveness are enticing but the film says “good” rather than “great” at this time.

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, though Zierlein’s NFL comparison is Emmanuel Ogbah, who posted some career highs with Miami this year after dealing with early career injuries.

Here’s the blurb from The Draft Network:

Kwity Paye is an exciting prospect whose potential and physical ability is only now beginning to be realized on the gridiron. There’s an extremely high ceiling in Paye’s game thanks to his athletic abilities; if his NFL team is able to continue to draw fundamental improvements out of him to allow him to continue to simply react to discard or defeat blocks, he’ll be in line for plenty of explosive plays in opposing backfields. The steps Paye made in 2020 during the abbreviated season should only further fuel optimism that his development is still on an upward trajectory. Paye has won in the past most sufficiently from tight alignments and utilized his powerful hands and functional strength to diminish angles and find creases to press through and rally to the football. I do feel he’s a bit more of a linear athlete and his ability to collapse tackle sets with speed to power is going to shine more frequently than his reps when looking to crash off the edge and win with finesse. Paye has been forged by fire through a challenging upbringing as an immigrant and finds his “why” in taking care of his family — he’s internally driven and appears to be the kind of individual you want in your building to buy into the process. He’s a home run from an intangibles, effort and tools perspective but his scheme fit is an important accommodation to make for optimal success.

Interesting player, and definitely the type of person the Eagles would draft.

Will they? Should they? We’re standing by.