We haven’t done a lot of Eagles-related draft stuff this year. Why? Because the Flyers were intriguing before their meltdown, the Sixers are BACK, and the Phillies have World Series expectations. There are other things to talk about, and, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m still burned out on the Eagles after last year’s epic collapse. Still totally jaded.

The Birds also draft outside of the top 20 this year, so naturally there’s less intrigue since they’re not in range of a generational talent like Marvin Harrison Jr. or Joe Alt. You do find superstars at #22, and in the second round, where the Eagles have two selections, but barring some sort of first round leap of a trade, they’re probably not moving significantly up the board.

Naturally, you always ask yourself what your team needs going into the draft. The Eagles need defensive help more than anything. They need a corner, a linebacker, and an edge rusher. They could go for an offensive guard to replace Cam Jurgens, who is likely moving inside to take over for Jason Kelce. They could use more at tight end and wide receiver, where Pro Bowl talent exists at the top of the depth chart, then quickly and steeply falls off. They’re pretty solid elsewhere. They don’t need a quarterback or running back. They don’t need offensive tackles (yet) or interior defensive linemen. They don’t need a kicker, a returner, a long snapper, or any other positions you wouldn’t waste draft picks on anyway.

So when you make those considerations, I initially talked myself into a mock draft that looked something like this:

  • round 1 (#22 overall) – best cornerback on the board
  • round 2 (#50 overall) – best edge rusher on the board
  • round 2 (#53 overall) – best linebacker on the board
  • rounds 4, 5, and 6 – give me a tight end, O line, and receiver, not in any particular order

The thought was pretty simple. Use your first three picks to add one player at each level of the defense. Add in the secondary, at linebacker, and in the trenches. Then you use that fourth rounder and your three 5th round picks, maybe the 6th depending on how they package and trade, and address offensive depth from there.

Then I started to think about it a little bit and came to the conclusion that I’d have zero problem with the Eagles going offensive line in the first or second round. Sure, they’ve got Tyler Steen and Matt Hennessy in the mix at right guard, and even though Jurgens is presumably moving inside to replace Kelce, you technically have 80% of your offensive line returning. Are you satisfied with that going into the year? Most fans would probably say yes, but we know how the Eagles value the offensive line, and because of that I am never going to complain about a first or second round offensive line draft selection. Not now, not ever. Sure, you get the occasional Andre Dillard or Danny Watkins, but more often than not you get a Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Jurgens, or even an Isaac Seumalo on that 2nd/3rd round fringe.

It’s a decent enough draft for interior offensive linemen. Dane Brugler is the guy who does the massive 300+ page draft breakdown every year, and he’s got six guards graded as first through third round talent. Troy Fautanu, who protected Michael Penix Jr. up in Washington, is the best guard in the draft and projected to come off the board somewhere in the middle of the first round.

That being said, I’d have no problem with this:

  • round 1 (#22 overall) – offensive line
  • round 2 (#50 overall) – best cornerback on the board
  • round 2 (#53 overall) – best linebacker or edge rusher on the board
  • rounds 4, 5, and 6 – linebacker or edge, whichever you didn’t take in the second, then tight end and receiver, maybe a safety or late round project

That’s an acceptable outcome as well, because you’re still using 66% of your top three picks to help Vic Fangio.

Regardless of individual player evaluations, the one thing that most analysts seem to agree on is that this class is particularly strong at offensive tackle, quarterback, and receiver, so three positions where the Eagles already have high-end talent. Lane Johnson can’t play forever, and if the Eagles feel like he’s close to retirement, this would be the draft in which to find his replacement. That, however, doesn’t answer the right guard question.

On the defensive side, the cornerback and EDGE classes are better than the linebacker class, by far. Most of the analysts I like (Lance Zierlein, Brugler, etc), grade out 5-7 corners and EDGE rushers with 1st or 2nd round grades, but the best linebacker is probably Michigan’s Junior Colson or TAMU’s Edgerrin Cooper. There are a couple of 3rd roundish guys that the Eagles may hope slide into the fourth, but there’s no consensus Devin Lloyd or Quay Walker type of guy, i.e. a slam dunk middle or late first rounder.

We know the Eagles value pass rush as much as anything, so they’ll probably add to the group of Josh Sweat, Bryce Huff, Nolan Smith, and the soon-to-be-retiring Brandon Graham. They really need to find their CB of the future, and they need help at linebacker, as is seemingly always the case, so if Howie uses his first three picks on any combo of offensive line, corner, LB, and EDGE, then it’s good. Mission accomplished.

Let’s get it done, Howie.