Philly Front Office

Ok, we’ve had a chance to get a few hours sleep, wake up, digest all the Jihaad Campbell material possible, and now we must get back to work.  It’s time to prepare for the 2nd and 3rd rounds.  I’ve got your Day 2 cheat sheet right here:

Team Needs

Technically Campbell is a LB, but he might take care of our EDGE need considering his versatility.  Afterall, he was the top EDGE prospect in the country going into his career at Alabama.  I’d say they don’t double down on the position.  That leaves TE, S, DT, and then CB, WR, and OT with the top 3 getting priority over the bottom 3, but with the caveat that Howie will take the best player available no matter what.

• If they do not get a TE tonight, I think league trades are more likely than taking a lesser prospect later (Michael Mayer, I’m looking very creepily in your direction). 
• The draft is thick with DTs so there is likely value and inventory tonight to poach. 
• Reed Blankenship is the only starting caliber safety on the roster.
• I like the idea of drafting a FAST receiver.  I don’t know who that would be, but it keeps not working out for us.  I want this to be more of a WR4 than taking Jahan Dotson’s spot
• The OT position is one for the future and this year’s depth.  This means they can either opt not to take one or take a toolsy project to work on for the next two years.  Each year we wait for someone to fall to us, but it hasn’t happened yet.  I wanted Dawand Jones last year, but I’m not sure of his equivalent this time around.
• Isaiah Rodgers sticking around would have been ideal, but without him, we are leaning on Eli Ricks and Kelee Ringo to be the other outside guy.  Not sure how we all feel about that.

On the Board

The 2^nd round is still a solid place to get starter level talent, especially in a draft like this that is short on elite level talent but deep in solid guys.

• CB Will Johnson – He was supposed to go high but slipped big time
• S Nick Emmanwori – He is one of the most athletic big men you will ever see at 6’3”, 220 lbs and a perfect 10 RAS score.  Him being the last line of defense on, well, the defense is a crazy scenario.
• DE Donovan Ezeiruaku – 16.5 sacks last year for Boston College
• EDGE Landon Jackson – He blew the doors off the combine.
• CB Trey Amos – Mocked to us more than a few times at 32. I am a little more ravenous for adding a CB than most though.
• EDGE Nick Scourton – He is only 20 years old and had legitimate production on a big time d-line last year despite playing out of position.
• TE Mason Taylor – We need to address the position, but Taylor would have to fall some for us to get him. Teams love that pedigree though. I see us getting Arroyo or Fannin because they are more complete TEs while Taylor is more of a large receiver type.
• TE Elijah Arroyo – He is extremely athletic. He got hurt in the draft lead up and has an injury history which might turn beneficial for the Eagles
• TE Harold Fannin – Elite production at a small school isn’t a bad thing. What else could the guy do? His former coach is now working for the Eagles btw. (I feel like this is the guy)
• S Xavier Watts – Ballhawk. Also an All American at Notre Dame and is the kind of smart quality leader the Eagles would have no problem plugging into the back of their defense.
• DT Darius Alexander – If Quinyon Mitchell is the best guy to come out of Toledo, Alexander is second. He is the perfect kind of DT project to come into our line. If we could get him in the 3rd, that would be spectacular
• DT TJ Sanders – This is the Milton Williams replacement right here
• WR Jaylin Noel – Deep threat WR3/4 that I want. Sub 4.4 speed
• QB Jalen Milroe – I was going to put him on the Off the Board list until I thought about it a little more. What team is going to take him? I don’t think the Saints are actually in the market for a QB this year and would prefer to tank it out with Spencer Rattler. Cleveland looks poised to take Shadeur Sanders. That leaves Pittsburgh…but they don’t pick again until 83. If they don’t want him, it is not crazy to think the Eagles would pick him up as a 3rd string this season and backup next year. If no one sees him as a potential starter, that means we are only competing with teams who want him as a backup. There’s value there.

Off the Board

These are players we don’t want for one reason or another, but could be taken ahead of us and push “our guys” down the line.

• EDGE Mike Green – I keep hearing that we would be interested, but he has two dropped sex assault cases against him and I can’t see us taking that chance.  All things being equal, I don’t think they will go out of their way to get Mike Green.
• QB Shadeur Sanders – Will be taken too high to be our project QB
• WR Luther Burden – Hell, I would be happy to have him, but he will likely go too high for us. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns went Sanders and Burden with their top 2 picks
• RB TreVeyon Henderson – We aren’t drafting a RB in the 2nd or 3rd rounds
• LB Carson Schwesinger – He is the 2nd best LB in the draft, but we already have #1
• CBs – In general, we don’t need one. Since only 1 went off the board in the first round, there could be a good amount coming off the board early
• RBs – Day 2 is the sweet spot for RBs. I don’t think we have any intention of bringing one in until later rounds this year, so let them go
• WRs – As much as I want a deep threat, this spot isn’t exactly on the top of the list

Where Can We Trade?

We are still armed with our own 2nd, 3rd, and 4th picks plus three 5ths. Next year we have two extra 3rds, an extra 4th, and two extra 5ths. Two of those 3rds next year could get us an extra 2nd this year, somewhere in the middle. Basically, a next round pick can move you up, while two of them can possibly by one straight up. We don’t have a ton to work with because our picks are last every round, but we do have extra picks galore.

Runs

We saw a ton of offensive lineman go off the board yesterday, more than expected. This is because it was a limited position and teams didn’t want to lose the game of musical chairs. Last year, Howie got ahead of the second round run on CBs by trading up for Cooper DeJean.

• The big run I am expecting is on CBs. Only 1 went off the board in the first round and that bodes very well for our needs. This isn’t dissimilar to last year except we are already pretty stacked. Guys like Will Johnson and Trey Amos will lead the charge, but there could be 3 others taken in the 2nd round this year.
• The next big pocket is RBs. Smart teams get their running backs in the second and third round because outside the tippy top, they are replaceable. Since Saquon put a little extra hype to the position this year, expect Henderson to go first followed by his teammate Judkins and possibly 2 more in the 2nd.
• EDGE rushers seem to be a dime a dozen in this draft with plenty still on the board. If they are off our board because of the Campbell pick, that would be very good news.

Prediction

It’s hard to really judge, but I can see Howie moving up around 10 spots in the 2nd round for someone falling and then trying to get another 3rd rounder. The plan would be to nab a DT falling in the 2nd, and a safety and tight end in the 3rd.