Eagles 7 Round Mock Draft: A surprise in the fifth round

Well now that the Eagles are out of the playoffs and the 2019/20 season is finished, it’s time to look to what they may do during the offseason. This year's offseason is easily the biggest the Eagles have faced in years with so many questions surrounding so many players, it puts the pressure on every little decision they make before the start of the 2020/21 season.  

Arguably the biggest part of the offseason is this year’s draft. The Eagles have a tendency of struggling to make use of valuable picks and with an aging roster, Howie, Doug and the rest of the crew cannot afford to fail in this year's draft. The Eagles have 10 picks in total:

1 1st rounder1 2nd rounder,2 3rd rounders3 4th rounders2 5th roundersand a 6th rounder.

These picks give the Eagles the perfect way to fill roles that they desperately need and also start to work on the needs they will need to fill in the coming few years.  

With all this being said, welcome to the first of many mock drafts I will be doing on the website. You’ll probably see a lot of changes from this mock draft to the last one I do in mid-April because a lot of the free agency questions will be answered and therefore, may sprout up different needs than what we needed at this current stage. Shall we get into it?  

Round 1 – Pick 21 – Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson:  

If any of you have laid their eyes on other mock drafts so far, you won’t be surprised to see the player I have picked at this point in the draft. This draft class is seriously rich with wide receiving talent and the Eagles need to take advantage of this, considering they’ve already lost Hollins this season and I cannot imagine they bring back Nelson Agholor.   

There’s a decent chance that at number 21 we have a choice between Higgins and Henry Ruggs from Alabama, but it’s a lot more likely that Higgins is still available at this point and that’s why I’ve gone for him. The big receiver comes from highly rated school Clemson, standing at 6 foot 4 and weighing 215 pounds.   

Now you may read the words ‘big receiver’ and think why do the Eagles need another when they have Alshon for another year, the drafted Arcega-Whiteside last year and then have two big tight ends in Ertz and Goedert. Higgins is a very deceiving receiver given his size. He’s a fantastic athlete who displays great speed and brilliant deep tracking ability.  

Higgins is great with his feet and can easily punish sloppy press from the DB’s with his footwork at the line of scrimmage. He loves to drop his weight at the top of his routes and is exceptional at winning contested catches across the field. The most deceiving thing from Higgins, considering his size, is his unbelievable RAC ability and defenders find it really difficult to wrap him up after he’s caught the ball.  

The one thing all Eagles fans can agree on is how badly the receivers this year were at catching the ball, but that isn’t an issue for Higgins, who has seriously secure hands and hardly ever tries to catch the ball with his chest. He isn’t scared of contact and will happily put his body into danger to complete his route and play. His body control is exceptional for someone of his size and it allows him to put his body in awkward positions to complete catches from throws like back shoulder ones.  

Higgins knows how to score touchdowns, equalling the Clemson TD record set by DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, so he’s keeping good company up on that Clemson record books. Higgins also offers you brilliant red zone ability, especially when running fade and slant routes, and with his size, gives you another option if you were to throw the ball into the air for him to catch. 

Obviously, he isn’t a complete animal and does have flaws. One is the fact that, even though he’s great at punishing the press with his feet, he struggles to beat it with his hands and that shouldn’t be something he’s bad at considering his size. Another thing he struggles with is run blocking. it will need to be massively improved over the summer if he wants to be the complete receiver he can be.  

He didn’t run a complete route tree at Clemson so you could class that as a worry about him, but in my eyes, he has the skills and talent to easily run whatever routes you want him to and this doesn’t worry me one bit. The only other thing I can say at this point, without the combine happening, etc, is that he does lose concentration on easy, short routes and it may lead to the odd mistake or dropped pass but listening to him in interviews and watching his focus and dedication, it wouldn’t surprise me that a move to the big league will make him more focused than ever.  

In summary, Higgins isn’t your usual big man receiver, he has deceiving speed and athleticism that allows him to break the mold of a big man receiver and be used as a hybrid receiver that can play anywhere across the receiving roles. He isn’t like Alshon and he isn’t strictly like DJax but a mix of those guys...and that can only mean good things for such a dynamic offense.

Round 2 – Pick 53 – Ashtyn Davis, S, California  

Do I truly believe Ashtyn Davis will fall to 53? No, I do not. I am so high on this guy right now, but that doesn’t mean the teams before the Eagles don't have him above other safeties in this draft class. Most big boards have him just making the top 5 safeties so there is a chance that he falls to the Eagles, and if he does, I’ll be so happy. 

Ashtyn comes from California, stands at 6 foot 1 and weighs 200 pounds. He’s the aggressive, driven, secure tackler that the Eagles are desperate for in the secondary. If he falls to 53, it’s a no brainer to take him.  

Davis's ability to initiate contact at the catch point and make a stand on the last line of defense is superb, with there being multiple times in his tape where he stops certain touchdowns as the last man.

His skills make him a perfect safety in a cover 2 system and is best at bursting downhill at receivers, closing them down if they’ve already caught the ball early on or closing down on receivers who are up for the catch. His support at stuffing runs in front of his face and stopping receivers from gaining more yards is highly impressive.   

His man coverage skills are solid enough for the NFL and he has a great success rate at punishing QBs that produce poor throws to the receivers he’s on, whether that punishment is with an interception or a simple swat and broken up pass.   

He will easily blow up both WRs and TEs on run supports and leave them stranded whilst he takes the runner down for little to no yardage, he reads play-action calls very well and hardly ever bites on them. He’s very quick and nimble on his feet, you’ll hardly ever see him planted in the ground during a play and he’s great at blitzing off the edge when needed to.   

His toughness and will to just simply play the game, win his tackles, pick passes off and punish offensive players is something that all football players should take note of and strive towards. I’d compare him to the Liam Jenkins of safeties, he will never not give you 110%.  

His versatility is a great asset of his. He has played at both safety and cornerback during his college career and whilst playing those positions he’s pretty much covered the entire field playing deep middle, deep half, quarters, nickel in man coverage and even some time as a nickel linebacker.   

By no means is Ashtyn the perfect safety and he does have a major flaw in the fact that he doesn’t have the skill set to play as a single high safety, however, that problem is solved if the Eagles manage to keep Malcolm Jenkins around. Malcolm can play with Ashtyn in a 2-safety setup and then Malcolm can take the reins when we play with a single high safety.  

Ashtyn isn’t burnt over the top by speedy receivers but on the odd occasion he can take weird angles on deep threat receivers which may cause him to miss a tackle or two but this is something that can be ironed out. He also struggles when he is put in the box and when he gets stuck in a block shedding situation on running plays.   

The only other thing that Ashtyn does that annoys me is he doesn’t close down tight window catches, instead leaving them to complete the catch and go out of bounds, which could be quite costly in certain circumstances.  

Other than that, Ashtyn, to me, is the perfect safety to take for the Eagles. His secure tackling and drive to do the best in every snap he plays is something the Eagles are screaming out for in that secondary. He and Malcolm would be a scary combination, a combination that may just inspire the rest of the secondary to pick their game up and improve for the team. 

Continued on the page below.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Round 3 – Pick 85 – Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississipi State  

The Eagles have two picks in the 3rd round, with the 2nd pick being a comp pick being projected for Nick Foles, so the next two picks can be interchangeable but I’ve gone for a cornerback over my second guy because cornerback is a position that's needed right now to harden up a very shaky secondary. 

The corner that I’ve picked is Cameron Dantzler from Mississipi State. Dantzler comes in at 6 foot 2 and 185 pounds. Dantzler has great passing defense skills, something the Eagles need considering that they were great at stuffing the run, but horrific at breaking up the passing game, allowing some bad QBs to tear them up during this past season. 

Dantzler has great reach and is brilliant at disrupting passes at the catching point for receivers, facing the ball when he does rather than tracking the runner. His man coverage skills are very solid for the next level.  

Dantzler excels in zone coverage and has a brilliant talent at reading a QB’s eyes and arms, predicting where he’ll be throwing the ball at the same time as the QB himself. He’ll pursue the ball brilliantly and will pounce on any mistake or even if there’s a slight chance of him swatting or picking the ball.   

Dantzler is great at getting himself into a good position to react to routes and uses his feet well to create separation that helps him rather than the receiver. His break on the ball and hands at the catch point are up there with the best corners in this draft class and he does well to break passes up and pull at the ball.  

Given his size, in terms of his height, Cameron does really well when having to put his body in awkward positions to play the ball or the receiver. He does very well at extending and maximizing his length if needed, which makes him a great asset at 6 foot 2.   

He ticks all the boxes with his speed and acceleration to play the outside and to keep up with receivers in coverage and when he’s flat-footed, he doesn’t lack spring in his step so being flat-footed isn’t that bad for him compared to other corners.  

He does really well when blitzing and hunts the ball well, always looking to take advantage of strip opportunities. Dantzler is nothing special at tackling but he’s solid enough and its an easily solvable issue for the higher level.  

Dantzler does struggle with his physicality, he’s long but hasn’t got enough meat on the bones to be dominant on run support, he’ll break poor block attempts but if he gets locked up, he won’t get out of it with ease.  

Like I just mentioned, his tackling is solid but not amazing, he won’t hit receivers and backs with force due to his lack of functional strength and he doesn’t have that aggressive nature that I was praising Ashtyn Davis for. He also does have trouble if a receiver quickly changes his route unexpectedly, say for instance if the opposition QB rolls out of the pocket and the receiver has to completely change his route, Dantzler may have a bit of lag when reacting to that change.  

Overall Dantzler isn’t the polished corner that some Eagles will want from this draft, but his skills at breaking up passes and reading the QBs eyes and arm are exceptional and something the Eagles desperately need in the secondary at the moment.   

Round 3 – Nick Foles Projected Comp Pick – Najee Harris, RB, Alabama  

Now some of you may be asking the question of why I am picking a running back so high, or at all when Miles Sanders had a potential OROTY season and Boston Scott had a breakout season that saved the Eagles’ season entirely. I’m picking a running back here because we still don’t know if Jordan Howard is coming back next year, and with the Eagles’ track record of letting their RB1 leave after their contract is up, something is telling me Howard isn’t staying in Philly.  

The running back I have chosen to take to form a 3-man band with Sanders and Scott is Alabama running back prospect, Najee Harris. Harris stands at 6 foot 2 and weighs in at 230 pounds. Harris is a scary, big running back who can fit the role of power back perfectly for the Eagles.   

Harris is a huge, huge dude for a running back but his skillset allows him to break the mold of a usual power back, his balance is exceptional for a man his size and the role he plays.   

The way he never seems to outrun his blockers is very impressive and allows him to go untouched for as long as possible, and then when he does get tackled, he can fight for so many more yards because of his size. He’s also pretty damn creative in the open field, there have been times where he’s hurdled defenders when they go to attack his legs and he has a seriously nasty sidestep for a man of his stature.   

He has serious skill for a power back and he is always falling forward despite his frame, which just shows how good his overall power is as a back. The Eagles have lacked a 3rd down back since Blount and Najee would fill this role really well.  

There are reasons Harris is projected to be a third-round guy and that’s because his frame stops him from having explosive speed or acceleration and he can probably be caught from behind because of it.  

Another flaw that Harris possesses is that NFL defenders are quicker than the college defenders he’s played against, so he’ll struggle to get the corner at the higher level and he’s not a long strider and will struggle to eat the grass up in the open field. He’ll always be a sharing back rather than a number 1 back but the Eagles aren’t looking for a number 1 guy, they have that in Sanders. His talents as a receiving back are also unknown considering he didn’t have the chance to prove it with that system he played in, but Sanders had that question mark over his head and he proved to everyone he’s a great receiving back.  

Round 4 – Pick 117 – Zach Shackelford, IOL, Texas  

This is another pick that some of you may be questioning, like the Harris pick, but there is reasoning behind this one. Jason Kelce may retire in the offseason, and if he doesn’t this year he will next year, so the Eagles need to plan for his replacement and I’d rather we draft this year and allow a guy to sit behind Kelce for a year then giving the starting role to a rookie after one of the best C’s in football retire and hoping he can fill that role.  

The center I want as Kelce’s replacement is Zach Shackelford from Texas. Shackelford stands at 6 foot 4 and weighs in at 305 pounds. He’s a fantastic anchor center, who has great skills and great potential, someone who will benefit massively from learning off a guy like Kelce.  

Like I just mentioned, his anchoring skills are brilliant and he comfortably stalls pass rushes and drives defensive lineman with good power after anchoring. His pass-rush blocking skills are built on the foundation of his great, strong base and active hands.   

He has pretty decent mobility for his size and in double teams, he will dominate rushing defenders. He’s also great at reacting to extra rushers if he’s in a double team, he’ll get over and stop them from breaking the line. He gets under the pads of defensive lineman and does well to not hold defenders. He’s very dominant against linebackers, who won’t beat him with their extra speed over defensive tackles.   

He does struggle to move laterally quickly and that can cost him to miss his target every so often, he also fails to finish blocks often but that is something he can fix whilst sitting behind Kelce for the year. He isn’t that overwhelming but very stable and could do with a quicker reaction step off the snap. However, I believe that these weaknesses can be fixed to a certain extent in the year he’ll spend sitting behind Kelce.  

Round 4 – Jordan Hicks Comp Pick – Jordyn Brooks, LB, Texas Tech  

This was a tough one to pick because there are a few linebackers around this point in the draft that I like but are more developmental pieces rather than a ready-made guy who can make a difference straight away and for that reason alone, I’ve chosen Jordyn Brooks.

Brooks is coming out of Texas Tech, standing at 6 foot 1 and weighing 245 pounds, Brooks has taken a lot of responsibility in his college career, especially in the final year with Texas Tech losing Dakota Allen. Brooks is the guy out of the linebackers that’s developed the most at this point and I feel he wouldn’t struggle or panic whilst playing at the higher level.  

Brooks is a super active linebacker that the rest of the defense will feed from, he’s the kind of guy that people will see be dominant in the opening plays of the game and fire the rest of the defense up, he’s a leader. He loves to be physical, so he will fit with Ashtyn Davis, and doesn’t let that affect his patience when reading a play and seeing where the routes are taking the receivers. Once he has the route figured out, he bursts quickly and latches on to whoever the ball is going to.   

As I mentioned just, he had to take a much larger role in the last year at Texas Tech with the departure of Dakota Allen and he thrived in the role. He stepped up to the task and was a huge cog in the Texas Tech defense. He’s a seriously accomplished tackler, once again, something the Eagles need and is always near the ball. He’s always full throttle, no matter what stage the game is in and he doesn’t let that ruin his game, he doesn’t get over-excited. Great in coverage and is used to all kinds of different routes and offenses due to the conference he was playing in.  

The main issue he has is consistency, however, this season he proved he can step up to the plate and deliver in a big role that comes with huge pressure and expectations. Sometimes he plays the receiver too much, leaving space to sometimes run past him if he isn’t quick enough to get to the ball but other than that, he’s a solid linebacker and great value in the 4th .

Round 4 – Golden Tate Comp Pick – Tyler Clark, IDL, Georgia  

I had a really hard time finding someone for this pick, mainly because I’d filled our main needs with earlier picks. In the end, I opted to find a defensive tackle that has some huge upside but still has a lot to learn whilst sitting behind Cox and Jackson. 

The defensive tackle I chose was Tyler Clark from Georgia. Clark stands at 6 foot 4 and weighs 300 pounds. He’s a big, strong tackle that splits double teams and has the talent already to be a different option for the Eagles pass rush.   

Clark has one of the deadliest swim moves college football has seen for some time and that can easily get him to the QB before anyone has a chance to react. When playing with the proper leverage he can bust open double teams with ease and has great upper body strength that allows him to disengage quite quickly with offensive lineman.   

He has great focus on what is happening behind the offensive line and is rarely caught with his eyes elsewhere. He’s a very strong tackler when getting a hold of the ball carrier and uses his length incredibly well to keep offensive lineman away from his pads. Considering his size, his lateral movement and overall speed are quite impressive.  

However, there’s a reason he’s a late 4th/5th round pick, actually, there are two major reasons why. He has an inconsistent motor and doesn’t always play with good leverage, he will shoot himself too high from his stance, leaving him to react to the offensive line rather than forcing them to his will. The other major issue is his swim move is deadly, but when it doesn’t work he has nothing else in his arsenal that will allow him to dominate his matchup. This last point can be solved and should be with him sitting behind Cox and Jackson, they can teach him other moves that can back up his scary, violent and quick swim move.  

Continued on the page below.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Round 5 – Pick 150 – Julian Blackmon, S, Utah  

The later the draft goes, the harder it is to pick players for the Eagles, mainly for the reason that they should fill our major needs within the first 5 picks, and with 10 picks at Howie’s disposal, it’s hard to find roles outside of our major needs that need filling. However, I have to admit, I’ve fallen in love with a developmental safety that has huge potential but needs a fair amount of work. 

The safety I am talking about is Julian Blackmon from Utah. Julian stands at 6 foot 1 and 204 pounds. At his current talent stage, I wouldn’t play him in many snaps, however, he has great potential and will be a useful guy to have on the roster in case of injuries in the secondary.  

As you can see, Blackmon is listed as a safety, however, he only moved there in his final year and played cornerback for most of his college career, so having a guy who can play both roles is going to be useful. 

He has really good long speed and could develop into a single high safety, but the safe bet is to play him in a two safety setup, which could happen in the future with Ashtyn Davis. His tackling is his strong suit, a reason why I picked him for now and the future if he was to partner up with Davis. He’s a very secure tackler, who finishes his tackling well, wraps his guys up efficiently and stops them from gaining more yards than they should.  

He has great ball skills that can still be developed further. Loves to challenge the ball if he believes he has a chance to break the pass up or even pick the QB off. He has good anticipation and tracks the ball decently.  

His toughness is his strong suit, he hates being burnt and he hates if the offensive guy gets more yards than he should, but he uses that anger as a tool of motivation and will not let it get him down. Will always give 110% and has a great physical feel when he’s on the field.   

He has great man coverage skills for a safety given his time as a cornerback and this will surprise NFL offenses when coming up against him. He’ll play really well in a press nickel because of his physical stature and his skills at disrupting receivers on their routes.  

He does struggle with deep balls at the moment, he doesn’t get burnt or anything like that, he just takes some bad angles and leaves a route for the receiver to run after they catch the ball, it could be something to work on but I don’t think he’ll ever develop that skill to be a comfortable, single high safety.   

He hasn’t learned to track the QB’s eyes properly so he can be on the same wavelength as the offense but that’s something he can work on off the field. There are multiple other things he’s not great at but he can develop those skills, which is why we’re picking up a starting safety in the 2nd and then someone else to develop and learn from a guy like Malcolm Jenkins.   

Round 5 – Pick Acquired From New England – Nate Stanley, QB, Iowa  

Now, before I get canceled and kicked off PSN for good by suggesting the team draft a QB this year, let me put my reasoning why. McCown will likely venture back into retirement and Sudfeld is a pending free agent. It's probable that Lurie, who wants to draft one QB per year again, will have a hand in this decision.

That’s where Nate Stanley steps in, the QB from Iowa. Standing at 6 foot 4 and weighing 243 pounds, Stanley is your traditional pocket passer QB who has room to develop further than what he has shown in college.  

The major positive in taking Stanley is the fact that Iowa run a pro-style offense, with their offensive line using NFL protections. He already knows how an NFL scheme and playbook will work, meaning he’ll only have to learn the small specifics of the Eagles playbook. He has very desirable audible talent, in which he’ll change the play and protections into a better call, depending on the shape of the defense. He has good enough footwork and mobility to sidestep within the pocket and dodge the on-rushing defensive tackles and displays good enough arm strength.   

He’s usually pretty accurate in the short and intermediate areas and will deliver passes the receivers will specifically want to receive. He plays to his receivers' strengths and is willing to sacrifice his own comfort so the play is at the easiest level for his receivers to catch.  

Looking through his tape, he doesn’t mind being in a losing situation in a game and shows good leadership qualities to fire up his team in these situations. During college, he’s been pretty efficient in 3rd down situations, something the Eagles find themselves in quite often.   

The only major issue of Stanley is, in a league where rushing QB’s are becoming the hot trend, he doesn’t fit that at all, he will not be a threat whatsoever to a defense when running outside of the pocket and he struggles on hitting passes when he is passing on the run, meaning he’ll struggle to execute RPO’s or anything that will require him to move outside of the pocket. He can also make it obvious where his first read was to the defense, meaning they can lurk that receiver and then punish him for staring at his target for too long.  

Round 6 – Pick 170 – Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor  

With the last pick of this mock draft I’m going to pick a guy that could develop into a very good receiver, a receiver that could fill a void in the near-ish future and still contribute here and there from the day he's drafted.

The receiver I am talking about is Denzel Mims from Baylor. Mims stands at 6 foot 3, weighing 215 pounds. Mims is a phenomenal athlete and its quite scary how athletic the kid is considering his size and the position he plays. Mims would be a perfect, speedy backup to have sitting behind DJax and I’d love the Eagles to get real value from their last pick in the draft.  

Mims is arguably the most explosive athlete in college football who possesses incredible strength considering how quick he moves. He’s a track and field star who fully understands how to change his speeds at the different stages of his routes to trick defenders into biting on double moves, or he just straight up burns them vertically when he feels like it.   

His 6 foot 3 frame gives him great length which helps massively with his deep threat ability and really gives safeties that go up against him a physical nightmare. He can separate from matchups using either his quick feet and pure speed or he can physically bully them and create himself space to work within. Defenses should never press this man at the line of scrimmage because he will leave your DB’s on the floor, wondering why they’re even playing against him.  

He’s a pain for DB’s in the redzone too, because of his quickness, quick plays like a small slant or a quick fade can leave DB’s behind him within an instant. He may have the biggest ceiling in the entire draft, and we just have to hope new Panthers HC Matt Rhule, who just left Baylor, doesn’t want his old receiver in the big leagues when they select at pick 164.  

The main issue Mims has is his technical ability at running routes isn’t there. He doesn’t leave himself in a good body position when running and gives away his break in routes a few times to DB’s, so there’s work to do with his route running for sure. Another issue is his upper body strength, its good but it can harm him sometimes when he goes for contested catches and that leaves him dropping a ball on the odd occasion. He can also lose concentration during run blocks, which can harm your team's drives but all in all, Mims can fix all those issues off the field.   

Summary:  

So, there you have it, my full 7 round mock draft for the Eagles. I’m hoping to get as many of these as I can out for you, especially once the combine has happened and we can truly evaluate these players' athletic ability. Let me know what you think of this format, I know it’s fairly long but do you like that or would you rather have less detail in the player's reports? Let me know on Twitter (@steveoo242) or down in the comments below. It truly is mock draft season, the best season in football. 

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports