Everything you need to know about the 2019 Eagles Draft class

The NFL Draft is a rollercoaster at the best of times and the 84th edition was arguably the wildest yet. But in case you've been unable to keep up with everything swept up in the whirlwind, here's everything you need to know about your 2019 Eagles Draft class.

Round 1, Pick 22: Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State

The first ten picks of the NFL Draft were a total rollercoaster. Nobody…and I mean nobody, could’ve predicted Clelin Ferrell going 4th overall, Daniel Jones going 6th and Dwayne Haskins falling to the Redskins much later. But all this did was push some of the Eagles’ top-rated prospects deep into their laps.

The Eagles traded with the Baltimore Ravens, giving up a fourth-round selection, and a sixth-round selection, in order to jump up to the 22nd overall spot to poach Andre Dillard out of Washington State. One pick later, the Texans would take Alabama State's Tytus Howard. Howie Roseman's ability to read between the tea leaves is exceptional.

Some were pining for a defensive tackle, others for a safety...but the safest pick of all was sticking to the plan: building from the ball out.

The method behind the madness is simple. Jason Peters won’t be around forever. Whether it’s one year, two years, or somehow even more, the Eagles will need to find an heir to the Throne. Even if the Eagles opted to move Vaitai up to a starting role, there’s a glaring lack of depth behind Big V and a franchise right tackle in Lane Johnson who battled injury last year. It’s not a sexy pick, but the Eagles built this team through the trenches and they will sustain success the same way. 

Dillard comes in at 6’5, 306 lbs, but lacks the desired length in his frame. Although there are some clear fundamental setbacks in terms of his hand placement etc as of right now, he plays hard and is extremely athletic for his size and weight which is something Stoutland would covet.

With that said, his 'sacks allowed' per year have decreased from 7, to 2, to 1, in his last three seasons. And that one season where he allowed a single sack, he played in more pass blocking sacks than ANY other tackle at the college or NFL level.

He’s a very raw prospect who gets bullied by bull-rushes and doesn’t have much to counter sheer power, but his athleticism could be invaluable. He wouldn’t be expected to start straight away and I think this could be a real blessing for an Eagles team who are looking to nurture their left tackle of the future, giving Stoutland time to groom this talented lineman.

Find out about the four other draft selections on the pages below:

Round 2, pick 53: Miles Sanders, running back, Penn State

Philadelphia was rumored to be in love with the Penn State running back for quite some time now in what became a poorly kept secret. Sanders fell into the Eagles’ laps at 53 and has shown flashes of an all-round back at the next level and could make for a fantastic compliment to Jordan Howard in his rookie season.

If the Eagles want a back that truly resembles what LeSean McCoy used to bring to the table, my unpopular opinion here is Sanders has the ability to cut, in buckets. He has a real spring in his step and bounces out of his cuts so smoothly, it’s impossible to stop him once he jukes and blows past a defender. He drops his hips well and is a real finesse runner. 

Sanders spent much of his career with the Nittany Lions basking in the light of Saquon Barkley and after finally getting his shot in the big time, provided enough of a sample size to earn himself a second-round grade. Tallying 1,274 yards on 220 attempts, Sanders showcased his acceleration and ability to be a home-run hit. 

The Eagles did a great job of adding some short-term backfield stability by trading for Jordan Howard. They did a great job of finally adding long-term stability, by drafting a man who not only stacks up as his perfect running-mate, but a back who could one day take the reins for his own.

Round 2, Pick 57: J.J Arcega Whiteside, WR, Stanford

The Eagles currently have one of the best receiving corps in the league, and when you factor in Zach Ertz as a pass-catcher it only gets better. But beyond this year there is some uncertainty. No one outside of the building can really get a feel on what the Eagles plans are for Nelson Agholor, and DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery are only getting older. Mock drafts where Eagles take a wide-out have consistently put speed-type receivers going to the Eagles. Instead, a player like Arcega-Whisteside would be a much better fit for what the Eagles try to do on offense. At least, that’s what they’re drafting him for. 

It seemed unlikely he’d be around in this sort of range, but alas, Howie worked his magic.

Arcega-Whiteside is a big body at 6’2, 226 comparable to none other than Alshon Jeffery. He has great hands, technical route running and is a strong blocker in the run game. There were concerns over his speed but, his pro-day 40 time of 4.49 was impressive. Arcega-Whiteside could serve as a strong red-zone threat and a mismatch machine who could eventually mold into Alshon Jeffery’s successor. It's ironic then, that he's the wideout that the Stanford product modeled his game after.

"When I grew up watching Alshon, being from Carolina, it's like, that's a guy that everybody in the state knew." He told reporters shortly after being drafted by the Eagles. As a kid, it's like, dang, I want to be him one day. I want to be playing college football, like representing my state, having all the kids look up to me. That was me. On top of that, when I get to Stanford and he's tearing it up in the league, like dang, I've got to do whatever he's doing because whatever he's doing is working and I want to emulate the same kind of style."

He averaged 16.8 yards per reception on his 63 catches last year, notching 1,059 yards and hauling in 14 touchdowns. A true-50/50 ball specialist, the Eagles offense is going to be absolutely lethal in the redzone with 'Arcega-Whiteside' involved.

Round 4, Pick 138: Shareef Miller, Defensive end, Penn State

The Eagles continued a red-hot NFL Draft by selecting Penn State’s Shareef Miller in the fourth round. The defensive end became the second PSU alum to be selected by the team, joining running back Miles Sanders.

At 6’5″ and 260 lbs, Miller has the size that defenses covet in their edge-rushers and during his time at Penn State, Miller grew into one of the team’s biggest leaders. The attention given to him last year following a strong breakout enabled Yetur Gross-Matos to explode onto the scene, but that didn’t stop him from having success of his own. 15 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks headlined another strong season.

A small concern is that Miller is very one dimensional. He doesn’t have a vast array of pass-rushing moves and plays at one speed once his impressive first step and burst is behind him. He’s quick, has an impressive ability to bend and really drive lineman around the arc, but what he has in finesse, he’s missing in those technical intricacies that have seen this class receive such astonishing praise. 

Miller will be a great compliment to an Eagles defensive end group that just needs to build from the bottom of the depth chart out, and would grant him the opportunity to hone his craft during his first few years in the league.

This can also be taken as a pretty firm indication that Chris Long won’t be coming back in 2019. Long told the Eagles ‘to plan as if I won’t be there’…and it appears as if they’ve done just that. It’s sad to see, but the Eagles have found some great value in the fourth-round, adding a penetrative defensive end who can learn under Chris Wilson.

Round 5, Pick 167: Clayton Thorson, Quarterback, Northwestern

Well, it’s not the quarterback many wanted. That man, Easton Stick, was drafted just one pick before the Eagles could get their mitts on him after they traded back a few spots with the Patriots. Instead, the Eagles draft Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson. 

It’s easy to look at his slightly worrying TD/INT ratio in 2018 and judge too early, but it’s likely the composure and dynamic play that interested the Eagles.

Thorson broke records for games started, touchdowns, yards and completions during his time with Northwestern, winning three bowl-games and recovering from a knee injury to help win the team win the Big Ten West last year.

At 6’4, 222 lbs, he has the size Pederson would want in his quarterback, but the inconsistency on the field is likely what’s stopped him from soaring up draft boards in a relatively weakened class. He’s tremendous on shorter, intermediate routes, delivering a zippy bullet pass and scanning through his first few reads cleanly. It’s when he’s asked to let plays develop where the waters get murky.

His deep ball accuracy was never something to write home about, hence why he only averaged 6.8 yards per pass, but this is a quarterback in the mold of a game-manager who does have some mobility outside the pocket. 

The Eagles wanted to get back to the days of drafting quarterbacks regularly and Thorson at least ticks all the measurable boxes. The rest, will be down to the Eagles coaching staff to nurture to see if they can work the wonders with him that they have with Nate Sudfeld.