The Eagles have plenty of ammunition heading into the NFL Draft and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that trade speculation is now circulating. Since 2003, the Eagles have traded up in the first round a total of 6 times, with the most recent landing them a certain QB by the name of Carson Wentz. But will they look to do so again in two weeks?
To start with, let's take a look at first-round prospects the Eagles have met with so far who would fill an immediate need:
RB Josh Jacobs
WR N’Keal Harry
WR A.J Brown
OT Cody Ford
OG Chris Lindstrom
DE Montez Sweat
DT Ed Oliver
DT Christian Wilkins
DT Jeffery Simmons
S Nasir Adderly
S Chauncey Gardner Johnson
TE Irv Smith Jr
You’ll notice the heavy focus on the defensive front-lines, but obviously, since the Senior Bowl, a lot has changed. Vinny Curry and Malik Jackson now fortify what was an area missing starting level explosiveness, so as times change, so do the Eagles draft needs.
What’s also important to note is that the Eagles meet with a lot of players. In 2016, they drafted 2 players of the 20 they met with. They drafted 2 of 25 meetings (3 including Clement) in 2017 and just one draftee in 22 meetings in 2018, Avonte Maddox. So this could be trying to find a needle in a haystack, but there’s a good chance at least one of these players ends up playing in Midnight green…but can the Eagles get them at 25?
Either find out by watching this video, or scrolling down to read the written version!
https://youtu.be/Uf_UUTCdeH0
Continued on the pages below.
Into the top 10...
Using the ‘Draft Chart’ that NFL General managers use to place a value on individual picks (although it’s becoming increasingly less common), we can see that to get into the top 10, the Eagles would need to give up approximately 1370 points worth of value. Their first three picks in the draft would tally 1,410…but obviously, Howie has a way of manipulating trades and finding value where others don’t, including moving players for potential assets.
The Eagles could be targeting a player like Ed Oliver here, but he’s more than likely going to fall a little lower, which tells me a trade up would likely see them want to bring in an edge defender like Montez Sweat or Rashan Gary. I feel like bringing in a DE in round 1 causes too much complication, however. The Eagles just extended BG and Vinny Curry won’t be around forever, but surely bringing in another first round pick is going to cause too much congestion in the rotation and would only raise further question marks about what we can expect out of Derek Barnett in year 3.
If the Eagles move up into this range, I’m expecting it to be for Andre Dillard, a tackle whom they surprisingly haven’t met with. Dillard isn’t a day-one ready prospect, although he could be the perfect developmental heir to JP’s throne…but that to me, kind of defies trading up.
Not only that, but teams in this range are likely rebuilding and it could take a lot more to entice a team who are locked in on a guy to give up that leverage and risk missing out on potential franchise-changing talent.
The mid-teens...
In the mid-teens, things heat up. Cody Ford and Ed Oliver could be the names up for grabs here and if either of them fall, expect the Eagles to sprint to the phones to try and drum up some business.
The Eagles have traded with Minnesota before and in my most recent mock, I had them moving up to select Christian Wilkins and that could certainly be the play here. I think that solidifying the DT depth, given how much they missed Beau Allen and Vaeao in 2018, let alone Timmy Jernigan, is absolutely viable and a first-round talent underneath Cox and Jackson would be absolutely lethal, given offenses simply wouldn’t get a break.
Outside of that, this is the sweet spot for Ed Oliver, Cody Ford and maybe even Brian burns. There are a lot of strong edge rushers in this class and if its the offensive line that topples first with names like Dillard and Taylor being snapped up, Roseman will be licking his lips at snatching any of the aforementioned.
It would take the Eagles maybe a first-round and one of their second-round picks to sneak into this range, or potentially a first, fourth and a player. It’s much more phase able given how much the Eagles value those day two picks.
A slight bump...
In this spot, the Eagles are likely trying to jump one team for one player. Whether that’s Oakland for Josh Jacobs, Houston for Jonah Williams, or Baltimore for Devin Bush, this is simply a leap of a few places. It’s absolutely possible if the Eagles are besotted with a certain player, but I feel like it’s less likely than making the significant move forward.
The Eagles did move up two spots in 2009 to get Jeremy Maclin, giving up Alex Mack and a sixth-round pick. The Birds have an arsenal of players and picks who would fit that mold and Roseman would be quick to pull the trigger if he felt in danger of losing one of those players.
What do you think the Eagles should do at pick 25? Is trading up a viable option? Let us know in the comments.
