With the start of college football and before I get my Christmas decorations out (joke), I took a quick look at some players that should interest the Eagles. This post builds on a few prior posts:
- I set the draft order using my recent NFC and AFC win predictions, giving the Eagles picks #14, 16, and 17 in the first round and #48 in the second round if the Indy pick promotes.
- I had an analysis of the Eagles draft series earlier in the summer where I looked at the Eagles history on different positions and what they should be prioritizing moving forward.
I used PFF’s draft simulator as it allows setting the draft order and their player rankings are as good (or no worse) than other simulators at this point:
Round 1-14: Kenyon Green, OL Texas A&M
Using Indy’s round 1 pick, the Eagles take offensive linemen Kenyon Green. Kenyon is a 6’4″ 325lb linemen who has played both guard spots and is now playing right tackle, perfectly fitting into the Eagles desire for flexibility on the line (although he is still probably a guard in the NFL). Viewed as the most athletic linemen in the draft, he was the NCAA’s highest graded linemen in week 1 of the 2021 season at 89.5 (albeit against Kent State) after a 75.0 grade in his sophomore 2020 season. Pass protection is his improvement area, only having. 63.0 pass blocking grade last year, although he is better here than some think – in 327 passing snaps last year, he allowed zero sacks. Highly mobile and known as a finisher, it is exciting watching this clip to think about Green playing next to Landon Dickerson next year.
Interior OL is a priority for the Eagles as they desperately need to prepare for the post Kelce/Brooks/Lane era (more in depth post on the Eagles OL draft strategy and needs here). Drafting Landon last year is a great start and gives the Eagles an option to go after a guard or center in 2022. But as I described in the OL draft post, the Eagles have an OL that will be somewhere in the bottom 10-12 in the league if the future is Mailata, Seumalo, Dickerson, Herbig, Driscoll. In 2022, I am assuming Brooks will be on the team although the Eagles reportedly tried to trade him this offseason as he is 32 and has large cap hits coming up. But even if Brooks is on the team in 2022, you play Green at LG – on a good team, Seumalo is depth and not a starter and while Herbig had a good 2020 in limited action, it is a lot to believe he is a good starter (and he had a poor preseason this year).
I was a little worried if Green would be available at 14, but in the last 15 years of drafts, only 2 times has the first IOL been taken before 14 – Quenton Nelson at 6 in 2018 and Jonathan Cooper at 7 in 2013 (Alijah Vera-Tucker was taken at 14 this year).
Other options: Center Tyler Linderbaum
Round 1-16: Ahmad Gardner, CB Cincinnati
With three picks in four draft spots (14, 16, 17), the ordering of the players isn’t as important. As I’ve written many times, corner is the Eagles most dire need, even though they are in good shape for the 2021 season. Steven Nelson is on a one-year deal and could be re-signed, but if he plays really well he will be expensive. Slay has regressed some the past two seasons and has a $22M cap hit next year – given his age, Howie can’t keep kicking the can down the road with cap manipulations and it is not crazy that the Eagles move on from Slay after this season. They took Zech McPhearson this year, but he could be the top CB on the team next season.
Ahmad Gardner is a 6’2″ corner with good explosiveness that excels in press coverage, he had a 90.0 coverage grade last year and allowed a 35.3 passer rating in college (as a reminder, a QB spiking the ball all game would give a passer rating of 39.6). Impressive stats aside, I’d like to see him against better offenses and WRs as he missed last year’s bowl game against UGA. This year he will go up against Tyler Sneed (East Carolina) and Ty Fryfogle (Indiana), decent but not elite receivers.
I’ve seen some draw comparisons to one of this year’s draft crushes Jaycee Horn because of his aggressiveness, ability in press, and grabby-ness at times. Here’s a clip from Matt Alkire showing his aggressiveness:
And a clip showing his closing speed:
Round 1-17: Andrew Booth, CB Clemson
The 2022 draft class is expected to be loaded at corner and this is the year for the Eagles to repeat 2002 and double up on secondary. With their third first round pick, I’ll take Clemson’s Andrew Booth to pair with Gardner as the Eagles (hopeful) outside corners of the future. At 6’0″ 195 lbs, he isn’t the tallest corner but his athleticism and ball skills shine. In 192 coverage snaps in 2020, he allowed a 59.6 passer rating and earned a 74.7 coverage grade. The knock on Booth is just his limited playing time with only four starts in two years. I think when the draft actually gets here, it may be unlikely Booth is there in the middle of the 1st as corners have been a premium and heavily drafted position the past couple of years (the 1st averages over 5 corners taken).
And in week 1 against Georgia, he displayed his tackling skills:
Other options at 16 & 17: WR Chris Olave (heck, draft a 1st round WR every year), DT Jordan Davis, CB Trent McDuffie, S Brandon Joseph, EDGE/OLB Adam Anderson
Round 2-48: Jermayne Lole, DT Arizona State
Most have the Eagles bigger need as defensive end and it could be depending on what they do with Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat after this season. But with BG, Sweat, and Milton Williams who can play inside or outside, I think DT is an underrated need for the Eagles. Fletch is getting up there and Hargrave is signed for a couple more years, but depth is thin behind them. Tuipulotu made the roster and hopefully can develop but is my biggest draft disappointment.
UGA’s DT Jordan Davis and USC’s DE Drake Jackson were two players I was looking for at 48 but both were already gone. Lole is a 6’1″ 310 pound DT that moves better than somebody his size should. He was good for a 85.9 defensive grade last year, 20th in the nation. The Eagles have an underrated need to improve against the run and Lole graded in the top 10 run defenders last year. But he can also push the pocket and produces against the pass – in only four games last year, he had 18 pressures to go with his 17 stops.
Other options at 48: LB Devin Lloyd, DT Travis Jones