It’s still early but with a bye week upon us, we might as well start looking at some guys in the 2024 draft that are interesting for the Eagles. These are all guys that I think are highly underrated by current draft consensus.
A day one EDGE for what may be the Eagles biggest priority
Princely Umanmielen, EDGE Florida
Always a heavily drafted position, one EDGE that projects to be available when the Eagles pick is Florida’s Princely Umanmielen. While he has some tough games left this season and his gaudy numbers may drop some, so far what he is doing puts him right with the top pass rushers over the past several drafts:
- 20.7% pressure rate playing in the SEC
- 25.9% pass rush win rate
- 13.9% run stop rate with only a 12.5% missed tackle rate
To put these numbers into perspective, here are some comparisons from recent classes:
| Prospect | School | Pressure Rate | Pass Rush Win Rate | Run Stop Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Anderson | Alabama | 16% | 16% | 11% |
| Aidan Hutchinson | Michigan | 17% | 22.5% | 12.5% |
| Alex Highsmith | Charlotte | 16% | 19.5% | 10.7% |
| Nolan Smith | Georgia | 18% | 16% | 12% |
| Josh Allen | Kentucky | 22% | 27% | 14.7% |
Not saying Princely is going to be a top pro, but these types of pressure and win numbers aren’t common in major college programs and they usually translate to pro success.
Here are three consecutive snaps against Georgia where he makes two run stops and then beats the LT on 3rd down to hurry an incomplete pass.
In a blowout loss, Princely was one of the few bright spots, finishing the day with 2 pressures on 18 pass rush snaps along with 9(!) run stops. Against the top team in college football, it was noticeable when he was on the field and when he wasn’t.
So far, I don’t like this EDGE class as much as recent years as bend and explosiveness is in short supply this year. Princely has both. Like every pass rusher, he needs some development, especially his hands, and at 6’5″ 245 pounds (but in process of getting back to 255 pounds), some teams will pass on him due to size.
Eagles fit:
Few see pass rush as a priority in the 2024 draft but Barnett will be gone and if BG is still around, he is definitely in the twilight of his career. Sweat will be extended but don’t be shocked if the market is willing to pay a 30+ year old Reddick more than Howie will next offseason. That could leave just Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Patrick Johnson from the current roster. What size Princely gets to will be key as he may be redundant with Nolan at his current size.
Continuing to invest in the secondary with a day 2 corner
TJ Tampa, CB Iowa State
A high school receiver, while visiting Iowa State Tampa stayed for an extra day of camp when his return flight was rescheduled. Anthony Johnson Jr. recommended he try some reps at cornerback and coach Matt Campbell (and good friend and ex-teammate of Nick Sirianni) saw what he needed, later asking Tampa if he wanted to play corner.
Currently targeted as a late day 2 guy, if Howie wanted to pick up another high-upside guy outside of round 1, Tampa could make a ton of sense:
- May be one of the better zone corner in this class, playing over half his snaps in zone and allowing only a 29.2 passer rating. And most telling is he has allowed 6 YAC on 7 receptions in zone… 6 total yards after catch, not 6 per completion.
- Gets his hands on the ball at a good rate, with a 21% forced incompletion rate and a 36% rate in zone coverage, which is better than any corner in the last 5 drafts.
- May be the best tackling corner in this class, with only 3 missed tackles over the past two seasons.
- Good closing speed and effective in run support with 25 run stops over the past 2 seasons.
- Clocked at over 21 mph in-game this season.
Here are three clips: the first shows his closing speed for a stop after reading the QB, the second playing man from the slot where he jumps in front of a receiver for an interception (this was a series after he gave up a big 3rd down completion), and the third clip is him sitting in zone for a leaping interception.
Eagles fit:
There is a path where the Eagles are in good shape at corner post Slay and Bradberry – they get Isaiah Rodgers next year, maybe Eli Ricks or Kelee Ringo hits, and maybe Avonte or Zech McPhearson returns and locks down the slot. But those are a lot of “ifs”.
I’ve come to accept that it needs to be a special guy and board that falls right for Howie to take a corner high – he never says it, but I really think Howie sees the low hit rate on corners and chooses to shop in free agency and mid rounds of the draft, which is smart. We should expect at least one free agent signing next year but they need to continue to make upside picks in the draft and Tampa could be that guy.
Adding serious speed to the offense
Jaylen Wright, RB Tennessee
I’ll get it out of the way up front that this is one that I can’t see happening. I would be surprised if Howie doesn’t re-sign D’Andre Swift which keeps the backfield crowded, but I can’t quit #superoffense drafts.
We see what Miami is doing with speed on offense and I want some of the same for Philly. Jaylen Wright has reportedly hit 23.6 mph in practice and has been timed in the high 4.2s to low 4.3s.
A lot of guys are fast but it won’t translate to success – Wright isn’t one of those guys:
- A 33.6% missed tackle rate forced, better than any backs last year except Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.
- A 27.3% explosive rush rate, better than any back in the 2023 draft class.
- He averages 4.8 yards after contact, 64% of his total yards, right with the top guys from last year (Roschon was 4.3 yards and Bijan 4.2).
The highlights of his you will see are always his long TD runs but my favorite clips follow:
This first one shows his patience at the line but then a silly, video game-like ability to accelerate. Watch him once he hits the 15 yardline – he goes from a pause waiting for the block to fastest guy on the field instantaneously.
These next two show his ability to either miss or run through contact. Year after year, this is one of the key traits that translate to NFL success.
At 5’10” and 210 pounds, Wright spent this offseason adding muscle. While he isn’t going to be a guy that runs guys over or carries defenders with him, when you watch his film, he doesn’t go down unless somebody really gets a square tackle on him.
Wright barely shows up on any draft big boards, most likely because it is uncertain if he declares. If he does enter the draft, he should be in discussion with some of the top guys.
Last year teams began shopping for backs heavily in the 3rd round with Kendre Miller, Tyjae Spears, De’Von Achane, and Tank Bigsby all going between picks 71 and 88. I would expect Wright to be in the same range as his speed will be enticing to teams.
Eagles fit:
Again, I don’t expect the Eagles to invest at RB in the draft. But even if D’Andre Swift is extended, the rest of the RB room could be upgraded and why not make the offense even more dangerous? The Eagles have not had this type of speed at running back in a long time, if ever.