The “Micah Parsons loses his mind (again)” Eagles mock draft

Micah Parsons

This is primarily a fun article to poke fun at the Cowboys, but also has some real “what if” in here, the type that happens every draft as good players drop. And teams like the Eagles and Ravens have been really good at taking advantage of these drops.

The Eagles last four top picks – Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean – were not supposed to be available anywhere near their pick. And in what’s becoming an annual tradition that brings more joy than Christmas, Micah Parsons loses it on his pod. Again and again.

So, here’s a 2025 mock along these lines with three rules:

  1. It must be a player projected ahead of us – this is the whole point of the article…
  2. It must be realistic – these can’t be “Abdul Carter falls to 32″… there has to be a reason for a drop (injury, etc.) and there have to be valid projections of the player at least close to our pick
  3. It must be highly likely to piss off Micah Parsons

So let’s go.

Round 1

“With the 32nd and final pick in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL draft, the world champion Philadelphia Eagles select… Emeka Egbuka, wide receiver, Ohio State…”

The Eagles put themselves further out in front of the league and push their already difficult to defend offense into the ridiculous realm, zagging as the rest of the league zigs by going heavily after defensive prospects in the 1st round.

The pick is extra annoying to Micah. Earlier, the Cowboys, who also desperately need a receiver, reach for an offensive lineman at 12 in a really weak OL class. Micah is professional in his reaction, but makes the point that the Cowboys need more weapons for his good friend CeeDee.

Why this could happen

Emeka is projected at pick 23 right now – here’s my scenario on why and how he could be available:

  • Emeka is projected to be WR4 but Matthew Golden is a close WR5 at pick 28 and more and more people are putting Golden ahead of Emeka
  • Over the last 10 drafts, an average of 4.5 receivers have been taken in the 1st with WR5 not going until R2 in 5 of the last 10 drafts
  • The league goes heavily after defensive players in this draft, reversing from last year when 24 picks including the first 14 were offense
  • Golden, an outside X-receiver, does end up going ahead of Emeka who is primarily viewed as an NFL slot – the late R1 teams looking for WR (LAC, PIT, WAS, LAR) all need outside guys

In this simulation, the Steelers at 21 are the last team to take a receiver in R1 and do go with Matthew Golden, starting Emeka’s drop that lands him at the Eagles.

Why it makes sense

Most will hate this pick but it makes sense as Howie continues to stay ahead of the league:

  • Emeka is a top 20 talent with 4.3s speed, maybe the best route runner in this class, and catches everything with a career 5% drop rate
  • Fills the Eagles WR3 role as Jahan Dotson will not be kept after the 2025 season (and allows a later trade of Dotson)
  • Emeka is another high-character leader, has willingly blocked and done whatever was needed, thinks like a coordinator as he showed pointing out what OSU should run to win the CFBCG, and fits perfectly into an offense with multiple other alpha WRs

Everybody views the Eagles “needs” on the defensive side, but Howie doesn’t enter the draft with any “needs”. He instead drafts for the future and after back-to-back drafts that invested heavily on defense with 8 of the last 10 top-100 picks being defense, he takes offense when the value is just too great to pass up.

The rich get richer and Howie ups the ante on the league where two good receivers is expected for contenders.


Round 2

Overnight, the other shoe drops as the Eagles send Jahan Dotson to the Houston Texans – desperate for receivers as they try to stay a contender in the AFC – for pick 4-125. Howie recoups some of the value from the Dotson trade ahead of losing him after the 2025 season as they won’t pay his estimated $15M 5th year option.


The Eagles bring out newly inducted Hall of Fame cornerback Eric Allen to announce their 2nd round pick. And it couldn’t be more perfect.

“It’s an honor to announce the 2nd round pick for our world champion Philadelphia Eagles… the Eagles select the next LOCKDOWN cornerback to wear green, Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame”

Micah will be off the air but again is speechless that the league allows a 1st round talent to fall to the Eagles. He does get a new linemate as the Cowboys use their 2nd round pick on run-stopping DT Deone Walker, a necessary re-do on the Mazi Smith pick.

Why this could happen

You say “Morrison won’t be available here”, right? I don’t think so either but it’s not crazy.

  • Pre-draft Morrison has been dropping due to his injury and inability to work out
  • Several prominent mocks and big boards have him lower – Dane Brugler has him (coincidentally) at pick 64 and Daniel Jeremiah has him at 45, largely due to injury uncertainty
  • Rumor is that his hip will check out pre-draft but some teams may be concerned on overall injury history as he also had a shoulder surgery
  • Other top players have dropped a large amount from February projections – also injured Kool-Aid McKinstry last year went from pick 16 to be taken at 41, Azeez Ojulari dropped from the 20s to 50 due to degenerative leg concerns, Andrew Booth also had injuries and dropped from 20 to 42, Kelee Ringo dropped from 20 to 105, top LB JOK dropped from 20 to 52

Why it makes sense

The Eagles are setup well for the next couple of years across most of their starting lineups with only a few exceptions. An outside CB opposite Quinyon is one of them. And they get their guy, solidifying the secondary for years.

  • Supposed 4.39 speed and may be the best man cover CB in this class
  • The best corner film against Marvin Harrison Jr, holding him to 3/7/30 with 2 PBUs
  • Allowed an average of 35 YPG to Jordan Addison, Puka Nacua, Zay Flowers, Josh Downs
  • Well known work ethic and seriousness about football

Round 3

Prior to the draft, Philly trades Kenny Pickett to the Giants for a 4th rounder and now use that as capital to move up for their EDGE.

“Cincinnati has traded the 80th pick to the Philadelphia Eagles… with the 80th pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select Josaiah Stewart, edge rusher, University of Michigan”

All of Philly was in full panic mode as the Eagles waited until the 3rd round for another pass rusher but they get aggressive and move up for the guy who is (aside from Abdul Carter) the best fit for Fangio’s defense in this draft.

Following are EDGEs that each of Fangio’s defenses have drafted – they are smaller, have produced at both pass rush and run defense, and have coverage experience. Josaiah is one of the few in this class that match these traits.

The Eagles absolutely need to add depth to the EDGE room, but they feel a lot better about their situation than most fans do.

  • Nolan Smith proved his ability this year and is only entering his 3rd season and 24 years old
  • Few rookie pass rushers perform but over the last 7 games of the season, Jalyx Hunt performed as well as, or better, than Josh Sweat (12% pressure rate vs. 8%, 2 sacks vs. 3, 16% run stop vs. 11%) – he will take another step up in 2025
  • Nothing is expected from Bryce Huff but the Eagles will get something from him in 2025
  • Add in a lower-cost free agency add like Joseph Ossai, and the Eagles DL is not taking a step back in 2025

Day 3

Now to just to quickly round out the draft. Micah has stopped watching and rumor has it he has been seen on the phone with his agent quite a lot this weekend…

The Eagles finish the draft with two underrated trenches picks, a new 3rd QB as Tanner moves into the QB2 role, a massive developmental tackle, another shot on an athletic tight end, and a great value on one of the best coverage linebackers in this class.

R4-125 (from HOU): DT JJ Pegues, Ole Miss

R4-128: OG/OC Luke Kandra, Cincinnati

R5-161: QB Kurtis Rourke, Indiana

R5-165: OT Hollin Pierce, Rutgers

R5-168: TE Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse

R7-231: LB Teddye Buchanan, Cal


Is this draft going to happen? No. Is it what my mock would be? Also no. But we all get locked into our guys and positions – this year it’s take an EDGE, check… take a tight end, check… Howie surprises us every few years and it’s always because he is investing well ahead of needs and because value fell.

The above is just an exercise in what a different draft would be where we just take great players of value that fall. We won’t get three consecutive value drops, but based on recent history, I’d expect somebody that Howie pounces on.

3 comments

    1. Ha, will think about it. I dug into free agency prices and the cap before, when the cap goes up a lot, it also drives free agency prices up so the benefits to teams aren’t quite what people think (it’s not “free money” as teams bid up players). Myles isn’t going to be traded before the draft as the Browns can’t take the pre 6/1 cap hit unless they really want to blow the whole thing up – and you can’t trade a 6/1 designation for draft picks this year. It will be interesting to see what they do.

    2. I may do a mock like I did last year (https://phillycovercorner.com/2024/02/the-1st-round-is-half-wrong-every-year-what-a-2024-mock-draft-could-look-like/) where I used historical trends and reality. For example, knowing the 1st round hit rates are around 50-60%, I forced myself to pick day 2 and day 3 players. Knowing QB1 is rarely the best QB, who would I take (last year I hit on Jayden Daniels who I thought should have been QB1 anyway). And which positions have better/worse hit rates (for example CB and EDGE aren’t high hit rate positions in R1)

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