Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Can’t-miss draft will fill Eagles’ needs
The NFL draft is a lot like a stock market prospectus and its disclaimer that past performance is no guarantee of future success. The inverse also is true.
There are anomalies every year. For the Eagles, next month’s 2017 draft is just that.
Challenged in years past, there’s almost no way the Eagles can miss this time essentially because the draft is full of talent in their areas of need. In essence the best players available in the critical rounds will be defensive backs, running backs, pass rushers and wide receivers.
Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas can close his eyes and get a good player at No. 14. Or, he can move around, trade for picks and players, and still find quality talent on his draft board to fill holes.
Think about it. Realistically you could draw the name of one of the consensus top-five cornerbacks from a hat and come out a winner if that’s where you want to go with the 14th overall pick.
Ohio State has two first-round corners in Marshon Lattimore (6-foot, 193 pounds) and Gareon Conley (6-0, 195), the latter the choice of the Eagles according to Mel Kiper in his latest mock draft. Throw Sidney Jones and his surgically repaired Achilles tendon into the mix and it’s six. There will be starting caliber corners available on the second day of the draft. Maybe even the third day.
It’s almost the same deal with the running backs, where if you believe the mocks, Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey could slide down the board in the first round (we don’t believe that at all) because of the depth at other positions.
Pass rushers, obviously, are premium picks and you’d have to trade up to get Myles Garrett, the likely first overall pick, or Derek Barnett, who broke the late Reggie White’s sacks records at Tennessee.
But Solomon Thomas of Stan-
ford and Tim Williams of Alabama could be around at 14. The Eagles also could be looking at our favorite — and Brandon Graham’s favorite — Taco Charlton (6-5, 277) of Michigan.
With so much to pick and choose from, the Eagles might be able to trade out of the first round and get a starting corner such as Marlon Humphrey, a wide receiver such as Cooper Kupp (a Jordy Nelson knockoff), or a pass rusher like Haason Reddick (Temple), although he’s moving up boards. The draft is deep and full of skill at premium positions according to Ourlads NFL Scouting Services’ Dan Shonka, who used to work for the Eagles.
The more we look at the Eagles’ draft and its possibilities, the more we realize it’s going to reveal who’s really calling the shots and shaping the blueprint.
If wide receiver Mike Williams of Clemson slides to No. 14, the Eagles would be foolish to pass on him, even with the addition of proven receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith in free agency.
If another team wants Corey Davis, the recordbreaking receiver out of Western Michigan, the Eagles almost certainly could get something for trading out of the pick.
The 14th pick for a firstrounder in the early 20’s, plus a third-round pick? Absolutely. Number 14 for a mid-20’s first-round selection and a secondrounder? Deal. A late-20’s pick, plus a second- and a third- or fourth-rounder? Done.
Douglas will get some calls about teams interested in moving up for other players, including Cook and McCaffrey.
The flip side is the Eagles need a dynamic running back like Cook or McCaffrey. Darren Sproles is a bit player whose snaps must be managed. Cook and McCaffrey suit what the Eagles do.
Lately Cook has been bashed by anonymous types over his fumbling, alleged shoulder issues and past off-the-field issues. He benched 225 pounds 22 times in front of scouts at the combine. Can any team afford to pass on a talent with 4,400 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns in 38 games?
McCaffrey (5-11, 202) supposedly lacks size and, if you believe the knuckleheads, loyalty, the latter because he passed up Stanford’s bowl game to get ready for the NFL draft. Leonard Fournette, another coveted running back prospect, did the same at LSU. McCaffrey rushed for 1,600 yards and 13 TDs despite missing a game last season for the Cardinal.
Then there’s Douglas, charged with setting up his first draft board.
Douglas is a disciple of Ozzie Newsome, widely considered one of the premier talent evaluators in football.
Newsome, however, hasn’t exactly been on a winning streak if you’ve seen what’s happed to the Baltimore Ravens lately. The Ravens haven’t reached the playoffs in three of four seasons since winning Super Bowl XLVII.
In his first 16 drafts, Newsome averaged almost one Pro Bowl player annually. The only every-down player to reach the Pro Bowl in the past five Newsome-Eric DeCosta drafts is linebacker C.J. Mosley.
It also bears mentioning that the Ravens have been unable to keep good players because of the massive contract they gave quarterback Joe Flacco.
The clock is running on Douglas, Roseman and the Eagles, who rarely miss a public opportunity to insist they’re committed to surrounding quarterback Carson Wentz with quality players. (It almost makes you wonder if Wentz insisted on an upgrade of talent.)
While past performance is no guarantee of future success, the inverse also holds true. There are anomalies every year.