NFL Draft Chalk Talk: Will Eagles Select a Running Back?
At Tuesday’s NFL Draft Chalk Talk event held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, five panelists, including former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski and renowned draft expert Mel Kiper Jr., got together and discussed several topics surrounding the upcoming NFL Draft.
Throughout the discussion, one of the more intriguing matters they talked about was the incoming running back class, and the depth that is present at the position. “In the running back position, you probably have three first’s and then a big time wildcard who on talent is a top 10 pick, but may not go until the second round in Joe Mixon from Oklahoma,” Kiper said during the panel discussion.
Mixon, who was caught on tape assaulting a woman in 2014, was a hot topic amongst the panelists, who examined the backlash that will be aimed towards the team that selects him. NFL network analyst Brian Baldinger issued a warning to teams, acknowledging that with a player like Mixon, the decision of whether or not to take him will ultimately come down to the owner.
“As soon as you draft Joe Mixon, there’s gonna be a horrendous video that is gonna play on a loop, and it’s not gonna stop,” Baldinger said. “It’s the owner’s pick, and all the things that are gonna come, it’s gonna be a lot and it’s not gonna stop after a day. You’ve gotta be prepared for it.”
ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick also touched on the danger that can come with drafting a player like Mixon, but knows what type of business the NFL is.
“I understand that the NFL is about winning football games, I get that and many of us in the NFL will do whatever we have to in order to justify trying to win a football game and if that means drafting Joe Mixon, you have to understand who you wanna be and what you wanna stand for,” Riddick said.
“Some teams have him off their board, they’re not even considering him,” he added. “He viciously hurt a woman and it’s on video and you can pull it up on YouTube any time you wanna watch it. That’s the dilemma team’s are facing here, that’s why some teams will go ‘no thank you.’”
While there will be many teams passing on Mixon, Jaworski used current Kansas City Chief Tyreek Hill as a similar case. “It’s really difficult. I believe in a second chance, I won’t just dismiss a guy. People have made mistakes in life; I don’t know how bad (Mixon) feels about it,” Jaworski said. “Tyreek Hill is a guy that paid a steep debt, was drafted in the fifth round when he may have been an earlier pick, cleaned up his act, and was put in the right environment in Kansas City.” Hill racked up 61 receptions for 593 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie year, becoming an electrifying weapon for a middling Chiefs’ offense.
Away from Mixon, Jaworski questioned the other four about who Philadelphia might be targeting with the 14th pick, and Baldinger did not shy away from his fascination with Florida State running back Dalvin Cook.
Picking Cook, according to Baldinger, is “at least a conversation I’d wanna have inside the war room.”
“If we were thinking that Carson Wentz is truly the guy, and if the philosophy is ‘let’s surround Carson with all the weapons we possibly can’ and they’ve addressed the offensive line and receiver positions, there’s a kid out there that I love and people will debate, but you can’t find a game when Dalvin Cook didn’t look special,” he said.
For NFL analyst Greg Cosell, cornerback should be the number one priority when the Eagles are on the clock. With the additions of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, Cosell said the team should feel comfortable enough to not have to take a wide receiver with their first round selection. Cosell also recognized that there is still a missing aspect to the Philadelphia offense, but remained adamant about drafting a defensive player.“I still think they need some explosiveness on offense, and this is an offense that doesn’t really require a foundation back, this is not an offense that starts with a runner, so you don’t need that kind of back, whether someone like Dalvin Cook is there or Christian McCaffrey,” he said. On the current roster, the Eagles have Wendell Smallwood, who accumulated 312 yards on 77 carries in 13 games, and the injured and departing Ryan Mathews.
It remains to be seen whether the Eagles will take a back, especially with the various character issues with many of the top prospects. Nevertheless, general manager Howie Roseman will certainly have options to plug in right away at tailback come September.
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Categorized:Eagles