So far this offseason, the Eagles have addressed arguably the largest of their many needs by acquiring high pedigree wide receivers Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith. Alshon Jeffrey provides the size and strength a number-one receiver needs, and Smith provides the speedy deep threat as a complement, Needless to say, quarterback Carson Wentz finally has some viable weapons to work with in his sophomore season.
Doug Pederson and the Eagles now look forward to the 2017 NFL draft, which takes place in Philadelphia, to fulfill some of their other needs. Their depth at corner—which has been suspect arguably since the departure of Asante Samuel—is again one of them.
After a mediocre season, it is no secret that the Eagles need a significant boost in the secondary. They have safety Malcolm Jenkins, who is a leader on the team and can provide some mentorship to young cornerbacks, and Rodney McLeod, who adds some physicality as well as some ball-hawking ability. However, their cornerback play left a lot to be desired.
Philadelphia Sports Nation’s own Jason Kates was present yesterday
at the NFL chalk talk draft event at the Philadelphia convention center, and was able to speak with experts Mel Kiper Jr., Greg Cossell, and Ron Jaworski among others regarding the secondary positions. According to all of the experts, this draft is a dream for defensive coordinators, which means the Eagles could go with the “best player available” in the first round and still pick some good prospects for the secondary later on.
Analyst Greg Cosell felt the Eagles “have to look at the corner position, and you have to look at the pass rush position,” he said. “At 14, maybe you don’t need a pass rusher because you might be able to get that guy later based on the depth at the position and a lot of guys can rush the quarterback that you could probably get later.”
The experts were in general agreement that the “wide receiver position is probably out of the mix right now” after the free agent signings.
Expert Brian Baldinger was keen on adding one more weapon to Wentz’s arsenal, and thinks the Eagles are safe by drafting the secondary late: “This draft is dripping with corners. You could fix the offense with 14 and address the defense later with how deep the draft is.”
“If you wanna spend your 14th pick on Gareon Conley if he’s there, I wouldn’t have any issue with it,” Baldinger added. “But I’d say give me the most explosive weapon in this whole draft, Dalvin Cook, and let’s fix the offense. Let’s go score 30 and then we’ll figure out a way to keep it under 30 defensively.”
Cook has set college rushing records and shows plenty of upscale potential. Baldinger believes if Cook is available at 14, the Eagles would be foolish to pass on him.
NFL analyst and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski thinks otherwise. He believes the Eagles will go right to the secondary in the first round. “I think Philadelphia is in a sweet spot in the draft, and I believe the Eagles will take a corner at 14.” As many fans believe, Jaworski thinks the Eagles need to focus on improving the secondary early on, and then addressing offense and pass rushing later on.
Will the Eagles improve the cornerback position in the first round, or will they wait until later in the draft? Either way, the Birds should come away with at least two cornerbacks in the three-day period, but only time will tell.
