Eagles on draft night: What will fly and what won’t
Exactly two weeks from tonight, the NFL draft will commence from Chicago and Eagles fans will be on the edge of their couches or bar stools eagerly anticipating what the riverboat gambler, Chip Kelly, has up his sleeve. Will Kelly pull the trigger and go all the way up to No. 2? Will he slide up 10 spots if his old signal-caller is somehow still on the board? Will he sit back at 20 and take the best available? Would he dare trade down?
Let's start with the two scenarios that will enrage Eagles fans beyond belief.
The first would be drafting tackle Jake Fisher with the 20th overall selection. The outrage would stem from the school he played for, Oregon -- quack-quack, another Duck selection -- to the fact that he is considered by some to be a second-round talent.
Fisher is 6-foot-6 and 306 pounds and a former tight end (see Jason Peters and Lane Johnson) so you know he's an athlete. We know Chip likes versatility. We know this kid is experienced when it comes to blocking in a zone-based ground attack. Another positive would be that he is considered to be "more polished" (per NFL.com) than former Duck and first-round draft pick Kyle Long.
The negative is that he was one of the most penalized linemen in college football the past two seasons. Bottom line, Eagles fans will hate this pick. While offensive-line depth is necessary, especially for this aging core, this selection makes marginal sense to me, but I would pass.
The second scenario that would make Eagles fans' heads explode would be trading down from 20. Last year, the Eagles dropped four spots from 22 to 26. The selection was Marcus Smith, and it was downright awful. This franchise has plenty of holes to plug, and I see no value in dropping back a few spots regardless of who is knocking on your door. Address a need and fill that void.
Now, we breakdown the four scenarios that I think Eagles fans would really like. Three, I would sign off on. The one that I want no part of, yeah, I think his name is Marcus Mariota, Too expensive, have doubts, thanks for asking. More Eagles fans want him than don't, based on the temperature I've been able to gauge since late January, but the reality is that this will be extremely difficult to pull off.
No. 2, drafting safety Landon Collins out of Alabama would seem like a solid addition to a revamped secondary. Having Collins to play alongside Malcolm Jenkins, Byron Maxwell, Brandon Boykin and others should round out the back end. Collins is a solid tackler. He's also underrated in coverage. I wouldn't say he's great coming down and defending the slot, but in a Cover 3 or Cover 1 package (single high safety) that defensive coordinator Bill Davis likes to employ, I think he is very adequate patrolling center field.
Do the Eagles think he's versatile enough? I'm not sure. But I believe he potentially is a seven- or eight-year player who could garner a Pro Bowl or two. He's no Brian Dawkins, but who is? He would be a definitive upgrade over the litany of inadequate safeties this team has rolled out over the past five years.
Taking a wide receiver at 20 makes sense as well. How could it not? With Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper, Miles Austin and Josh Huff, you need a playmaker. Once Amari Cooper and Kevin White go off the board, your guess is as good as mine as to who makes the most sense, but I would like a receiver as well. However, this is a very deep class at wide receiver this year and the need could be filled in the second and third rounds.
That leaves us with cornerback. Now, I'm of the belief that Brandon Boykin would be a better option on the perimeter, opposite Byron Maxwell. But the Eagles insist he's a nickel guy, and they will roll the dice with Walter Thurmond and Nolan Carroll, as of now.
A cornerback selection would be approved by some of the fans, and I think they would be happy with Jalen Collins out of LSU or Trae Waynes of Michigan State. Marcus Peters out of Washington could be the best of the bunch, but with prior brush-ups with the coaching staff, I doubt Chip "Culture" Kelly would bring him on board.
We'll find out two weeks from tonight, when Kelly begins his third NFL draft. There are some personnel decisions that will cause outrage. There are some that will have the city celebrating into the wee hours of Friday. Here's to something going down that will have us waking up happy Friday morning.