Todd McShay’s Mock Draft 3.0 Has Eagles Selecting Safety Landon Collins

The NFL combine has come and gone, which means it is time to start digging deeper into the NFL Draft. At this point, the majority of teams have watched players and are intensifying their interest level on a select group of targets. The next step for teams would be attending pro days. At this point, ESPN Draft Analyst Todd McShay has completed his first two mock drafts. Version 3.0 hit the web Thursday morning, taking into account combine performances of first round prospects. In his first mock draft, McShay projected Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes heading to the Eagles with the 20th pick. McShay then released his mock 2.0 just a month later and had Alabama defensive back Landon Collins going to Philadelphia at No. 20. This was a drop for Collins, who McShay originally had going ninth overall to Chicago. He has now released mock 3.0, and following a great showing from Marcus Mariota, let’s look at who McShay has ending up in Philadelphia.

With the 20th pick in McShay version 3.0, the Philadelphia Eagles select……Landon Collins, defensive back from Alabama. Okay, nothing has changed, but seriously, lets dive into why McShay likes Collins to Philadelphia.

In mocking Landon Collins to Philadelphia, McShay says:

"“I know from talking to Chip Kelly previously how highly he thinks of Mariota, his former quarterback at Oregon, but I don’t know whether he’d be willing to pay a really high price in terms of draft picks and other assets to move up to draft him. Regardless, we don’t project trades in these mock drafts anyway, and Collins would fill a need at safety, with strong safety Nate Allen a free agent this offseason. Collins has weakside linebacker size (6-0, 228 pounds) and impressive straight-line speed (4.53 40), and while he has some limitations in man-to-man coverage, he’s got good range in deep zone coverage and he fills hard in run support. Washington cornerback Marcus Peters is another possibility here, since the Eagles need help at corner.”"

At this point, you can’t deny that McShay’s mock makes a ton of sense. He makes valid points throughout his analysis about Mariota’s trade price, and even projecting another corner, Marcus Peters to fall to Philadelphia. A key aspect to remember in McShay’s mock is that he does not project trades. Doing that in a mock draft can be risky because it can change the entire draft depending on the trade partners. Either way, Landon Collins has been mocked twice to the Eagles to play alongside Malcolm Jenkins at safety.

As McShay mentions, Landon Collins has the build of a linebacker (6’0, 228 lbs), while maintaining elite straight-line speed (4.53 40). Isn’t this the type of player the Eagles secondary has been missing since, well, Brian Dawkins? I’m not saying they’re the same, but a physical ball-hawk at the safety position has been missing in Philadelphia since B-Dawk’s departure.

Another reason McShay’s mock makes sense is that last season Philadelphia ranked 28th in yards against and 22nd in points allowed. The Eagles were also 31st in passing yards against and 21st in interceptions. As a secondary, the Eagles were not good and now they have at least two positions to fill.

Last season at Alabama, Collins recorded 103 total tackles, seven pass deflections, three interceptions and one forced fumble in fourteen games. To go along with those numbers, Collins was selected as a first-team All-SEC safety by the Associated Press. Collins was also voted a second team All-American safety by USA Today.

The wild-card in the mock equation, as stated above by McShay, is that he does not project trades. Right now, Todd McShay has Marcus Mariota falling to the Jets with the sixth pick in the draft. While the national media and fan base continue to talk about Mariota, McShay would rather talk price.

As he opens his analysis with, he does not know if Chip Kelly would be willing to pay the high price for Marcus Mariota. At this point, it is all speculation as to what the price would be to move up for Marcus Mariota. It would be two first round picks and two players, or it could be more, who knows. Honestly, it may all depend on who is going to pick Mariota. The price changes from Tampa Bay at No. 1 to New York at No. 6. In the end, it will all come down to the price Philadelphia would have to pay for Mariota between one and six.

However, McShay has been consistent with Philadelphia taking a defensive back in the first-round. All signs point to the Eagles secondary needing to improve this upcoming season. If you disagree, look no further than what Dez Bryant did to Bradley Fletcher in the biggest game of the 2014 season. The Eagles had turnover issues on offense and there is no denying that, but if you cannot stop teams from stretching the field and getting into the end zone, you’re going to be in trouble. Sure, Philadelphia can go into free-agency with hopes of signing two corners and trading for Mariota, but be careful what you wish for as they already tried that with Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. In his mock 3.0, McShay stays commited to Philadelphia going after a defensive back with the 20th pick, and all numbers point to him properly addressing a glaring deficieny on the Eagles corrent roster.