Philadelphia Eagles’ Seven Round Mock Draft | 1.0

The Philadelphia Eagles’ season is over, and the college football Bowl games are all but wrapped up. It’s time to look ahead to the 2017 NFL Draft.

So many changes; the same result. With a new GM, a new head coach, two new coordinators, and a shiny new starting quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles went 7-9 for the second year in a row. Last year, that was good for 2nd in the NFC East, only two games behind the Washington Redskins–this year, dead last.

Suffice to say, the Philadelphia Eagles have plenty of work to do in the upcoming NFL Draft this April. Their needs are plenty and blatant. The order of those needs can be debated, but I rank them as such:

If someone shuffled around WR, CB, and RB, I could hardly blame them. The Eagles’ future hinges on their ability to improve those three positions–whether through free agency, or more likely, through the draft.

As such, here comes our first Philadelphia Eagles seven-round mock draft–16 weeks before the actual event in Philadelphia. A few things to note before we get started:

The Eagles’ draft order stands as follows:

• 1st Round: 14th overall (via Minnesota Vikings)
• 2nd Round: Own pick
• 3rd Round: Own pick
• 4th Round: Own pick
• 5th Round: Browns’ pick
• 5th Round: Own pick
• 6th Round: Own pick
• 7th Round: Own pick

There are plenty of reasons to get excited about this draft. Firstly, the presumed future-mortgaging of the Carson Wentz trade clearly doesn’t exist, via the highway robbery that was the Sam Bradford trade. The Eagles actually have an extra pick in this year’s draft: the Browns’ fifth, which could become a 4th-rounder if the league awards the Browns a compensatory pick at the tail end of the fourth. Nice.

Second, if you haven’t learned the name Joe Douglas yet, you better start, because…

…turns out he might be pretty important.

A branch off the Ozzie Newsome tree, Douglas was a scout with the Ravens–an organization consistently successful in the draft–over the past 16 years. He spent last year with Chicago, as their director of college scouting, before the Eagles scooped him up.

I’d like to take this moment to note that Chicago drafted Leonard Floyd, Cody Whitehair, and Jordan Howard in their year with Joe Douglas–all three immediate impact players.

Those who knock Howie Roseman as a GM look to his draft failures. Danny Watkins, Kevin Kolb, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Curtis Marsh, Marcus Smith–stop me when it really starts to hurt. But Joe Douglas brings time-tested draft experience to Philadelphia, and hopefully his hand in the process will elevate the Eagles’ much-needed success during the event.

With these things in mind, let’s take a look at the Philadelphia Eagles seven-round mock, version 1.0

Round 1: Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State

“But Ben, you had running back as your third biggest need, why are you drafting–”

I know.

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When teams have a ‘best player available’ (BPA) draft mentality, they formulate a Big Board–a hierarchical list of all of the prospects–and whatever prospect is at the top of their list when their pick arrives, they grab that prospect. Other teams draft for areas of need, using more horizontally oriented boards, and grabbing the best player available at their position of need.

No team who claims to perfectly adhere to the BPA mentality actually does. Sometimes, they skip a few slots or break a tie using an area of need.

By the same token, a team drafting for an area of need might be lured to by the availability of an elite prospect who, sliding for whatever reason, addresses a lesser area of need, or no area of need at all. Make sense?

Enter Dalvin Cook.

Forget the Fournette hype–Cook is the best running back in this class, bar none. Check out some plays:

All against Clemson. Which, you may know, has kinda an okay defense.

Cook’s greatest strengths are his patience and his burst–I’m not saying he’s Pittsburgh RB Le’Veon Bell, but watch an average Bell run and you’ll see how long he waits, how he sets up his blockers, and then how quickly he explodes through the seam they create. Cook runs in a similar fashion, picking and choosing his hole carefully, then firing through seams with elite acceleration. He rarely panics in the backfield or tries to over-create, as rookies often do, but runs smart, taking what he can get at times and bouncing to the corner at others.

Given his ability as a receiving threat, Cook is a true three-down back that fits perfectly into the Eagles’ running scheme behind their athletic offensive line. His presence would take great stress off of Wentz’s shoulders and often keep the Eagles from those 3rd-and-long situations that plagued them all year–for this very reason, I think RB is an underrated need for Philly (read: Zeke helped Dak)

A game-changing prospect, if Cook drops to 14, the Eagles will run the card to the podium.

Round 2: Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson

Staying in the ACC, the Eagles find great value in a top-heavy CB class with Cordrea Tankersley, a rangy competitor on the boundary.

In the CB Jalen Mills mold that we know defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz loves, Tankersley stands tall at 6’1 and has incredible length. As such, his best play comes from man coverage at the line of scrimmage. That fits the Eagles’ scheme nicely, as it gives the defensive line the opportunity to get home.

He does play with great physicality, which can get him in trouble with the referees. However, his silky hips and quick footwork, along with strong click-and-close ability, allow him to mirror routes nicely–in short, he can cover without being overly aggressive, and he did so all year, with an opponent’s passer rating of 37.7, good for 4th best in college football. He’ll have to continue growing in zone coverage, but he would step in as the immediate CB1 for the Philadelphia Eagles.

https://twitter.com/theACCDN/status/811258131263012864

And I’ve heard we might need one of those.

If the Eagles chose to retain Nolan Carroll and cut Leodis McKelvin–both moves seem quite intuitive–Tankersley’s presence on the outside lets Philly move Jalen Mills to the slot, wherein his skill set translates a lot more naturally.

Keep an eye on Tankersley at the Combine. With an incredible CB class coming up, his 3-cone drill, physical measurements, and 40-yd dash (a boundary CB needs recovery speed, which Mills lacks) will indicate where he’ll fall come April.

Round 3: Courtland Sutton, WR, Southern Methodist

Folks need to stop sleeping on Sutton, man. Read this blurb from withthefirstpick.com, FanSided’s NFL Draft site:

"Courtland Sutton is a big-bodied wide receiver prospect who features both good length and bulk. He’s built a lot like Terrell Owens. In fact, there’s a lot of Sutton’s game that mimics the former All-Pro’s playing style."

Incredibly high praise. IN reality, Sutton lacks the top-end speed to be mentioned in the conversation with top NFL WRs. That being said, three things that pop to mind when watching Sutton: physicality, body control, and strong hands.

How many times this season did you want an Eagle receiver to make this catch? And as casually, too?

At 6’4, Sutton has a catch radius that the Eagles desperately need, and the hands to reel in inaccurate balls. He vanishes occasionally, showing an unwillingness to block and laziness on some routes, which is a shame, as he’s a superb route runner at other times. He’ll need to take to coaching well–I believe, if he’s brought to Philly to be ‘The Man’, QB Carson Wentz’s #1 target, he’ll respond to that role positively.

Taken in the 3rd round, Courtland Sutton could develop into the receiving threat that the Eagles desperately need.

Round 4: Taylor Moton, Offensive Tackle, Western Michigan

Not the Western Michigan Bronco many of you hoped to see, I’m sure. While I’m as big of a WR Corey Davis fan as the next guy, and I’d love to see him in midnight green, Taylor Moton could prove just as valuable to the Eagles.

A lot of draftniks are high on Moton right now, so projecting him to the fourth round might be a bit hopeful. However, I don’t know if Moton has the kick and slide, flexibility, and aggressive hands to be an offensive tackle at the next level. A lot of people in the draft community agree: as he did at Western Michigan, he may have to slide over to guard.

There may be better true tackles available in the 4th round; there may be better guards as well. But the Eagles really value that swing ability in their offensive linemen, and given Lane Johnson‘s disturbingly thin ice and Jason Peters‘ impending retirement, if the Eagles can draft a lineman who could contribute at guard and kick out to tackle if needed, they should capitalize on that opportunity.

Despite his athletic shortcomings at tackle, Moton’s a bruiser at 6’5, 330 with some devastating power. Have some fun and watch him eat people alive against Kent State.

Round 5: Amba Etta-Tawo, WR, Syracuse

I’ll admit, I’m way higher on this kid than a lot of folks are–but man, watching his tape really makes me think the team who grabs AET is straight thieving. I’m going to throw up the highlight film, which is always a dangerous proposition for scouting–but just check out his potential:

Scouts like myself, without privileged All-22 game tape or the means to attend games, struggle to get a full scope at corners and WRs. From the very limited tape, AET doesn’t create much separation, but often just enough to win 50/50 balls, which is a big strength of his. He does an incredible job tracking and adjusting to deep shots, often winning on back-shoulder catches or using his large frame (6’2, 202) to box out CBs.

I also love the way he snags everything–everything–out of the air with strong hands. He doesn’t have the quickest feet or straight line speed, so his 40-yard dash and 3-cone drill won’t impress anybody, but I expect a fantastic gauntlet run at the Combine.

On the downside, Etta-Tawo ran a very limited route tree at Syracuse–a go (with the back shoulder fade), a curl, and a WR screen are the only three routes you see consistently. He might have to play with a similar degree of simplicity as WR Dorial Green-Beckham as he starts out, but I think his ability to threaten deep and win contested throws opens up the entire Eagle offense.

Round 5: Daeshon Hall, Defensive End, Texas A&M

Myles Garrett receives almost the entirety of opposing teams’ attention–and rightfully so. Kid’s a straight beast.

But Daeshon Hall lines up opposite Garrett on most snaps and has some traits in his own right. He flashes with good hands (esp. at 1:01) but needs coaching to refine his pass rush sequences. He doesn’t have notable bend or speed on the outside, and he lacks elite power, but he plays with nice leverage for his height, and his interior rush often puts stress on opposing quarterbacks. Furthermore, at 6’6, he can easily disrupt throwing lanes.

My favorite thing, specifically watching this South Carolina tape, is how Hall grows throughout the game. Watch him get smarter and smarter playing the read option after biting hard on the first couple of plays.

Round 6: Channing Stribling, CB, Michigan

Another guy playing opposite a guy you hear about more often. I’m a big CB Jourdan Lewis fan, but teammate Channing Stribling fits the Schwartz mold more snugly. He stands at 6’2, and don’t miss it: he led a staunch Michigan defense with 16 pass break-ups (PBUs). Lewis had 12.

Now, he sees about twice as many targets as Lewis, but he plays aggressively, with great anticipation. Watch him run this route for the WR here, get his head around, and locate the football.

With three interceptions, including the one above, on top of his 16 PBUs, Stribling has a nose for the football. However, he lacks the hips and feet to become a premier NFL cornerback, and his contributions in the run game and as a tackler leave plenty to be desired, All things considered, the Eagles would welcome him as a talented addition to their depleted CB stable–especially considering Nolan Carroll’s injury history.

Round 7: Noble Nwachukwu, DE/DT, West Virginia

What a name, and what a man. Let’s just start with this.

Daeshon Hall lacked power–Nwachukwu has nothing but it. His ability to stack and shed offensive lineman reminds me of Fletcher Cox, in that he locks his powerful arms and uses them to throw 300 pound tackles where he wishes. Squat and stout, Nwachukwu most likely fits better in a two-gap DL, as he played at West Virginia. However, newly acquired defensive line coach Chris Wilson helped both DT Bennie Logan and DT Beau Allen transfer their skill set nicely into the 4-3, attacking scheme Jim Schwartz likes to play. I think he can do the same with Nwachukwu.

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In the Eagles’ 4-3, I’d expect them to use him on the edge in running situations and in the interior on passing downs. Adding him to their stable of young DTs (Aziz Shittu, Destiny Vaeao) becomes even more imperative if Bennie Logan walks in free agency, and his pass-rushing ability from the DT position allows the Eagles to keep players like DE Vinny Curry on the edge. As a team that likes to rotate their defensive line, the Philadelphia Eagles could gain a lot of flexibility with this pick.