Philadelphia Eagles Draft | 6 East-West Shrine Game Targets

The East-West Shrine Game will feature many draft-worthy prospects. Who will the Philadelphia Eagles have their eye on?

College football’s first and longest-running all-star game, the East-West Shrine Game, will be played this Saturday, January 21st and televised on NFL Network. (Eventual) Hall of Famers John Elway, Tom Brady, and Brett Farve, along with current Philadelphia Eagles OG Brandon Brooks and S Rodney McLeod, all used the game as an opportunity to showcase their skills pre-draft . Not necessarily a star-studded event, the Shrine Game gives some big-school, mid-round prospects the platform to raise their draft stock, and some lesser-known names the exposure to start generating some buzz.

So which prospects are the Philadelphia Eagles talking to? Who might interest them deeper in the draft? We have 5 names that might fight the bill.

Josh Tupou, NT, Colorado

If the Eagles don’t retain DT Bennie Logan this offseason, they’ll need to generate a replacement. While DT Beau Allen has flashed over the past year, he’s no Logan, who had a marked effect on the Eagles’ run defense:

Tupou was seen speaking to an Eagles scout after the first day of practice–I expect they’re interested in him primarily due to his size. Tupou will be one of the largest DTs to enter the draft in recent memory, standing tall at 6’3 and weighing in at a whopping 362 lbs. An absolute monster on the inside, he would gobble up double teams to free DT Fletcher Cox.

Don’t mistake Tupou for a pure space eater, however: he has shined in the explosiveness and quickness drills in St. Petersburg, especially considering his size. Playing for the West squad, he moves quick off the line, throwing interior lineman around at will. Don’t try to run the ball at him.

Tupou has a very speckled past, which includes charges for assault, trespassing, and various other misdemeanors–he was removed from the team for the 2015 season as a result of his crimes. The Eagles will have to be comfortable with Tupou’s behavior moving forward if they decide to bring him on in the later rounds.

Projected Round: 6th