Philadelphia Eagles Draft | Seven Round Mock 2.0

Round 6: James Conner, RB, Pitt

This would be a really interesting pick for Philadelphia. James Conner’s well-documented battle with leukemia can be read and watched here, and there’s simply no questioning his intangibles and work ethic. I’d love to put a guy like this in the locker room and next to QB Carson Wentz.

But on the field, Conner’s a bit of an enigma. You can see significant differences in his 2016 tape compared to that of 2014. That is to say, he returned from chemotherapy a better running back, which is straight nonsense.

I have a lot of questions about his change of direction, vision, and balance, but at 240 lbs he moves with surprising quickness and decent lateral agility (he’s certainly cut weight, though. I’d but him at 220). While he doesn’t play with the best leverage, he’s improved his running style from 2014, and packs a considerable punch when he drops his pad level. You rarely see him fall at first contact. He plays tougher than anyone on the field.

I bring up the differences between 2014 and 2016 because Conner’s a redshirt junior. Given the improvement he showed, I would have loved for him to stay at school for 2017, two years removed from his chemo treatment, and really demonstrate to NFL teams his ability to be a complete back. If he had done so, it wouldn’t be as much of a projection for him.

But given the growth over that hectic 2015, I think Conner has the potential to develop into a spot-starter/strong tandem piece. Think RB Jonathan Stewart-esque. A good RB coach like Duce Staley can help him run with his pads in front and maximize his ability to get moving north and south. If the Philadelphia Eagles believe in 2016 5th-rounder RB Wendell Smallwood as a ‘lightning’ tandem back, this 2017 6th-rounder could bring the ‘thunder’.