Philadelphia Eagles: Talking prospects with Mel Kiper Jr.

The NFL Draft is less than a month away and the Philadelphia Eagles are deep in preparation for the big day.

Philadelphia Eagles fans are also getting ready for the draft as shown by the high attendance numbers at the Chalk Talk that was done to drum up excitement for the draft. After the talk, I had a chance to interview one of the names that is synonymous with the NFL Draft, Mel Kiper Jr. and I’ll be sharing that interview with you below. We talked everything from prospects to Joe Douglas and this should give a good idea about where the Philadelphia Eagles may look to go in the draft.

Chuck: How big of a difference will it be with Joe Douglas running the show?

Mel: A lot of it depends on how things fall in the draft. Some years the positions that you need help at don’t work in unison with what’s out there and everything has to have synergy with need players at that position. I think that this year it will make a difference. Cornerback is a need area and there are some really good corners out there.

Chuck: Speaking of what’s out there with this being a defense heavy draft, do you think that it’s more likely that the Philadelphia Eagles trade back to acquire picks or do you see them falling in love with a prospect and trying to package Jason Kelce to move up?

Mel: That depends, if someone like Marshon Lattimore is there, it would be hard to pass him up. I know that he has the hamstring issue but it would be tough to pass him up. If Conley is there it would be tough passing him up. If they feel like they can get a corner like say, Tabor in the second or third round, Quincy Wilson second or third round then maybe they wait a little bit. But I think it depends on how your ratings are and what your board looks like.

Chuck: Linebacker is a position that isn’t being discussed much when it comes to Philadelphia Eagles draft targets even though they lack depth there. Who could you see the Eagles picking in the later rounds?

Mel: Pass rushers they can get. You can find pass rushers down the road in this draft. The early guy would be McKinley from UCLA. If you want a guy late round, Ryan Anderson from Alabama. Like second or third round. If you want a guy really late, like third or fourth round it would be Derrick Rivers from Youngstown State who I really like.

Chuck: Who would you say are your most overrated/underrated prospects?

Mel: Based on where they are right now, Dalvin Cook if he goes in the top 15, top 20 because I’d never take a running back in the first round. The thing about backs like that is that I’d rather go and get a Matt Days in the third round, a Jamal Williams from BYU, there are some really good backs, TJ Logan from North Carolina had a really good year. Look at what Jordan Howard did last year and he was picked in the fifth round. I would wait on a running back but that’s just my opinion.

Next: Eagles Acquire Timmy Jernigan, Swap Third-Rounder with Ravens

Chuck: Finally with the Philadelphia Eagles signing Chris Long and Patrick Robinson how does that impact their draft strategy if at all?

Mel: Not a lot, Long is what he is at this stage of his career, he’s an edge guy. Not like it changes what they’ll do too much, they’ve gotta come away with two corners. They could add a running back and this is the year to add one so I think that this draft works in conjunction with what they need. The depth at running back, the depth at corner, if you want a pass rusher it’s a great year to get one. I mean Tyus Bowser if you wanna talk about underrated guys, from Houston, he could go in the late first round. He had 8.5 sacks and he was a dominant player and people didn’t find out about him until he worked out.

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