Philadelphia Eagles: A deep look into potential 2019 NFL Draft picks
Offensive Line
Continuing to look at the Philadelphia Eagles roster it’s safe to say they won’t be looking at a tight end unless it’s really late rounds and a camp body. The Eagles are easily secured at tight end with pro bowler Zach Ertz and second-year Dallas Goedert. Ertz is coming off of a career season with 116 catches off of 156 targets for 1,163 yards and eight touchdowns. While Goedert is coming off of a rookie campaign that showed potential with 33 catches for 334 yards and four touchdowns. The Eagles also have Richard Rodgers, Joshua Perkins, and Will Tye, showing no real need to add another tight end.
Moving onto the offensive line, the Philadelphia Eagles have a lingering question with Jason Peters’ old age and how his body will hold up. It will be in the best interest of Philly to draft a LT high in the draft unless they truly Believe Jordan Maliata is ready to take over and will be good enough to be a starting left tackle in the league. It’s very likely the Eagles look to select Peters replacement in the first or second round of the draft. Sitting at the end of the first round with pick 25 it can be tough for the Eagles to land a top skills position. However, they could land a top offensive lineman.
Andre Dillard tackle from Washington State could be a name the Eagles call for their first pick in the draft. Dillard is a four-year starter at left tackle proving he can take the punishment from the responsibilities of the blind side. He is praised for having high football IQ as well as high character. He also is said to have quick, steady feet, explosive lateral quickness as well as a buttery-smooth skip-pull step. As good of a pick as this would be for the Eagles they would have to hope he makes it to 25 which may not happen.
A top LT prospect that could very likely go to the Philadelphia Eagles is Ole Miss Greg Little. Little is projected to be a back-end first round pick or early second round pick putting him right in the ballpark for Philadelphia. The talented tackle has played every game since stepping on campus and started his last two years. Little is said to have the right combination of size, strength, and quickness for a left tackle as well as having a loose lower body with the ability to quickly recover and adjust blocks to moving linebackers. Even if the Eagles don’t select a tackle with their first pick, plenty of top tackles are projected for the second round like Dalton Risner, Max Scharping, and Tytus Howard.
The Eagles starting line is more than fine with Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce, and Isaac Seumalo joining up with Peters. However, they could add some depth, as of right now there’s no true back up center, and no one besides the coaching staff really knows what Matt Pryor can provide the team. At the same time, the team seems pretty comfortable having Halapoulivaati Vaitai as a backup option on the line.
By looking at this, the Eagles will most likely look to draft a lineman or two to add to the team’s depth and with there not being an official back up center that will probably be where they look first. Since Philly will most likely draft a lineman for depth purposes, they’ll probably wait until around the fourth or fifth round to select one.
Center out of Georgia Lamont Gaillard is projected to go in the fourth or fifth round making him a prime target on Philly’s radar for those rounds. In 2016 Gaillard started the entire season at right guard before moving to center as a junior and finished off his college career starting every game at center. Lamont is said to be better up the middle blocking rather than laterally and is considered undersized in the NFL but is a tough, physical, gritty, and versatile player which fits perfectly in the trenches of Philadelphia.
Projected to go in the fifth to sixth round is center Ross Pierschbacher out of Alabama. He would first start at left guard for all 14 games in 2015 then started 13 games at right guard as well as two at left the following year. He would then miss time due to a high ankle sprain before moving to center and starting their his entire senior year. With being praised for his good size and his ability and experience starting at guard and center, he is a valuable and versatile late-round option for the Eagles to look into. The Philadelphia Eagles have shown they like to have versatile lineman, Galliard and Pierschbacher can both provide that versatility to the line’s depth and for not too high of a cost.