Philadelphia Eagles: 3 under the radar Day 2 targets in the 2020 NFL Draft

Trevis Gipson, Defensive End, Tulsa

The 2020 NFL Draft is not particularly deep at edge rusher.

Outside of Chase Young – who, fun fact, went to the same high school as Markelle Fultz – there really isn’t another edge rusher who can come in and dominate from Day 1 in the NFL.

Sure, players like Curtis Weaver, A.J. Epenesa, and Julian Okwara would find success if placed in the right scheme, but all three will surely be off the board when the Eagles take the clock at 53.

Fortunately, there are a few third-tier defensive ends that could be solid fits in Jim Schwartz‘s defense, highlighted by Tulsa‘s own Trevis Gipson.

A four-year contributor for the Golden Hurricane – singular, not plural – Gipson is an intriguing hight-weight-speed product with experience coming off both the left and the right side of the line.

At 6-foot-3, 261-pounds, Gipson is big enough to hold up against the run and athletic enough to bend around the edge on his way to unsuspecting quarterbacks. Sure, very few American Athletic Conference offensive tackles are going to be playing on Sunday in the NFL, but typically, it’s a good sign when it takes two-to-three blockers to bring an edge rusher down regardless of where they play.

With some additional seasoning, Gipson could serve as the second-coming of Vinny Curry; in that, he’s another small school product with three-down tools who could potentially even kick inside on obvious passing downs.

If the Philadelphia Eagles value adding ample future upside over an instant contributor at the end of the third round – or in the fourth if he falls further – Trevis Gipson could develop into a threat as a wide-9 defensive end. Then again, plenty of people also thought that about Josh Sweat, so maybe the Eagles don’t have the best track record of developing edge rushers.

Other options: Baylor‘s James Lynch, Utah‘s Leki Fotu

Pro comp: Vinny Curry