ESPN rebuilds the Philadelphia Eagles in a four-round franchise mock draft
ESPN rebuilds the Philadelphia Eagles in an interesting fashion.
June is notoriously the slowest month in the NFL’s calendar year.
All of the league’s premier free agents have been signed, the draft is long since gone, the training camp is still a few weeks away. Sure, little bits of interesting news break through the mix here and there, but for the most part, this is the time where writers like yours truly critique past moves, dive into hypothetical trades/signings, and mock drafts, oh so many mock drafts.
Fortunately, ESPN embarked on a massive undertaking to secure us all something to talk about, even if it’s only for today and admittedly a tad goofy: A franchise mock draft.
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The parameters of the deal were simple. Each team in the NFL has to have a few good players, right? So why not throw them all into a pool Madden-style and set up a four-round, 32 team mock draft to built a championship-caliber team within the next five years? If you have the time and enough educated voices to get it done, might as well.
Picking in the same order as the 2020 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles landed Baker Mayfield 21st overall, Chase Young at 44, Lane Johnson at 85, and A.J. Brown with their fourth and final pick at 108.
That’s… that’s actually a pretty good quartet to build a team around.
First and foremost, the Eagles have their franchise quarterback in place with former first overall pick Baker Mayfield. Sure, his 2019 season left a bit to be desired, but after suffering through (technically) three different administrations in a less than prolific offensive situation, it’s hard to outright declare the 25-year-old a certified bust. If placed in Doug Pederson’s offensive scheme with some solid offensive weapons (more on that later) I think he can still be a more than competent player in the Eagles’ offense.
And on the defensive side of the ball? Well, let’s just say Eagles fans the world over would be very, very happy with the new face of the team’s defense: Chase Young.
As you probably already know, Young was selected second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft after one of the most dominant college careers of any defensive ends in recent memory. Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 264 pounds, Young has speed, power, and an innate ability to continually move forward in an aggressive manner to attack a ball carrier regardless of the down, distance, or playing style. While players like Connor Barwin, Trent Cole, and even Jason Babin have all had dominant, double-digit sack seasons this decade, Young would be by far the best pass rusher Eagles have had under contract since Hugh Douglas, maybe even longer.
Factor in an uber-talented deep threat like Tennessee Titans second-round pick A.J. Brown and actual Eagles right Lane Johnson, and this hypothetical team’s top end is loaded with young, athletically-gifted playmakers who could dominate the league for years to come.
But, you may be asking, where do the rest of the actual Eagles fall on ESPN’s four-round re-draft? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Six of the 128 players selected in ESPN’s mock are currently under contract with the Eagles, Carson Wentz, who went 11th overall to the Jets, Zach Ertz, who reunited with Fran Reich on the Indianapolis Colts at 52, Johnson at 85, Fletcher Cox to the Tennessee Titans at 93, his college teammate, Darius Slay, to the Green Bay Packers on pick later at 94, and Brandon Brooks pulling up the back to the Los Angeles Chargers at 123.
Is it a tad sacrilegious to have a player like Jarrett Stidham selected 72nd overall when Miles Sanders didn’t even hear his name called? Maybe so, but I’m sure that won’t be the case in 2021 should they opt to exercise this, um, exercise this time next year.
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What do you think of the Philadelphia Eagles’ top four picks in ESPN’s franchise mock draft? Who would you have taken with each pick? Let us know in the comments section below!