Philadelphia Eagles: Jaycee Horn is an intriguing trade-back candidate

Most people have the Philadelphia Eagles locked in as a team looking to target offense with their first-round pick this year. And it makes perfect sense – the team hired an offensive-minded head coach this offseason, and they’ve had one of the worst receiving groups in the league over the last two years.

Whether it’s Ja’Marr Chase, Kyle Pitts, or someone else, I’m comfortable stating that at least 75% of the mock drafts that I’ve seen over the last few weeks have Howie Roseman and Co. targeting a shiny new pass-catcher at pick six. Even in scenarios where they don’t, it’s normally due to the team being mocked a new quarterback, a scenario that looks rather unlikely now following the arrival of Joe Flacco.

However, one possibility that shouldn’t necessarily be ruled out is that of the team targeting a defensive player with their first-rounder. As much as the Eagles could use themselves a true #1 target on offense, the team has genuine holes at almost every position on the roster. Going after a prospect on the defensive side of the ball makes just as much sense as taking someone like Pitts or Chase.

One player who very recently has found himself connected to the Philadelphia Eagles is that of South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, one of the top-rated cornerbacks in this year’s draft class:

Right off the bat, Horn is a super intriguing prospect, one who is well worth a first-round grade. He excelled as a three-year starter for the Gamecocks from 2018 to 2020, and tested extremely well at his Pro Day earlier this week. While taking him at sixth overall might be a stretch, the possibility of trading back a few spots and still landing the well-respected defensive back makes a ton of sense.

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Not only is Horn likely to be taken after all of the top offensive prospects (Lawrence, Wilson, Fields, Sewell, Chase, and Pitts to name a few), but there’s a good chance that another corner, Patrick Surtain II, will be taken before him as well. This puts the Eagles in a unique position where they could trade down multiple spots while not really having to worry about Horn flying off the board.

Teams like Carolina (8), Denver (9), and San Francisco (12) are all candidates to move up into the top six for a quarterback, should the Eagles auction off their sixth overall pick.

As much as the Philadelphia Eagles could use an elite playmaker up towards the top of the draft, trading back a few spots to collect future assets likely helps them out more in the long run as they look to rebuild their aging roster.

Additionally, cornerback is a major, major need for the Eagles at the moment. Not only are they still without a CB2 alongside Darius Slay, but they could also use an insurance plan behind Slay moving forward. Slay didn’t have a great year in 2020, and likely isn’t going to get better with age. Landing a young corner in this year’s draft to mold into the team’s future CB1 would be wise.

The Philadelphia Eagles should consider trading back for CB Jaycee Horn.

The last time the Eagles took a defensive player in the first round was Derek Barnett in 2017, and the last time they took a cornerback in the first round was Lito Sheppard wayyy back in 2002. Needless to say, such a pick is long overdue.

While making such a maneuver would go against everything Howie Roseman has said and done since taking over as the team’s general manager, it’s hard to argue the logic behind potentially trading back for Horn in a few weeks. Horn is arguably the best corner in the class, and any future draft capital would be appreciated as well.