Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t rule out Christian Barmore at 12

It would be an incredibly unpopular pick amongst the Philadelphia Eagles faithful, but Alabama’s Christian Barmore is a name that will likely be in play for Howie Roseman at pick 12. Not only has Roseman historically put an emphasis on “building through the trenches“, but an overall weak defensive tackle class could see the Eagles “reach” for one in the first round.

Before we dive too deep into the ins and outs of Roseman potentially going defensive tackle with this year’s first-round pick (a position that the Eagles appear to be solid at), let’s first discuss Barmore strictly as a prospect.

His production the last two seasons at ‘Bama immediately jumps off the page.

Across 22 games playing in the SEC, Barmore recorded 15.5 tackles for a loss, 10.0 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 5 passes defensed. Putting up those numbers as an EDGE would be impressive, doing it as a defensive tackle is a whole nother level of dominance.

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Operating primarily as a 3-technique for the Crimson Tide defense in 2019 and 2020, Barmore was at his best when asked to get after the quarterback. While he is definitely not undersized by any stretch of the imagination (6-5, 310lbs), he plays with a type of speed and quickness that better resembles a large defensive end, as opposed to a true, run-stuffing defensive tackle.

Barmore’s overall pass-rush move arsenal is limited, and he really struggled against double teams at the collegiate level. These two cons have seen him slip on some mock drafts around the league, unlike Derrick Brown from last year’s draft, who was a consensus top-ten prospect.

However, especially over the last two weeks or so as coaches start to get more involved in the draft process, Barmore’s name is one that’s picked up some serious steam:

Now this is where the Philadelphia Eagles come into the picture.

Set to pick 12th overall following their trade with the Miami Dolphins, Barmore will likely still be available when they’re on the clock. The Eagles already have an absurd amount of money invested into the likes of Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave – would they really use a premium asset on another defensive tackle?

To answer this hypothetical quite bluntly, I think the answer is yes. The Eagles have drafted a defensive lineman with 32.6% of their first-round picks since 1970, a trend that I don’t envision ending anytime soon.

The Eagles also aren’t strangers to building a defense around three highly valuable defensive tackles. They rolled into last season with Cox, Hargrave, and Malik Jackson all on the roster.

Alabama’s Christian Barmore could be a surprise pick for the Philadelphia Eagles.

While a Cox-Hargrave-Barmore trio could be productive in its own special way next season, what this pick would really signal is that Roseman has plans of moving off either Cox or Hargrave sometime in the near future. Cox’s contract is huge and he would likely fetch a decent haul in return via a trade, while Hargrave had a disappointing first season in Philadelphia. Replacing either player with Barmore would free up a ton of much-needed cap space, simultaneously making the position younger in the process.

If I had to put money on it, I would bet against the Eagles selecting Barmore at 12. However, my best guess is that he’s definitely on Roseman’s draft board – likely near the top. The Eagles are a franchise that has routinely placed a high emphasis on the DT position, I’m sure Roseman and Lurie wouldn’t mind walking away from this year’s draft with the #1 rated defensive tackle.