Philadelphia Eagles: What happens if Justin Fields falls to 12?

Is there any player who has received more out of the blue hatred in the pre-draft process than Justin Fields?

It seems like a week hasn’t gone by since the combine was unceremoniously canceled due to COVID-19 that some story about Fields’ dropping in the draft has been published or leaked out for one reason or another. He’s been criticized for having epilepsy, his inability to read the field, and for being a “running quarterback” which holds a pretty specific connotation that is far from positive.

And through it all, other quarterbacks, most notably Mac Jones, have watched their value skyrocket to the point where very few fans would bat an eye if he went third overall to the San Francisco 49ers – which is particularly crazy, considering he probably would have been in-play at pick 12 if they just stood pat.

And as for Fields? Well, he went from the presumptive QB2 when the season ended to a player who may fall out of the top-10 entirely.

If that happens, it would be a shame for the player, as Fields is a darn good football player who should have a long, happy, and fruitful career, but his loss could be the gain of a team picked in the middle of the first round looking for a QB or a playoff squad looking to trade up for a franchise guy.

If that happened, and Fields is still on the board at 12 – which, again, was borderline unimaginable four months ago – what would the Philadelphia Eagles do? Would they draft the former Georgia/Ohio State quarterback outright, or would they be better served to dangle the pick to procure more draft capital moving forward? Let’s pontificate, shall we?

The Philadelphia Eagles may have some interesting options at 12.

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When the Philadelphia Eagles initially traded down from six to 12 in a three-team deal with the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers, it effectively dashed dreams of fans across the Delaware Valley of landing a marquee quarterback.

Theoretically, the idea went as follows: Even if the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Atlanta Falcons, and Larry David’s former favorite team, the New York Jets, opted to take quarterbacks with the first, fourth, and second picks respectfully, the Eagles would still be left with one of the top-four quarterbacks to choose from, assuming, of course, no one trades up to pick three or five and steals one of them away. While it obviously would be better to have the top overall pick, as it would allow a talent evaluator to hand-select the player they feel best fits their coach’s scheme (duh), any QB from Trevor Lawrence to Trey Lance would have graded out higher than incumbent ex-second rounder Jalen Hurts, so it’s all good.

By moving out of that slot, even by only six spots, those top-four quarterbacks – and potentially even Mac Jones – would be long gone, and the Eagles would effectively be forced to roll with Hurts in 2021 and sink or swim based on how well he can perform under new head coach Nick Sirianni.

Assuming the Eagles don’t trade up for a quarterback – which apparently is very much still a possibility according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports – it’s a pretty safe bet to assume Hurts will be the Eagles’ number “1” quarterback when Week 1 rolls around, barring injury, of course.

But that brings us back to the question at hand. If a quarterback like Fields, who is unquestionably talented and has a similar set of skills to Hurts, is available at 12, what should the Eagles do? Should they select Fields and let the best player win, take the player they want, and let Fields fall to 13, or trade the pick down to a QB-needy team and add even more picks to their already loaded war chest?

Well, first and foremost, if the Eagles’ scouting department believes Fields has the makings of a franchise quarterback, they should take him full stop. Franchise quarterbacks are the most valuable commodity in the sport, and if you don’t have one, you’ll keep looking for one until you do. Even if the Eagles are fully in love with Hurts, which they seem to be, that shouldn’t prevent the team from picking a quarterback they believe could be a top-12 guy for the next decade-plus.

If, however, the Eagles only view Fields as a marginal upgrade over Hurts or even believe that their current guy has the edge over Kennesaw, Georgia’s finest, the prospects of fleecing a quarterback-needy team to only move down a few spots makes a ton of sense for a team with holes across their roster.

For example, what if a team like the Chicago Bears aren’t sold on Andy Dalton, and Fields can finally break their quarterback curse once and for all, but fear that a team like the Las Vegas Raiders or the Washington Footballers may take him before he falls to 20? Could they be willing to surrender their 2021 first-round picks, a 2021 second-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick to get a deal done? While that would likely eliminate the team from picking a player like Jaycee Horn – assuming he’s still available – it could open the door for my personal favorite first-round sleeper, Greg Newsome II, and generate even more capital from which to trade back into the first with a team like the Baltimore Ravens to land another dropper and his fifth-year option.

Alternatively, the Eagles could always just pick a player they like and let Fields fall even further, but if you know Howie Roseman‘s tendencies as well as I do, that’s pretty hard to imagine; Roseman always thinks he’s the smartest man in the room and would surely trust his ability to pick just as good a player at 20 as he would at 12, even if the numbers don’t quite back up his recent draft hit rate.

Either way, don’t expect the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft to be an easy, breezy outing where you can sit back, eat some wings, and nurse a cold one. No, this Thursday is going to be a certified full-contact sport filled with bumps, bruises, and the inevitable heartbreak that only the Eagles can so consistently dish out to their fanbase.

Next. Greg Newsome II’s game is too sweet to ignore. dark

So, what should the Philadelphia Eagles do if Justin Fields falls to 12? Should they draft him, draft someone else, or trade the pick to a team willing to overpay for his services? Honestly, beats me. I don’t know how the team’s board is presently constructed, and I know even less how they internally feel about Jalen Hurts both in 2021 and beyond. All I know is Justin Fields is too good to fall to pick 12, so if he does, the options open up considerably to either make a headline-grabbing move or line things up for someone else to do the same.

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