Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Day 2 players with first round talent

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If the Philadelphia Eagles just leave the 2021 NFL Draft with a legit, unquestioned, true-blue number one wide receiver, it’ll be enough for many a fan to consider it a glowing success.

Now granted, is that a rather low bar to clear? Most definitely, but after being so vehemently hated by his fanbase to the point of fans calling for his firing via chants at other local sporting events, something tells me Howie Roseman slept soundly knowing he finally made good on drafting a good player with a premium pick; even if it took multiple trades to get the deal done.

But do you know what? After watching Roseman fleece the Miami Dolphins out of a future first-rounder so they could select a lesser wide receiver and pull off an insane-value trade to fleece the Giants out of their targeted wide receiver – funny enough, they too ended up with a lesser receiver than Smith, though they netted a Chicago first in the process – I think Roseman can leave Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft with at least one more immediate contributor who can come in, beat out his competition, and start right out the gate.

Why? Because there is a ton of talent left on the board for an advantageous general manager to feast upon, and considering the Philadelphia Eagles have the 37th overall pick, they’ll surely be able to have their pick of some pretty good players at varying positions across the board, including these three that I’ve taken a particular fondness to.

Asante Samuel Jr. is a CB who can start from day one for the Philadelphia Eagles.

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The Philadelphia Eagles simply cannot leave the 2021 NFL Draft without one cornerback at minimum.

With only one proven outside NFL starter on their roster in Darius Slay, a fourth-year corner in Avonte Maddox who desperately needs to be deployed out of the slot, and a slew of undercarders like Craig James, Keyvon Seymour, and Michael Jacquet who seriously aren’t ready for prime time, the Eagles simply can’t afford to enter Week 1 without a notable upgrade at their outside CB2, where they land said player in the second round, the third round, or even via trade a la Hassan Ridgeway in 2019.

Fortunately, there is an incredibly NFL-ready corner still on the board who just so happens to have local roots and a very familiar name.

A four-star recruit out of Fort Lauderdale, Asante Samuel Jr. was born to be an NFL cornerback. Despite having mildly underwhelming athletic measurements for a modern-day defensive back – standing a slight 5-foot-10, 180 pounds – Samuel immediately saw the field as a true freshman and went on to start in 23 of his 32 games in Tallahassee.

Oh yeah, and he’s the son of former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel, who played for the team from 2008-11 and made three it to three Pro Bowls in a midnight green helmet; how could I forget?

Is Samuel a perfect fit in Jonathan Gannon’s scheme? Probably not. Most believe the Eagles’ new DC wants corners who are 6-foot-plus with long arms, but Samuel is quite possibly the most pro-ready option of the corners left on the board, with the firey presence and ball skills to make up for a few inches on the top.

Since 2018, Samuel has amassed 97 tackles, four interceptions, and 29(!) passes defensed while almost exclusively lining up on the outside for the Seminoles. He competes for the ball on every snap whether he’s in the air, on the ground, or in another player’s hands and, assuming he transitions as smoothing to the NFL as his father, should have little trouble winning a starting role either on the outside or in the slot, depending on the needs of whichever team he falls to.

Between you and me, that team should be the Eagles.

While some will instead point to cornerbacks like Kelvin Joseph, Ifeatu Melifonwu, or Tyson Campbell for their impeccable physical gifts and athletic profiles, none are as pro-ready as Samuel and thus may not be able to help the Eagles get the ball back into the hands of Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith as often as fans would like.

Assuming Samuel falls to 37, which is possible, depending on the board you read, two inches shouldn’t be enough to keep Asante’s son off the Philadelphia Eagles’ draft board. If anything, maybe he and DeVonta Smith can go all-in on a Philly-focused, carb-heavy diet to fill out their frames in time for the Fall.

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