Philadelphia Eagles: 6 thoughts on the decision to draft DeVonta Smith

The cornerback position remains unsolved.

For the majority of the offseason, the vibe around this year’s draft was that either Jaycee Horn or Patrick Surtain II would be available at 12, providing the Eagles with a choice to be made in regards to drafting a WR or a CB.

Due to an early run on cornerbacks in the top ten, this choice was made for the Eagles, as Jaycee Horn landed in Carolina and Surtain II went to Denver at 9.

While Smith undoubtedly gives the team a shiny new weapon to utilize on the offensive side of the ball, their cornerback room is still looking noticeably thin as we gear up for Day 2 of the draft. Darius Slay is still the only guy locked into a starting job at the moment, with Avonte Maddox potentially being the team’s go-to option in the slot.

Regardless, Roseman and company are going to have to make CB a priority heading into the later stages of the draft. Doubling up on the position wouldn’t be the worst of ideas, and using pick 37 to land a starting-caliber CB opposite of Slay is probably in play at the top of the second round.

Available Day 2 cornerbacks include Asante Samuel Jr., Ifeatu Melifonwu and Elijah Molden.

It’s impossible to predict how players are truly going to pan out prior to them stepping on the field, but as things stand right now, it definitely looks like the Eagles are an early winner of this this year’s draft.