3 thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles third-round pick, Milton Williams
By David Esser
The Eagles might have outsmarted themselves with the pick.
The awkward war room interaction between Howie Roseman and Tom Donahoe has obviously ignited a rather broad discussion over the Williams pick, but the overall decision to trade down from 70 to 73 still looks rather odd in hindsight.
When the Eagles were on the clock at 70, both CB Aaron Robinson and DT Alim McNeil were still available to be drafted. Roseman opted against selecting either, moving down three spots in exchange for a sixth-rounder and settling for Williams at 73.
While most draft analysts had Williams as a guy who they expected to be drafted in the 70-75 range, a good number of them also had Robinson and McNeil as better overall prospects. Did Roseman really need to forfeit a shot at those two players just to obtain yet another extra sixth-rounder?
I know at least one person (Donahoe) who doesn’t think so.
The Williams pick might turn out being a really good one for the Philadelphia Eagles in the long-term (again, his athletic profile is exceptional), but if Robinson/McNeil turn out to be better players, it’ll just be another example of Roseman getting too cute during the draft process.
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Ultimately speaking, looking at all the data available, I’m personally pretty content with the Williams pick at 73. He was a rather productive player during his final season at Louisiana Tech (10.0 TFLs, 4.5 sacks), and it’s always a good idea to draft freak athletes on the defensive line.
We’ll have check back in a few years to really see if passing on McNeil and Robinson was worth it.