Philadelphia Eagles: Way too early look at 3 first-round options in 2022
By David Esser
Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE
Projected to be the top edge rusher in next year’s class, we all know Howie Roseman has his sights set on Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux. A 6-5, 250lb defensive end who already has 12 sacks to his name over the course of just two seasons, Thibodeaux has all the makings of a future franchise pass rusher.
While the Philadelphia Eagles have remained somewhat deep in their defensive line depth chart over the past couple of seasons (it was one of the big reasons they won a Super Bowl in 2017), age is starting to catch up to a number of players. Both Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox are north of 30, and Vinny Curry is no longer on the team. The organization’s two younger defensive ends, Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett, are both set to be unrestricted free agents after the 2021 campaign.
Not only does Roseman absolutely obsess over “building through the trenches,” but the Eagles genuinely have a pretty big need at DE moving forward. It’s unlikely that Graham will play at a Pro Bowl caliber level over the next two seasons, and the team is likely only keeping one of Sweat/Barnett.
I would bet a lot of money on the Eagles using at least one of their 2022 first-round picks on a new defensive end – landing Thibodeaux somewhere in the top-10 would simply be the best case scenario.