Philadelphia Eagles: First Round Eve 7-round Mock Draft

Full disclosure: I really like Bryan Cook as a prospect. He’s a do-it-all safety who can play either the free or strong side of the field, burst to coverage with exceptional power, and has a unique ability to absolutely truck would-be ball handlers in their tracks.

Are you a fan of finesse safeties? Well, read on, as *spoiler alert,* one comes off the board later in this very mock, but that just isn’t Cook’s game. No, Cook is a hitter who galvanizes his teammates with his massive personality, reads the quarterback from either a two-deep shell or in the box, and lights up his foe on the way to a forced fumble or a pass defensed, depending on how well the receiver was able to possess the ball before taking at 6-foot-1, 206-pound bullet train to the chest.

If the Eagles find themselves unable to come to terms with Tyrann Mathieu, Cook can fill a similar role in Jonathan Gannon’s secondary. If the “Honey Badger” somehow does find his way to South Philly, Cook could prove to be the best third safety in the business and seamlessly take over for Anthony Harris for years to come at the free safety spot.

With K’Von Wallace’s future role with the team very much up in the air, drafting Cook in the third round would finally give the Eagles a long-term answer at strong safety the likes of which the team hasn’t had since Malcolm Jenkins in the mid-2010s.