Philadelphia Eagles: 2 potential starters in a Day 3 mock draft

Alright, so there’s definitely no way the Philadelphia Eagles can secure a starter with the 25th-to-last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, right? I mean sure, UDFA’s start games all the time in the NFL, as our old pal Rodney McLeod will tell you, and there is the previously mentioned Jordan Mailata, who took two years to become NFL-ready and never played football before that, but as a general rule, players who fall to the seventh round usually aren’t well-rounded players who are ready to go in time for Week 1.

Friends, I give you Jordan Stout, a do-it-all kicker/punter/kickoff specialist who played his college ball in Happy Valley and projects as a full-time punter at the NFL level.

Now sure, some will quibble with the idea of using a draft pick on a punter. Using a draft pick on a punter is like paying an extra 15 cents to get extra BBQ sauce at Burger King; even if you really want that sauce and will have a less enjoyable time without it, you’d rather get it for free – aka as an undrafted free agent – instead of paying even the modest of premiums to get the choice selection.

I get that, I really do, but riddle me this; would you rather select a developmental tackle like Cordell Volson out of North Dakota who will almost never see the field, or a player like Stout, who would take the field multiple times per game and provide additional utility as a backup kicker and kickoff specialist.

Considering how poorly Arryn Siposs played down the stretch in 2021, give me a player like Stout any day, especially if “The Punt God,” Matt Araiza, is already off the board.

The winner of the Big Ten Conference Punter of the Year award for the 2021 season, Stout averaged 44.5 yards per punt during his time at Penn State and placed 43 punts inside the 20-yard line versus just four touchbacks on 100 total attempts. His ball had good hang time, and he even attempted a pair of passes as a trick play specialist for James Franklin’s squad, completing one of them for a nine-yard gain and a passer efficiency rating of 125.6, if you care about that sort of thing.

Who knows, maybe Siposs will rebound like Jake Elliott did in 2021, and we will forget about his tough end to his first full-time season as the Philadelphia Eagles punter, but personally, I’d rather stock up on an additional special teamer just in case, especially one who can fill out the depth chart as a multi-position backup.

Realistically speaking, who do you think the Philadelphia Eagles should draft in the fifth and seventh round? Is there an obvious option in the seventh round who could become a Week 1 starter? Or how about the next Jordan Mailata-style developmental prospect who could pay dividends down the line? Let us know!