Eagles Waste Both Second-Round Picks on Backups in Mel Kiper's Latest Mock Draft

With the 2024 NFL Draft only two weeks away, all 32 teams are making their final preparations and setting up their draft boards to see who they will take. It’s also the final mock draft for many draft analysts including ESPN’s Mel Kiper, who unveiled his two-round mock (subscription required) on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia Eagles will be one of the busier teams throughout the first two days of the NFL Draft as they have three picks within the first two rounds. 

There’s a lot of discussion on who the Eagles will take with their first pick at No. 22 overall as they can go in a ton of different directions. Kiper has Philadelphia taking Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins, which is not a surprise given that the Eagles’ starting cornerbacks (Darius Slay and James Bradberry) are getting up there in age.

However, Kiper threw a couple of curveballs in the second round of his mock draft, which will have Eagles fans scratching their heads as this team needs starters, not backups.

Eagles Rumors: Philadelphia Addresses the Offense in Round 2 of NFL Mock Draft

In the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Kiper has the Eagles taking an offensive tackle at No. 50 overall in Patrick Paul from Houston. Again, it wouldn’t be out of the norm to see Philly make a couple of picks in the trenches because that’s been their philosophy for years.

Kiper believes that Paul could serve as a swing tackle in his rookie season, especially with the Eagles having Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson at right and left tackle. However, the Eagles might be off seeing what impact EDGE rushers or linebackers are available at that spot as we saw the front seven get handled in the second half of last season.

Then with the Eagles’ second pick in Round 2, Kiper has them taking Washington WR Ja’Lynn Polk at No. 53 overall. If Polk was the best available player on the board, I could see it as the Eagles didn’t do nearly enough to address the WR3 spot in the offseason.

Polk is a big-play threat and was part of a receiver trio at the University of Washington that put on a show over the last two seasons with QB Michael Penix. Last season, the 6-foot-2 wideout had 69 receptions for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns.

The former University of Washington wide receiver would be a nice luxury pick at No. 53 overall. However, the team might be better off taking Georgia safety Javon Bullard, who Kiper has at No. 58 to the Green Bay Packers, or Penn State DE Adisa Isaac (No. 61 to the Detroit Lions).

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