After having a successful offseason so far we are officially at the draft portion. In this year’s draft the Eagles had 9 picks. Those picks were: 1.26, 2.26, 3.14, 3.17, 3.26, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 6,0. We are going to go through all of the picks and determine how they fit on the team and if they will be a starter or backup this season.
Round 1-Pick 26: TE Coltson Loveland 76 OVR
Roster Spot: STARTER
This is not who I was going after in the first round. The ideal pick that I wanted was a blazing fast safety and I assumed I would have gotten him until the Raiders stole them with the 25th pick in the draft. When Mukuba was taken I was forced to either go with who I had graded as the best player or take a chance on a few defensive ends I didn’t have scouted. I didn’t want to reach for a player I didn’t know about so I went with the safe pick in Loveland. He was the best tight end in the draft and I needed one for the cycle with Goedert getting older and this being his last season on the team. After using him in preseason I can say that even with Goedert on the roster he will be the starter. It just feels wrong to not start a player who is 6’5 with 87 speed, 89 acceleration, and 90 jumping.
Round 2-Pick 26: HB Nicholas Singleton 74 OVR
Roster Spot: SPLIT
This was another player that I picked at the last second due to the Raiders taking the player I wanted before my pick. I wanted to go offensive line with this pick and was hoping that Banks JR was going to fall but he didn’t. The next option was Donovan Jackson. I saw him there and figured that there was no way that he would be taken but I was wrong. Just like with the first pick I could have taken a player I didn’t have scouted as high or go with the player who was next on my board. I went with the second option even though we had Barkley on the roster. The pick was a great one as Singleton came out of the gate with 94 speed, 93 acceleration, 90 change of direction, and 73 catching. He is a perfect running back for this system. He was used sparingly in preseason and I can say he is special. He will split time with Barkley so neither gets suspended and hopefully he can get a development trait at some point. He is the future running back of the Eagles.
Round 3-Pick 14: MLB Deontae Lawson 75 OVR
Roster Spot: SPLIT
The Eagles have a lot of pass rushers at the moment, however, if the trade goes through with the Browns we will have one less and this is where Lawson comes into play. I drafted this third round pick looking for the best pass rushers I thought were on the board at the time. Lawson was a huge hit, and turned out to be one of the best linebackers in the class. He is a guy who can do it all. He comes out of the gate with 87 speed, 89 acceleration, 76 block shedding, and 70 plus pass rush moves. He can rush the passer or hang out in man or zone coverage. He will be a pass rusher on the team at the moment while building him up to eventually take over the starting spot from Sweat.
Round 3-Pick 17: C Jonah Monheim 71 OVR
Roster Spot: Backup
I wanted to go offensive lineman with this pick and I thought that I chose a pretty good guy but he turned out to be pretty average to below average except in a few key areas. He will be a guy who will be able to start next season and this is mainly due to his 90 speed, 90 impact block, and 90 lead block. I can build on the other stuff but those attributes right there are fantastic.
Round 3-Pick 26: ROLB Nick Jackson 73 OVR
Roster Spot: Backup
I saw Jackson on the board here and figured he would be a great player to build up and take over in a few seasons. He is a guy who can truly do it all. He has all of the traits that you want in a pass rusher along with 72 and above block shedding and pass rush moves. If this wasn’t enough he can drop back in coverage with his 70 zone. His speed is lacking with only 84 speed, but he will be perfect for those plays that drop linemen into coverage. Teams won’t realize who he is and the ball will go right to him.
Round 4-Pick 6: LG Dylan Fairchild 71 OVR
Roster Spot: Backup
This was another choice between who will be better, offensive or defensive line and my idea was to pick a guy who might have a shot at a development trait. Fairchild is from Georgia, but he is about as average as it gets. He only has 85 strength and no rating is over 84 but no rating is under 74. He will be a good player to put attribute requests into and keep as a permanent backup. This could change if he gets a superstar development trait.
Round 4-Pick 24: RE Dani Dennis-Sutton 73 OVR
Roster Spot: Split
Sutton was a fantastic pickup in the fourth round. The theme of picking up pass rushers continued in this round and we got a gem here. He comes out of the gate with 83 speed, 84 strength, along with 79 power moves and 82 impact blocks. He also has a chance at getting a development trait being from Penn State. He will be subbed in and split between some other guys. If he ends up doing well in his time playing then he could become the full time starter. I was excited about getting him with this pick.
Round 4-Pick 26: LOLB David Bailey 73 OVR
Roster Spot: Backup
Bailey was a guy deep on our draft board and he’s another guy that comes out of the box as a good pass rusher who has 70 zone coverage. His 85 speed means he won’t be playing straight up linebacker but he will be used on the line. For a late fourth round pick, he will be trained and be one of the best backup pass rushers in the league.
Round 6-Pick 9: QB DJ Uiagalelei 67 OVR
Roster Spot: Backup
This was just a random pick of who was on the board. I wanted to get a backup quarterback and couldn’t pass on the prospect of having a 97 throw power quarterback. DJ isn’t the greatest with his attributes but with the throw power tree I have, he will get 97 throw power. This will work well with the limited throw power that Hurts has. Aside from the inaccuracies in preseason which caused interceptions, he got the preseason max in touchdowns and yards so I was happy with his progress.
In all, I drafted only one guy under 70 overall in 9 picks. I was able to get a lot of guys I can use this year as pass rushers along with two starting caliber players that would be great for anyone in the league in Loveland and Singleton. While I was disappointed in who I missed out on due to the Raiders, I am excited about this draft class and how they progress in the future.
