Team Mock Draft: Philadelphia Eagles

Good morning, everyone. Today’s team mock draft will take a look at the Eagles.  Keep in mind that if you’re interestd in writing for use you can shoot me a message at bartolisj@gmail.com for all the details. Also, after you read this scroll down from the home page and find Mackenzie’s mock full of eloquent explanations for each pick.

The Philadelphia Eagles exceeded all expecations last year because of a surprising return to stardom by much embattled Quarterback Michael Vick. This year the expectations will be higher and I”m sure in the draft they will move around a lot with their draft picks like they are prone to do, but for this excercise I”ll avoid making any trades.

Let’s take a quick look at the Eagles’ needs.

Offensive line-This is probably the easiest need to figure out in the N.F.C. East. The Eagles need offensive linemen and with their penchant for drafting trench players in the first round, it’s a likely way to go in mocks for Eagles.

Linebackers- The Eagles need help at linebacker. They have made moves the last few years to try and address this position during the season through trades, but like the Giants refuse to draft linebackers early in the draft. Is this the year that one of these two linebacker needy teams gives in and drafts a linebacker in the first round?

Cornerbacks-When Asante Samuel was hurt the Eagles defense struggled. Samuel is probably a top 5 cornerback on most people’s list because of his excellent knack for intercepting the football, but the Eagles coud use a true #2 CB across from him.

Goal line/short yardage running back-the Eagles struggled a ton in the red-zone and short yadage last year (like they do almost every year) , especially at the beginning of the year. They could really use a back who can find the endzone, without having to use trick plays like fake reverse pitches, QB draws, WR reverses or any of the other crazy things they tried on third and short this season (some of which worked).

Safety-The Eagles drated Nate Allen last year, and Profootballfocus.com insisted that Quentin Mikell was one of the best safeties in the league last year, but the Eagles could still use help at safety in my own opinion. The Eagles gave up 54 yards of 20+ plays or more last year (9th worst in the league) which is sure to do something with how much they blitz, but I think they could use more depth at safety even if they are satisfied with their starters.

DL-Dixon came on strong last year, but I think they could use better depth at both DT and DE, though they have some young players at DE they could let develop.

Eagles mock draft following the jump…

I think the Eagles, except for the in first round, are going to be hard to predict this year. Last year they had 13 draft picks (10 of which were on defense) which means that even though their defense wasn’t great last year, they have a lot of young talent on defense and might not go as defensive as some people think they will. The Eagles are also only second to the Patriots in making draft-day trades so the likelihood that they keep all of their picks the same as they are right now is slim. I’m not going to predict trades, but I’ll try to give them a good balance of filling needs and drafting value. Here we go.

Round 1 pick #23 Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin

Even though Carimi is the #1 OT on our personal big board there is reportedly a feeling among scouts that his only position is going to be RT at the next level. If this is the case, then it is likely that he will fall in the draft behind the likes of Tyron Smith (probably the first one drafted with his tremendous upside), Derrick Sherrod, and Anthony Castanzo (who is more of a LT-type). At 23, Carimi will give the Eagles a big powerful offensive linemen and could be the best player available at that moment.

Round 2 pick# 54 Brandon Burton, CB, Utah

Burton is a good tall solid cornerback who should be available at this juncture of the second round when the Eagles pick. Burton could come in this year and start for the challenging spot across from Asante Samuel. Burton fits the Eagles because he has a good blend of size and speed and he also is better at man coverage than zone coverage, which he will have to be if he plays with the blitz-happy Eagles.

Round 3 pick# 85 Lawrence Wilson, OLB, Connecticut

This might seem a bit high for some peoples liking, but its solid value for a very productive linebacker who is excellent in coverage. Wilson’s biggest knock will be that he lacks the ideal bulk of a linebacker, but he more then makes up for it with his speed and instincts. Wilson could go as high as the second round with a good showing at the combine (ie he put on some weight).

Round 4 pick# 103 Jamie Harper, RB, Clemson

Harper would fit perfectly with the Eagles because he is not only a powerful, well built running back (listed at 5-11 and 235 pounds), but he is also a good receiver out of the backfield. Here’s just a quick note from CBS Draf Scout on Harper, ” traditional West Coast Offense could utilize Harper in much the same way that the San Francisco 49ers once featured William Floyd.”

Harper could help solve the Eagles problems with short yardage and goal line and also fill in for McCoy’s pass catching responsibilities if McCoy were to get hurt (not as well though because he’s not as elusive in the open field as McCoy, but as well as could be expected for a backup filling in for the starter.

Round 4 pick# 119 Will Hill S, Florida

Hill would be one of the best players available at this juncutre and would also give the Eagles some much needed depth at the safety position. Hill is the kind of athlete the Eagles look for on defense. The Eagles already have a lot of young starters and are likely to move around some picks (either trading them for better ones next year, or  packaging them up to move up in earlier rounds…or whatever the case), but Hill could eventually start for them and that is what you look for in this juncture in the draft.

Round 5 pick# 146 Kristofer O’Dowd, C, USC

Before the college football season O’dowd was considered a 2nd round prospect, but a fear of his history of injuries and a terrible Senior bowl pushes his stock down where the Eagles can get a good value pick in the middle of the 5th round. The Eagles could look to add a lot of depth along their offensive line this year and you won’t get much better value than O’Dowd here in the fifth round.

Round 5 pick# 150 Juluis Thomas, TE, Portland State

An obsecure name to some, but Thomas is a supremely athletic Tight End who just started playing football last year after playing on the basketball team. He is 6-5 250 pounds and pretty fast, while he is raw he has tremendous upside and could eventually be a huge steal in the draft. He had a pretty nice East/West shrine game and  he could make the roster over former high potential pick Cornelius Ingram who hasn’t done anything for the Eagles yet (in large part because of injuries).

Round 7 pick# 214  Jeff Mahel WR, Oregon

In this mock draft the Eagles have already selected two offensive linemen, a short yardage and pass catching running back, a linebacker, CB, Safety, and tight end. Now they grab a player who could fit in very nice with their offensive system. The Eagles are already four WR deep, but Mahel is one of the few potential 7th round picks who actually would have a chance of making this very talented and young roster, which is always what you are looking for once you start picking players after the 4th round (and as far as franchise starters…players who are going to be useful for your team 5-6 years it’s really after the second round, but that’s a different post for a different day).

Quick recap:

Gabe Carimi

Brandon Burton

Lawrence Wilson

Jamie Harper

Will Hill

Kris O’Dowd

Julius Thomas

Jeff Mahel

Let me know what you think. The Eagles are a difficult team to mock because of how much they move around all over the draft, but I’d imagine Eagles fans could live with this draft by improving both their secondary and Offensive line depth.  I could have gone for another interior OL, I think, or another linebacker, but I’m going to give all of the young LB’s they drafted last year another chance to produce before writing them off as no good.