Philadelphia Eagles seven-round 2020 NFL Mock Draft

With the Philadelphia Eagles’ last pick in this mock draft, Roseman selects Brian Lewerke, the quarterback from the Michigan State Spartans.

In 2019, General Manager Howie Roseman indicated that he wanted to return to having three quarterbacks on the roster during the season: Starter, a veteran back up and a developmental quarterback.

It is a smart strategy. Who would have found out if Tom Brady was one of the greatest to ever play if he had gone undrafted? In the 2019 NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles kept with that rule by drafting Clayton Thorson from Northwestern. During training camp, however, it was clear that Thorson wasn’t what the team needed and he was let go.

He eventually signed with the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, but that draft failure is not important. What is important is that the Philadelphia Eagles always have a quarterback in the wings, learning and growing with the starter and back up.

The quarterback is the most important position on an NFL team, bar none. And I’ve always wondered what Lewerke would look like with a coach and a team built for success. Lewerke has shown flashes at times but has never been able to get a good rhythm going in Michigan State.

He has a cannon for an arm, but the play call always seems to be a running play through the first two plays of a drive. When a defense knows your team is going to run on first and second down, it’s not incredibly hard to stop it.

Mark Dantonio has been the coach of Michigan State since 2007, and it is rumored that he is on the hot seat after another disappointing year. I’ve often compared this team to the Detroit Lions. They have potential, but they never seem to get it together when it counts. With Lewerke at 6-foot-3, and his mechanics pretty decent (when he is allowed to throw), I’d love to see his combine interview and see from a person who was in Michigan State what they thought the problem was.

In any case, the Philadelphia Eagles will need a new backup for Wentz in 2020, as both Josh McCown and Nate Sudfeld are poised to be free agents after 2019. McCown came out of retirement for this gig, so I don’t imagine he will be back. And Nate Sudfeld is in the final year of his contract.

He was drafted in the sixth round by Washington before the Philadelphia Eagles signed him off the practice squad. Sudfeld is proof that a quarterback drafted in the sixth round can play at a competent level if asked to step in for a few drives.

Whether it is Lewerke or another struggling quarterback, I imagine the Philadelphia Eagles will want to draft another developmental quarterback in the 2020 draft. Lewerke has the size and big arm and has shown enough on tape to make me curious as to how well he’d play with a team that developed him properly. Philadelphia has shown they will give an unconventional quarterback a chance to develop if they are willing to learn.