Eagles draft candidates Jalen Carter, Bijan Robinson, Paris Johnson detail their visits ahead of the first round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NFL draft is set to kick off Thursday night from Union Station in downtown, but the calm came before the storm Wednesday morning at Central High School.

All 17 of the 2023 prospects attending the draft took a break from their media tours and team visits to give back to the local community in an NFL Play 60 event, allowing kids to go through positional drills at the direction of the next crop of NFL players.

“I love to do this kind of stuff and to be a friend to these kids and let them see where I am in life and where they want to be in life,” Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter said. “These opportunities don’t come too often, so you want those kids to leave to make sure that they can come out here and talk to guys that are about to go to the NFL and just give them a pathway.”

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From the day they declared for the draft until their names are called in the first round, every player has been picked apart from the media and NFL side alike. No player has arguably navigated a tougher process than Carter, who pled no contest on March 16 to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing following a fatal accident on Jan. 15. He was not impressive during his pro day on March 15.

Carter spoke about the predraft process and being able to be in the room with decision-makers, including the Eagles, who have the 10th and 30th overall picks, when he visited with them.

“I like meeting with all the new people and all the new coaches and GMs,” Carter said. “As they get to know my personality, I’m getting to know their personality so if I ever get drafted to that team, I know how they talk, they act, how they coach.”

Once considered a top pick in this draft class, Carter’s stock is all over the board, and no one is quite sure where he’ll land. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah told The Inquirer on Wednesday that while Carter’s dominance on tape is undeniable, teams are split on their comfortability drafting him.

“It’s impossible to figure out where the heck that dude is going to go, but just based on talent, when you put the tape on, he’s the most talented player in the whole draft period. His tape is more dominant than anybody else in the draft,” Jeremiah said. “If he’s got everything buttoned up, and he plays to his level, he would emerge five years from now and we would look back and say, ‘That’s the best player in the draft.’ ”

Jeremiah added that he doesn’t expect Carter to be available at 10 when the Eagles pick, nor would he expect the Birds to trade up for Carter if he starts to slip. He felt like the only scenario in which a trade up would happen is if Alabama’s Will Anderson were to fall out of the top five.

» READ MORE: Evaluating film of Georgia’s Jalen Carter and how he would fit along the Eagles’ defensive line

The dots seem to connect talented running back Bijan Robinson to the Eagles, from being one of just two teams to host him for a visit, to the Texas star telling ESPN that Jalen Hurts would be the top quarterback he would love to play alongside. When asked about it Wednesday, Robinson doubled down on the statement, noting that he and Hurts share an agent in Nicole Lynn, who engineered the Eagles quarterback’s record-breaking contract.

“Jalen does it the right way, on the field and off the field, and just who he is, as a person and how he believes in his faith and how he handles himself, I think would be pretty cool to learn from a guy like that,” Robinson said. “He’s a great quarterback to play with, but even if I don’t play with him, we’re still going to build a relationship and be friends, obviously when we’re not playing against each other.”

So, will the Birds take him at 10 overall? No one is quite sure, and the history of not taking a running back in the first round since 1986 is well-documented. But his skill set goes beyond being a running back. The elusiveness, vision, game-breaking speed, and ability, plus his added bonus as a receiver out of the backfield are discussions Robinson said teams had with him during predraft visits and meetings. Lining up as a slot receiver is another possibility that was mentioned to the Texas star.

NFL Network analyst Charles Davis is fully aboard the Bijan to Philly bandwagon. He compared Robinson to Hall of Famers Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson.

» READ MORE: Eagles draft primer: Bijan Robinson or the field? Breaking down running back prospects

“If no one has grabbed Bijan Robinson by pick 10, I’m flying that card right to the podium,” Davis laughed. “They are a running football team, they have a dominant offensive line, Jalen Hurts playing off of a runner makes it even better. ... I don’t mind taking a strength and making it stronger and Bijan Robinson makes them stronger.”

From what Jeremiah has heard from NFL teams, everyone loves Robinson with his character and skill set, but no one is sure where he will end up on draft night. Taking a running back in Robinson would be uncharacteristic of general manager Howie Roseman, but his multifaceted attributes and athleticism may be hard to pass up if he’s there at 10.

Building through the trenches has been a recipe for success for the Eagles, and they may have their pick between Robinson, an edge rusher like Nolan Smith or Lukas Van Ness, or adding another talented offensive lineman. One of the more versatile offensive linemen, Ohio State’s Paris Johnson played both right guard and left tackle with the Buckeyes.

Johnson also took a predraft visit with the Eagles, where he learned from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and others on the coaching staff.

“Coach Stout is a legend, I think the technique we were able to talk about, which I can’t share, just how well he is able to develop guys,” Johnson said. “If I had the opportunity to be in that [offensive line room], it would be really cool and I know I would get coached really well, coached really hard, and get developed to where I need to be at to be able to compete at a high level.”

» READ MORE: Eagles draft: Ohio State’s Paris Johnson, Dawand Jones are alluring options to be Lane Johnson’s heir apparent

With excellent core strength to stand his ground against players who may be bigger and stronger than him and nimble feet to mirror and match athletic edge rushers, Johnson would be an ideal candidate to play guard until Lane Johnson retires. His positional versatility makes him a viable option for the Eagles.

Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, who had the opportunity to call several of Johnson’s games with the Buckeyes, admires his athleticism and football intelligence to play multiple positions, but says his competitiveness as a teammate stood out most when talking to him.

“He challenged Dawand Jones [in 2021]. He said, ‘I’ll move to guard if you up your game,’ because Dawand’s not going to go to guard,” Klatt said. “And Paris knew, to his credit, our best five would be if Dawand was on the field, but only if he’s good enough to be on the field, and he did it and he moved to guard.”

No matter where the Eagles go, whether it’s Carter, Robinson, Johnson, or the field, it’ll be an opportunity to strengthen a team that retained its core fresh off a Super Bowl appearance. With an unpredictable first round ahead, the Eagles could have the player they ultimately want fall into their lap by the time pick 10 comes around.