Eagles draft: Todd McShay and Mel Kiper see Birds upgrading trenches over taking RB Bijan Robinson

McShay thinks the Eagles will look to address their defensive line, while Kiper thinks another versatile offensive lineman makes a lot of sense.

Todd McShay thinks Bijan Robinson is a top-five player in this draft. That said, he doesn't seeing being picked until the teens.Read moreChuck Burton / AP

by Devin Jackson

Published April 12, 2023, 6:41 p.m. ET

Since the draft cycle ushered in, and former Eagles running back Miles Sanders departed for Carolina during free agency, Texas running back Bijan Robinson has been linked to the Birds as a first-round selection.

An other-worldly talent, Robinson’s ability to change direction, creativity as a runner, elusiveness in the open field, and speed to break away from defenses make him an easy evaluation. However, how high is too high to take Robinson, let alone a running back, with a premium first-round pick?

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay views Robinson as a top-five player in this class, but finding a landing spot for the Longhorns standout has been “a challenge.”

“It could be 18 [with the Lions], it could be the Cowboys trading up from 26 to the teens to get him, it could be the Chargers at 21, it’s hard to find a landing spot for him,” McShay explained via a media call after releasing his fourth mock draft of the cycle. “But to me, if he’s got similar, if not a slightly better skill set than [Saquon] Barkley, he belongs in the top 5, top 10.”

While McShay views Robinson as a “slightly better prospect” than the Giants’ Barkley, who went No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, his colleague, Mel Kiper Jr., is more in line with the modern NFL — you don’t draft first-round running backs.

Although Kiper has the Lions selecting Robinson at No. 18 in his latest mock draft, ESPN’s senior draft analyst believes running backs are valuable, but just not prioritized in the first round as other positions, like edge rusher, offensive tackle, and quarterback.

“For Bijan, it’s not a fact of ‘well, we don’t value running backs at all’ but just first-round running backs you don’t, you don’t need to draft one in the first round,” Kiper said Wednesday morning during a media conference call. “Most teams have a pretty good stable of running back, not just one, even Detroit, where I have him going, has D’Andre Swift and David Montgomery.”

The Eagles’ interest in Robinson is apparent, they brought in the Texas back for a top-30 visit last month. But the majority of their known pre-draft visits have involved offensive and defensive linemen just two weeks from the draft.

There’s no doubt the Eagles would be a better offense with him in the fold. As we get closer to the draft, though, Robinson is being tipped for the back half of the first round, versus being a top 10-15 pick. Not to mention the Eagles signed Rashaad Penny and brought back Boston Scott as well.

Kiper’s recent mock draft did have the Eagles taking a second-round running back, Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, in a proposed trade back with the Seattle Seahawks that would have seen the Eagles move from No. 30 to pick 37. The ESPN analyst called Gibbs “an-all around guy” and a “heck of a receiver out of the backfield.”

If the Eagles do select a running back, it seems it will come on Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft, versus in the first round, as things stand.

Peter Skoronski’s guard versatility

Taking an offensive lineman early in the first round isn’t a popular pick with fans, but prioritizing linemen early has allowed the Eagles to build one of the more cohesive offensive lines in the NFL. The Eagles have selected at least one offensive lineman within the top four rounds of the NFL draft in four of the last five years.

Although Jason Kelce is back for another season and Lane Johnson is signed through 2027, many identify the right guard spot and the future at right tackle as potential long-term needs for the Eagles. This includes Kiper, who has had the Eagles selecting Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski in his last two mock drafts at No. 10.

“If you look at the offensive line early, it would be someone like [Peter] Skoronski because of the versatility at that particular point,” Kiper said. “Obviously lost a guard [Issac Seumalo] in free agency ... but if you look at the guard position, and they just pass on a guard [in the first round], you can always find guys moving down the line in the third, fourth, fifth round, and that’s the case again this year.”

There’s a possibility Cam Jurgens, a 2022 second-round pick, could slide in at the vacant guard spot this season, but adding a player like Skoronski, who anchors well in pass protection and understands positioning in the run-game, could be enticing for the Eagles. The Birds recently had a top-30 visit with Skoronski.

Lukas Van Ness ‘trendy’ pick

Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness has been a common selection at No. 10 in mock drafts done by national media outlets, with many praising his versatility and ability to rush from the interior.

That includes ESPN’s McShay, who had the Eagles double-dip into the edge rusher class with picks 10 and 30 in his two-round mock draft released last week. The Hawkeyes pass rusher, who didn’t start any games but played a significant role defensively, collecting 11 tackles for loss and 6 ½ sacks in 2022, plays with tremendous power and has untapped potential, which McShay believes will bring “value” to the Eagles defensive line room.

“The reason I gave [Lukas Van Ness] to Philly is because he can play inside and out, they lost Javon Hargrave, Fletcher Cox is coming back on a one-year deal,” McShay said. “To have a guy in Van Ness that can play base downs at defensive end and then can reduce inside at defensive tackle and play next to [Jordan] Davis and utilize the double teams that he gets to help him with one-on-ones at 3 tech on passing downs, I think would create a lot of value for him and that versatility would really help.”

Another prospect that the Eagles have brought in for a pre-draft visit, Van Ness could also play the 4i defensive end role considering Brandon Graham is in the later stages of his career. There, he’d serve as a long-term fit alongside Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick.