What would trading up in the NFL draft look like for the Eagles? | Early Birds
The Eagles are likely doing their due diligence on the free-agent receivers still available, but could a play for one of the top WRs in the draft be more prudent?
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Good morning, Eagles fans. How’s free agency treating you? Hopefully this newsletter finds you in good health and you haven’t gotten too stir crazy while social distancing. The NFL is doing its best to help you keep your mind off things, with a new collective bargaining agreement to parse and the free agency tampering period underway. Tom Brady is likely heading to Tampa, Dak Prescott was franchise-tagged, DeAndre Hopkins was traded for a questionable return, and Byron Jones is headed to Miami.
The Eagles are likely doing their due diligence on the free agent receivers still available, but could a play for one of the top receivers in this year’s draft be more prudent? More on that later.
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— EJ Smith (earlybirds@inquirer.com)
Leaping for Lamb
The Eagles entered this offseason with a glaring need to reimagine their wide receiving corps, and watched two of the best at the position get traded elsewhere on the opening day of the free agency tampering period.
With DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs headed elsewhere and a crop of free agent wide receivers more suited to be complementary pieces rather than No. 1 targets, the Eagles will need to revamp the position through the draft barring something unforeseen.
They picked a good year to need receivers, this is considered the best wideout class in recent memory by many critics, both in top-end talent and depth. If the Eagles want one of the top three prospects, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb or one of Alabama’s duo of Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, they’ll likely have to trade up to secure them.
There are a few teams who could be fitting trade partners, especially with the movement taking place during free agency. The San Francisco 49ers traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts for the No. 13 overall pick in next month’s draft. The 49ers could certainly use wide receiver help, but they’re reportedly interested in shopping one of their two first-rounders — No. 13 and No. 31 — to get more draft picks. Another potential partner could be the Atlanta Falcons at No. 16, but that’d leave the Eagles one spot behind the Denver Broncos, who also have a need for speed at receiver.
What would a move into the top 15 cost?
According to Pro Football Reference’s draft value chart, the Eagles would be close to market value if they offered the 49ers their first-rounder, a third-round pick, two fourths, and a fifth.
If history is any indication, the Steelers’ trade from No. 20 to the 10th pick in last year’s draft for Devin Bush could be a useful benchmark. It cost them the 10th and 52nd pick in 2019 and a third-rounder in this year’s draft. Even if the Eagles forfeited their second-rounder, they could use their draft capital to move back into position to get a guy earlier on Day 2. They have two third-rounders, three fourths, and two fifths to play with.
If one of Lamb, Ruggs, or Jeudy is who they covet, moving might make sense for an offense with a serious need to improve on the outside.
What you need to know about the Eagles
The Eagles released Malcolm Jenkins on Tuesday, ending the safety’s remarkable era with the team, as Jeff McLane reports.
McLane also has the news on Jalen Mills, who re-signed with the Eagles and is expected to move to safety now that Jenkins is out of the picture.
Speaking of safeties, Rodney McLeod is returning to the Eagles on a two-year contract, writes Les Bowen.
Both Kamu Grugier-Hill and Jordan Howard are Miami-bound after agreeing to deals with the Dolphins. Yours truly offers the details.
The Eagles missed out on free agent cornerback Byron Jones on Monday, but they nabbed defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, as Les Bowen recaps.
Who is Javon Hargrave? Jeff McLane provides some useful information on the former Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle.
What did the beat writers think of the Hargrave signing? Find out here.
Paul Domowitch argues that Jenkins’ release was the collateral damage of the Eagles trying to get younger and cheaper across the board.
Both DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs have new teams. Amari Cooper re-signed with the Cowboys. David Murphy wonders why the Eagles always seem to get it wrong with receivers, and how they can fix it.
Jason Peters is on the open market presumably in search for a new team. Marcus Hayes argues the Eagles will miss him the same way they missed Brian Dawkins after he left 11 years ago.
The Eagles will bring back Nate Sudfeld as a backup quarterback for next year, Les Bowen reports.
The quarterback carousel is in full force as Tom Brady is expected to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cam Newton has been given permission to seek a trade and the Panthers have a new starting quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater. Review all of Tuesday’s moves here in my free agency recap.
Also on Brady: Mike Sielski took a moment to appreciate the small details that made the quarterback great in New England.
Am ambitious newsletter writer did his best to make sense of how a number of Monday’s moves, including the Cowboys’ decisions on Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, impact the Eagles.
The NFL’s newest collective bargaining agreement, which will implement a 17-game season, was approved narrowly by the players. Malcolm Jenkins was not in favor, writes Bowen.
The Eagles shut down team facilities and pulled back their scouts and coaches from traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Jeff McLane reports.
Former Eagles front office executive Joe Banner was in favor of the NFL postponing the start of free agency amid coronavirus concerns, as Paul Domowitch details.
Also from Domo, the NFL announced next month’s draft won’t have fans in attendance, but will go on as scheduled due to the coronavirus.
DeAndre Hopkins is headed to Arizona in exchange for a package of picks and David Johnson, as yours truly details.
Marcus Hayes writes that the moves by the Eagles and other NFL teams the last two days have given a sense of normalcy in abnormal times.
From the mailbag
The Eagles have 4 draft picks in the first 3 rounds of the draft. Which positions do you think they should prioritize with those picks? — Dan May (@dannmal) via Twitter.
Good question, Dan. This is assuming they don’t move up, which I think would be a wise move to find a sure thing at receiver when they’ve struggled to do so in the past. All of a sudden, the Eagles have quite a few needs defensively. I could see them drafting a safety, a corner, a linebacker, and a defensive end with their early picks. If they found a way to add a solid wide receiver in free agency — maybe even if they don’t — I could see them targeting someone like Xavier McKinney out of Alabama in the first round. Adding a guy like McKinney, who is compared to Malcolm Jenkins frequently, could shore up their secondary and lead to them drafting a solid receiver in the second and third round and hoping one of them emerges. A wideout like KJ Hamler (Penn State) or Brandon Aiyuk (Arizona St.) could be available in the second or maybe even third round of the draft and would be able to help right away.