Mock 2020: Eagles snag two receivers, stay at No. 21, and feed their need for speed in NFL draft | Marcus Hayes

As the value of the quarterback position mushroomed through the 1990s, the class of 1999 was supposed to be the best since Elway, Marino, and Kelly in 1983.

It wasn’t. Five passers went in the first 12 picks, and seven in the first 77, but only two -- Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper -- started at least 60 games.

This feels a lot like 1999, only at a different position.

As the value of the receiver position mushrooms, this receiver class of 2020 is supposed to be the best since 2014 -- or 2001, or 1996, or 1964, depending on which class you consider best. It won’t be. The Eagles need to understand that.

As much as most evaluators like CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, and Justin Jefferson, almost none predict that this crop will be as dynamic as Mike Evans, Jarvis Landry, Davonte Adams, and Odell Beckham Jr., the top of a 2014 class that goes much deeper.

In the six seasons since that draft, 11 of the first 15 receivers drafted -- from No. 4 pick Sammy Watkins to third-rounder John Brown, taken 91st -- have caught at least 200 passes and have at least 20 touchdown catches, and 10 of them have at least 3,000 receiving yards.

If you think that, in six years, Minnesota’s Tyler Johnson will be the next Allen Robinson -- who caught 355 passes and 33 touchdowns in Jacksonville -- more power to you.

That said, the 2020 class of receivers doesn’t look as if it’s going to need an Aaron Brooks to support its value, as the quarterbacks did in 1999. That’s good news for the Eagles. They pick 21st overall, and that’s where they should stay.

It likely would take their third-round pick, No. 103 overall, as well one of their fourth-rounders to jump into the top half of the draft, if not more. Their needs are too great, their team is too old, and the draft is too deep to waste that capital.

Based on the Eagles’ pattern of drafting, positional preferences, and team need, I’ve tried to predict what general manager Howie Roseman will do as he tries to retool a divisional champion that has reached the playoffs the last three seasons and won it all after the 2017 season.

If they expect to win it all again any time soon, they need to be faster. It’s not coincidental that the two teams in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs and 49ers, were the fastest teams in the NFL.

Round One, 21st overall: Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor. He plays faster than his 4.38-second 40-yard dash implies, and at 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, he’s ready to play. Both CeeDee Lamb, the best receiver, and Henry Ruggs, the receiver with the highest upside, will be gone by the time San Francisco picks at No. 13, and Jerry Jeudy won’t last past Denver at No. 15. So unless Roseman trades up (which we fear he will), Mims’ combination of size, speed, and production for Matt Rhule makes him a solid choice. Roseman might do better to trade back, perhaps even to the second round, if he thinks he can snag Jalen Reagor (TCU) or Tee Higgins (Clemson).

Round Two, 53rd overall: Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama. The Eagles don’t like to expend capital at linebacker, especially on punishers like Malik Harrison (Ohio State) or Josh Uche (Michigan), though either would be an excellent value here. They do love drafting cornerbacks, however, and they’ll have a talented, pedigreed corner in Diggs, the brother of Bills receiver Stefon Diggs -- assuming the Cowboys don’t take him two picks earlier.

Round Three, 103rd overall: Willie Gay, LB, Mississippi State. He’s a character risk, but he hails from the same state and school as Fletcher Cox, who will be tasked with big brother responsibilities. You don’t find 6-2, 243-pound linebackers with 4.46 speed and elite cover skills in the third round without a few warts.

Round Four, 127th overall: A.J. Dillon, RB, Boston College. The Eagles need a big, cheap, competent back. Dillon, a true junior, was productive for three seasons, runs a 4.53 40 at 247 pounds, and, with mediocre hands, he’s coachable -- a steal for running backs coach Duce Staley if he’s there at 127. If he’s not, he’d be worth it to trade up.

Round Four, 145th overall: Devin Duvernay, WR/KR, Texas. At 5-10 and 200 pounds, Duvernay has exciting 4.39 speed. Stocky and ferocious, he recalls Brian Mitchell, one of the better kick returners in NFL history: a hard runner who sheds tackles and can be explosive. Like running back Darren Sproles, receiver Nelson Agholor, and Philly Special tight end Trey Burton, Duvernay is the sort of Swiss Army knife Doug Pederson loves to implement. This might be a reach, but again, speed is at a premium.

Round Four, 146th overall: Akeem Davis-Gaither, OLB, Appalachian State. A high school safety, he plays aggressively, slips blocks, and makes plays. Undersize at 224 pounds, he can spend a year adding weight and playing special teams. Caveat: If the Eagles miss on Gay in the third round, they might opt for Logan Wilson, a productive middle linebacker out of Wyoming who can play special teams.

Round Five, 168th overall: Alex Taylor, OT, South Carolina State. The Eagles love athleticism, especially on the offensive line: Jason Peters was a superb high school basketball player and Lane Johnson was a very good quarterback at their Texas high schools, and Jason Kelce was a fine high school hockey player in Ohio. Taylor, a standout high school basketball player in South Carolina, transferred from Appalachian State, where he was playing football, to South Carolina State to return to basketball in 2017, but he quit after a poor first season and returned to football. At 6-8 with a 7-2 wingspan, he’s the sort of freak whom line coach Jeff Stoutland can turn into a star.

Round Six, 190th overall: James Morgan, QB, Florida International. A football junkie who grew up in Green Bay, Morgan transferred to FIU, sped up his release, and reduced his turnovers. He’s 6-4, has a strong arm, and makes quick reads, so the Birds will be lucky if he lasts this long. But they need a true developmental quarterback. If he’s gone, then the Birds could opt for more special-teams help here, with intriguing cornerback/safety project Reggie Robinson out of Tulsa. At any rate, Morgan will have a better career than the 50th pick in 1999 -- quarterback Shaun King.