Rd. 1 no. 32: Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles select with their first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft: Sony Michel RB Georgia. I Can’t wait to hear The Philadelphia Eagles being announced as the defending Super Bowl Champions with the draft in Dallas. That’s like getting two first rd. picks. The Eagles have no glaring needs as far as starters go. With a roster loaded with talent on both sides of the ball, The Eagles have no glaring needs. DE was perhaps a sneaky need for the team due to them likely trading or releasing rotational DE Vinny Curry, but is a need no longer after the team acquired DE Michael Bennett from Seatle for just a 5th rd. pick. They already had the NFL’s best defensive line and now after adding Bennet, it’s even better. With being able to simply draft the best player available I think they’d be wise to draft RB Sony Michel for two reasons. 1: While they have talented RBs Jay Ajayi and Corey Clement on the roster I don’t think they will resign Ajayi after 2019 unless his knees continue to hold up better than I think they will.
Enter Sony Michel who at 6 ft 215 lbs has explosive speed and power can contribute as a rookie and potentially form another three-headed monster rushing attack in Philadelphia, and a great one-two punch with RB Corey Clement after Ajayi’s departure the following year. RB Sony Michel can also be a three-down back like LeSean McCoy used to be. I personally believe that RB Corey Clement also has that potential. That said if you can add two backs like that to your roster for as cheap as they’ll be then you should. Here’s a look at Michel’s numbers at Georgia. For his career, he rushed the ball 591 times for 3,638 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Rd. 2 pick no. 53 from The Bills for QB Nick Foles: The Eagles are going to trade Foles. Reports indicate that QB Carson Wentz will be ready to play in The Eagles season opener and may even be ready for training camp. The Eagles also like another backup QB that they have named Nate Sudfeld who they believe has starter potential in the NFL. With this pick, The Philadelphia Eagles trade the selection to The New England Patriots after they discover the LB/S that they covet will be available in the third round. In return, The Eagles receive The Patriots 2019 2nd and 5th round selections.
Rd. 3 no. 96 from The Buffalo Bills for QB Nick Foles: LB/S Shaquem Griffin. The versatile Griffin is a player who was thought of as maybe a late 7th rd. pick to an undrafted free agent before his great performance at the combine where he despite only having one hand and wearing a prosthetic left hand benched 20 reps of 225 lbs and ran a 4.38 40. The Eagles need some depth at both Safety and backer so why not draft a player who plays both positions?
The Eagles love versatile players who can play at multiple positions on defense. Griffin is an excellent football player who can contribute right away and eventually take over for S Malcolm Jenkins who also plays both Safety and Linebacker. Griffin who is now projected to be a late 3rd to 5th rd. pick has good size for both positions at 6 ft. 1 and 229 lbs. While he has a great story he’s also a productive player who I believe is going to excel in The NFL.
Rd. 3: no 98: From the Cleveland Browns in exchange for both The Eagles 4th rd picks numbers 130 and 132: TE Mike Gesiski Penn State. I see TE Mike Gesiski out of Penn State taking a slight draft day slide, and The Eagles would be wise to select him by packaging both of their 4th rd. picks to The Browns for one of their third rounders to snag Gesisiki who’s a big talented and deceptively fast TE. Think Brent Celek in his prime. The Eagles like backup TE Billy brown and have a top 5 TE in Zach Ertz as their starter. that being said, however, they use a lot of two TE sets and usually keep three tight Ends on their roster. With Burton leaving for more money and less time playing in January and the expected release of 33-year veteran TE Brent Celek this pick makes a ton of sense and gives QB Carson Wentz yet another talented pass catcher to throw to. Last year Gesiski had 58 catches for 563 yards and 9 TDs. He is 6ft 5 245 lbs.
Rd. 5 no. 169: Toby Weathersby OT LSU. OT Toby Weathersby is a mauler and a behemoth who stands at 6 ft. 8 and is 302 lbs. He is a very athletic player and a steal at this point in the draft. He can play either OT position and G. the Philadelphia Eagles also value athletic and versatile OL.
Rd. 5 no. 170: From The New England Patriots for DE Vinny Curry and The Eagles 6th rd. pick no. 206: WR Daurice Fountain Northern Iowa. With Torrey Smith most likely gone due to his lack of production outside of two playoff games, The Eagles will be looking for WR Depth. I believe they’ll keep WR Nelson Agholor in the slot where he has been dangerous and star WR1 Alshon Jeffry will obviously stay right where he is. Who takes over for Smith on the left outside WR position? I believe it will be WR Mack Hollins who showed tons of potential last season. That being said if Fountain falls in the draft a little bit expect The Eagles to show interest in the tall well-built speedster with good hands. He could compete with Mack Hollins immediately for Smiths vacated position. I expect Hollins to win the starting job, but I don’t expect The Eagles to just hand it to the second year player. At best Fountain competes for playing time as a rookie, and at worst the talented WR gives the Eagles some more depth at the position to develop. WR Daurice Fountain is 6ft 2 and 208 lbs. He ran a 4.5 40 at the combine but was recorded running under that on youtube a few times in a row. Last year Fountain had 68 catches for 953 yards and a whopping 12 Tds but had to invite himself to the combine despite that production.
Rd. 7 no. 250 from The Seatle Seahawks: DT Drew Bailey Louisville. Drew Bailey stands at 6 ft. 5 which is tall for a DT and is 295 lbs. He may need to add a few pounds but he was an ultra-productive player in college who is athletic. I think he’s worth a flier in this rd. The Eagles really don’t need another DL, but they add one every year. DT Drew Bailey had 5 sacks in 2017. I think if he’s drafted by The Eagles he’ll beat out last years 6th rd. pick DT Elijah Qualls for that final roster spot as he has more upside.
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