Looking Back on the Eagles 2014 Draft Rumors

Oct 19, 2013; Berkeley, CA, USA; Oregon State Beavers wide receiver Brandin Cooks (7) runs with the ball against the California Golden Bears during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Eagles Want Every Wide Receiver in the Draft

 The Eagles have been linked to thirty wide receivers throughout the pre-Draft process per Bleeding Green Nation’s incredible Prospect Tracker. Call it a hunch, but something about that number tells me that Philadelphia is interested in adding talent to a lineup that lost Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson just weeks apart from each other.

Plenty of names have floated around that would require a first or second day selection who we have all heard and talked about ad nauseam due to the extra two weeks the NFL placed in front of the Draft, but here’s a quick list of the main names to keep an eye on that will most likely be gone before the Eagles pick in the second round:

• Brandin Cooks, Oregon State
• Marqise Lee, USC
• Odell Beckham, Jr., LSU
• Mike Evans, Texas A&M*
• Cody Latimer, Indiana
• Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt
• Donte Moncrief, Ole Miss
• Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State

*Likely only available via trade-up.

The 2014 Mock Draft series that ITI’s own Giorgos Kassakos and myself have been working on recently published the third and final revision, which saw the Eagles ending up with Brandin Cooks at the 22nd pick. Cooks, who measured at 5’10 and 189 pounds at the NFL Combine, is a speedster with more physicality than the Eagles received from Jackson.

The main question of the selection would be that it is a bit of a departure from Chip Kelly’s apparent infatuation with high-measurable players, but it does fit in with Kelly having a penchant for drafting former PAC-12 opponents.

Cody Latimer, a late riser to media and mock drafts alike, has gone from being viewed as a third or fourth round prospect to now being nearly a lock to be picked by the time the final selection of the first round. It’s been the opposite story for FSU’s Benjamin, who has tumbled down analyst draft boards in recent weeks after reports of not being in the best shape and potential character concerns — and that was on top of being the subject of criticism for dropped passes.