Biggest Sleepers in the Philadelphia Eagles’ Draft Class
By Tom Aresco
The 2016 NFL Draft was a wild, unpredictable event. For the Philadelphia Eagles, it seemed to be a final cleansing of the Chip Kelly era.
In years past, the Eagles seemed to be very hesitant about selecting players with questionable character. Let’s not beat around the bush. Last year, they didn’t do that. Was this the most appropriate way to create a team culture that the former head coach harped on endlessly?
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To be honest, it wasn’t. During the tenure of former head coach Andy Reid, the team was willing to take on players with character concerns. Those risks didn’t always pan out, but it showed transparency, emotional intelligence and the front office was open to forgiveness. It showed they didn’t think of themselves as “perfect”.
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This isn’t to say that it is favorable to create a roster full of disobedient players, but sometimes there is more to the story. The Eagles nabbed some serious sleepers because they were willing to look deeper than what was on the surface with some of these guys. Later rounds, especially for a team that is lacking early selections, are a good place to consider taking risks.
Safety Jalen Mills, formerly of the LSU Tigers, is the perfect example of a sleeper pick. He is, according to many, the Eagles’ most valuable selection in this class. Mills was projected as a 2nd to 3rd round pick, but he had some issues off the field and an injury. He was taken in the 7th round by the Eagles, and he will help bolster a defensive backfield that is full of question marks and could use bodies. The safety group hasn’t looked this strong since the days of Brian Dawkins.
Eagles
Another sleeper pick in a position of need was running back Wendell Smallwood from the West Virginia Mountaineers. Smallwood was an explosive back at WVU, consistently showing an ability to make big plays, and he’s stood out from his college games all the way up to the pre-draft scouting process. His troubled past, including homophobic Twitter posts and a 2014 arrest, pushed teams away from him. The Eagles did their homework, and they took a risk on him during the 5th round.
Mills and Smallwood are both players that could contribute early and often in their careers with the Eagles. Both guys need to reverse their image, continue to mature and make the most of their opportunities this summer. Taking calculated risks on players on day three is completely understandable. Reaching for a risk in round two is a different story, and it has put teams like the Dallas Cowboys in the hole.