Eagles Draft Rumors: Ed Oliver leaves bad impression

A top tier prospect of the 2019 NFL Draft class recently visited the Philadelphia Eagles during a pre-draft visit. The meeting, however, didn’t go as planned.

The Philadelphia Eagles appear to being on the hunt of moving up the 2019 NFL Draft order. The team is slated to select with the 25th pick of the draft, but according to reports from ESPN, Howie Roseman may aim to draft higher.

The organization does possess three selections within the first 60 picks (53rd and 57th overall in the second round) of the upcoming draft. Given the ammunition on hand, Philadelphia is a player to move up in the draft order in the first round. The question is — for who exactly?

One potential target the Eagles may consider trading up for is a defensive tackle in Ed Oliver, who the team welcomed to their facility this past Tuesday. But Philadelphia ended up coming away unimpressed after their meeting with the University of Houston product.

Oliver tested poorly during his team interviews, a team source tells Inside The Iggles with direct knowledge of the situation. The results could impact Philadelphia’s interest in the defensive tackle.

What’s the word around the complex?

"“Based on how he interviewed with team officials, the front office walked away with a low-character impression of Oliver,” the source claims. “That perception ultimately removed him from the draft board.”"

This situation brings to mind a familiar pre-draft visit fiasco Philadelphia encountered last year with now Washington Redskins running back, Derrius Guice, after his formal meeting with the Eagles.

A reported altercation between the Eagles’ brass and Guice came out after Philadelphia passed on drafting the running back when given two opportunities to select him. Reports indicated that during the meeting the team provoked the former LSU star while questioning his love for video games.

The case with Oliver and the Eagles this year could very well be the same as last years run in with Guice. Philadelphia has proved their willingness to bypass a player during the draft despite his talent level because of poor pre-draft visits beforehand.

The coincidence of this report on Oliver’s visit is that there’s merit to it. There was an altercation between the defensive tackle and Houston head coach, Major Applewhite, came to light during an ESPN broadcast of the Cougars taking on Tulane. The coach pushed a corner of his star’s jacket off then Oliver proceeded to follow the head coach which resulted in him having to be restrained from going after him.

It’s possible to believe the Eagles may have provoked Oliver, similar to the way the team did with Guice and got a similar response from the interior pass-rusher like the one he displayed this past November with his head coach. If so, those circumstances could potentially highlight a story that may surface during the night of the draft if Oliver were to slide.

Expecting the Eagles to forfeit any assets in pursuit of Oliver comes across as unrealistic now after this report of a poor pre-draft visit. Even if the talented interior pass-rusher takes a tumble-down the draft order — don’t expect Philadelphia to be interested after the results of his visit.