Experts weigh in on Eagles trading up for someone other than Jefferson

The overwhelming consensus is Justin Jefferson to the Philadelphia Eagles at 21 makes sense, but might they trade up for someone else?

The NFL Draft approaches and the talking points are plentiful. Will Justin Jefferson be the guy the Philadelphia Eagles take at 21? We’ve all determined that there’s no way that Henry Ruggs III falls now, right? What about those other areas of need? What might they do to address them?

We’ve all discussed the possibility of both the Eagles trading up and trading back, but recently, those theories were kickstarted by two very respected names in Philly lore, Derrick Gunn and Barrett Brooks of NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Quick Slants.

Here are two theories and both make sense. One, if Philly trades back, they can add another middle-round selection, giving them nine total. As you know, they gave up two in this year’s draft to allow themselves the possibility of landing Darius Slay.

The second theory is this. Trading up isn’t totally out of the question, but is it necessary? While the chances of landing Jefferson at 21 is high, it can also be argued that, even if they miss on him, there are so many other options at the wide receiver position after he would be selected. There’s no need to trade up and lose yet another draft selection.

Jefferson is an amazing talent, but even as good as he is, the consensus is Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb are the best in this year’s class, so yes, Gunn and Brooks are right to explore the idea. They spent a few moments talking about a trade to help them land Lamb this week. Make sure you give that one a listen.

Lamb figures to go in the top 12 selections, if not higher, so if this is an option the Eagles are considering, as most of you know, they would have to give up an additional draft pick or maybe two to any team that would be interested in swapping first-round picks with them.

While both Gunn and Brooks share the mindset that Lamb can start Day 1 in the NFL, the long and the short of this one boils down to two conclusions most “Birds” fans and the media would share. The best option is staying right where they are in the draft position-wise. The second=best option is trading back. Trading up makes no sense.

It’s very safe to say that they could move back to add more picks and still find quality at the wide receiver position with a later selection in the first round. Even with all of that being said, most would agree that the most popular option is staying put and banking on landing Jefferson at 21. The overwhelming idea is that he’s the guy the team, the fans, and the media all want.