Philadelphia Eagles score a wideout and cornerback in two recent mocks

For the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s the same old story ahead of the offseason.

At some point, you have to start asking yourselves how this keeps happening. Every year, after the season ends, Philadelphia Eagles fans and members of the media begin talking about the NFL Draft. Every year, everyone seems to be saying the same thing. The Birds need wide receivers, cornerbacks, linebackers, and depth at tailback and the offensive line.

It kind of sounds familiar, doesn’t it? In 2020, it’s been much of the same old tale. The Birds never found a long-term solution for who should play opposite of Darius Slay in the secondary. Miles Sanders is their lone weapon at tailback. There isn’t a Birds fan on Planet Earth that’s satisfied with what this team has at wideout.

Then, there’s this. There may be a possibility that this team says goodbye to both DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery in the offseason.

The Philadelphia Eagles go with a wide receiver in a recent NFL Mock Draft.

Over the course of the past two offseasons, the Birds have invested four picks into the wide receiver position. They took JJ Arcega-Whiteside in Round 2 of 2019’s draft. In 2020, they took Jalen Reagor in Round 1, John Hightower in Round 5, and Quez Watkins in Round 6. They even traded for Marquise Goodwin during the draft’s third day.

Goodwin opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. JJAW is a bust. Reagor has a shot at being decent (at least that’s how it looks right now), but so far, Hightower and Watkins haven’t proven that they’re consistently ready for the bright lights of the NFL.

As time runs out on Philly’s season, you can expect to see more mock drafts, and in one of the more recent,  one done by Pro Football Focus’ Austin Gayle, the Birds take Jaylen Waddle from Alabama. here’s some of the explanation.

"Hurts and Wentz will likely duke it out in camp to compete for the starting nod just to play for an offense that lacks depth and high-end talent across the board. Targeting one of the best non-quarterbacks in the draft at higher positional value than off-ball linebacker (sorry Micah Parsons stans) at number six overall makes the most sense for Philly.Waddle is arguably a better receiver prospect than Henry Ruggs III was coming out of Alabama in 2020. An explosive, dynamic athlete, Waddle ranks inside the top five in yards per route run (3.64) and yards after the catch per reception (11.5) over the past two seasons."

For those of you who believe the Birds should think about addressing their defensive needs first, you’re in luck. Shamus Clancy of NBC Sports Philadelphia believes they should go with a cornerback.

He agrees with the theory that the Philadelphia Eagles should raid the Tide’s wheelhouse, but he sees Patrick Surtain II as the more logical choice. Here’s his explanation.

"Eagles fans have seen enough Michael Jacquet for a lifetime. After watching receivers run wild against them for years now, the Eagles now have an opportunity to find a capable CB2 immediately in Surtain who can blossom into a top shutdown corner in time."

One might disagree with the assessment of Michael Jacquet. He could still be good with time, experience, and coaching. Remember Sheldon Brown had a shaky start when he got manhandled in the NFC Divisional Game versus the Green Bay Packers in January of 2004, but he turned out to be a nice find.

Where Jacquet goes now is up to Michael Jacquet. He could still turn things around or he might not ever recover following a bad night in Arlington. We’ll have to wait and see. Here’s what we can say with certainty right now though.

If Philly does indeed land Waddle to pair with Reagor (even though some Eagles fans would rather see their favorite team take his teammate Devonta Smith) or if they’re able to acquire Surtain and put him on the other side of Darius Slay, either move will settle the fan base down. We’re a long way from April so we’ll have to wait and see how these young men navigate through the draft process.