Philadelphia Eagles 2021 three-round mock: Focusing on those trenches

In round three, the Philadelphia Eagles draft a former Philly athlete.

To round out the lineman-only mock, the Birds bring edge rusher Quincy Roche back to Philadelphia. Even though the former Temple Owl might be in the best position to succeed as a 3-4 outside linebacker, the Birds switched Josh Sweat to a 4-3 defensive end a few years ago.

Roche is a bit undersized. He’s six-foot-three and 243 pounds, but if he bulks up a bit, he could be just fine. That’s obviously much easier said than done, but Roche has a high ceiling and Philly needs edge rushers. Brandon Graham is getting a bit older, Vinny Curry will be an unrestricted free agent, and Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat are both entering the final year of their rookie deals.

Roche was productive both at Temple and at Miami. In his final season with the Owls, he finished with 13 sacks and 19 tackles for a loss in 12 games. As college football fans know, the ACC offers more competition than the American Athletic Conference, and after switching locations, Roche didn’t do as much damage.

Even still, he racked up 4.5 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles in his ten games played during the 2020 season. Despite his lack of size, Roche can get skinny and use his technique to take advantage of offensive tackles all day long. As a professional, if he were to land with Philly, having some time to sit and learn behind the Eagles’ edge rushers would serve him well. He could slide in as a rotational defensive lineman and then develop into a starter in time.