Potential Eagles first-round draft targets with huge boom-or-bust potential

Could the Eagles invest another high draft pick on a Washington corner?

The last time the Eagles used a high draft choice on a cornerback out of the University of Washington Huskie’s football program… Well, how can we say this nicely? Let’s just say that things didn’t work out too well.

We understood what the plan was. Sidney Jones ruptured his Achilles prior to the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine during Washington’s Pro Day in March of that year. Many believed that, had he not done so, the chances were high that he could be a first-round selection.

The Birds had an idea: Draft him anyway, and hope he returns to form. It made sense. Philadelphia would have landed a cover corner in Round 2 that had first-round talent. Again, because it has to be restated, the plan didn’t work.

Jones had his moments. No, seriously… He literally had about four highlights in an Eagles jersey. The memory of his failures (and those of Nelson Agholor and JJ Arcega-Whiteside) has transformed any idea of taking another player from the Pac-12 into a frightening proposition for this team’s fans.

Washington’s latest star corner, Trent McDuffie, is turning heads. Pro Football Focus ranked him first among 2021 NCAA cornerbacks in terms of coverage grade, completion percentage by opposing quarterbacks when they throw in his direction, and yards allowed per snap.

Still, at five-foot-eleven and 195 pounds, it’s hard to imagine scenarios where he lines up versus the bigger and better outside receivers in the game and he wins. Nothing says ‘boom-or-bust’ potential like knowing that to be the case.