NFL Draft History: Re-drafting the Eagles 2019 class
By Ryan Loftus
The Eagles add Gardner Minshew to the nest much earlier than they had originally planned.
Scouting Report. Gardner Minshew II. player. Washington State. 167. 846. Pick Analysis. Quarterback
Original selection: Clayton Thorson
Gardner Minshew would have been a much better option for the Eagles than selecting Clayton Thorson, right? Seriously, we can all agree on that, can’t we?
Minshew has proven time and time again, that he’s good enough to be a top backup quarterback in the National Football League. He even proved that he could be a decent starter with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has a strong work ethic. He’s loved by his teammates. Dare we say that, if the Eagles had taken Gardner that controversy would have come earlier and the Eagles may not have taken Jalen Hurts at all?
In the end, no one knows. It sure is fun to speculate though.
Scotty Miller. player. 2242. Bowling Green. 197. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Wide Receiver
Original selection: None (traded)
As mentioned earlier, the 197th-overall selection was traded to the Ravens to allow the Eagles to land Andre Dillard, a trade that allowed Baltimore to draft Trace McSorley out of Penn State (he’s a backup for the Arizona Cardinals now). What if the Eagles had elected to take Scotty Miller instead?
Miller wound up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 208th-overall selection, a pick that ironically also belonged to the Birds before they traded for DeSean Jackson.
Miller has the speed that would have paired phenomenally well with D.K. Metcalf’s strength. With Miller and Metcalf both in-house, the Eagles would have saved themselves a few headaches over the wide receiver position down the road.
Eagles mock draft: Philadelphia trades up, bucks tradition. light. Trending
In terms of the undrafted free agents, the Eagles signing T.J. Edwards and Nate Herbig still makes sense, even now. It would have been nice to also see them avoid offensive guard Ryan Bates. He had a brief and unsuccessful run with the team.
It would have also been fun to have seen them add other undrafted free agents like punter Jamie Gillian, tackle Fred Johnson, or wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. All of which might have still been paying dividends for Philadelphia today.