Ranking popular Eagles 1st-round options following trade with Saints

Tyler Linderbaum and Nakobe Dean seemingly already have huge Eagles followings.

If the Eagles still had a third draft choice in Round 1, adding Tyler Linderbaum as a depth piece and a possible eventual successor for Jason Kelce would be a no-brainer. He’d be the best bonus pick ever. That is if he’d even be available.

With so many holes on the roster, however, it may be better to look in another direction to add a star at a position where there’s an immediate need. Linderbaum is destined for greatness though, and he more than deserves a spot on this list.

Nakobe Dean is going to be successful in the NFL and figures to be a home-run addition for the team that drafts him. The questions are about whether or not he needs to be Philly’s choice at 15 or 18 though.

Some think his selection should be seen as a no-brainer. Others believe that, even though he made a ton of splash plays for the Georgia Bulldogs, he was inconsistent on a down-by-down basis. He’s been graded as a top-15 draft choice in some forums and as a late first-rounder/early second-rounder in others.

For now, we slot him slightly ahead of Linderbaum as it stands to reason that, if both are available and the Eagles are on the clock, it’s Dean who might be the guy that gets the nod if Philly is thinking about adding talented players who can make immediate impacts.