Eagles must consider plunging into North Dakota State’s talent pool for help

Though this may not be the best strategy in roster-building (as a matter of fact, we’re sure it isn’t), we’ve heard this so many times that it must be addressed publicly. There may not be a worse form of draft analysis than the belief that the Philadelphia Eagles shouldn’t draft (insert payer’s name) because they, once upon a time, drafted another prospect who played at that player’s same school and that decision didn’t work out.

You can understand why concern exists and why it’s easy to buy into that way of thinking. That’s probably the worst way to approach player evaluation though.

Should the Eagles give up on players from the Alabama Crimson Tide because Freddie Milons didn’t work out? That would be a stretch, right?

Now, don’t read what hasn’t been written. Again, the concern is understandable. We’ve all been able to relate to a fellow Birds fan’s fear of taking another Pac-12 receiver in the NFL Draft and every eye-roll when Philly is connected to a cornerback from the Washington Huskies. We have JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Nelson Agholor, and Sidney Jones to thank for that.

How should we rank Carson Wentz and the mighty North Dakota State Bison then? It was Wentz’s selection at number two in the 2016 NFL Draft that introduced us to a football program we cared little about and paid no attention to. Who are we kidding? We still don’t pay attention to what they’re doing. You get the idea though.

Sometimes, NDSU is worth a mention though. They’ve had some ballers come through their ranks, including Trey Lance and a lesser-mentioned wide receiver that seems to be climbing everyone’s big board ahead of April’s draft.

The Eagles probably won’t draft Christian Watson, but he’s supremely fascinating.

Now, before the ‘I don’t want another Bison player because of Carson Wentz’ talk begins, do yourselves a favor and give Christian Watson a look. Heading into the 2021 college football season, none of us were talking about him. Maybe we should have been though.

Here’s a six-foot-four, 208-pound speedster who hauled in 43 receptions last year. That resulted in 800 yards and seven touchdowns during his final 12 games at NDSU.

While those numbers won’t blow anyone away. It was a fantastic week at the Senior Bowl and the constant demonstrations of him being a size and speed mismatch that really put NFL scouts and coaches on notice. Then, he ran a blistering 4.36-second 40-yard dash at the most recent NFL Scouting Combine. He also had showings of  38.5 inches and 136 inches in the high jump and broad jump respectively.

In terms of his measurables, they all translate to the football field. He’s basically everything that JJ Arcega-Whiteside was supposed to be physically for the Eagles’ offense. If given a chance, he’d also give Philly everything that Jalen Reagor was supposed to bring the offense from a speed perspective.

Now, while we hate to blow the balloon up and stick a pin in it, here are the cold hard facts. The chances of Christian Watson landing in an Eagles jersey are slim to none. We apologize if we got your hopes up and left you hanging. This young man is definitely worth a mention though, and he most certainly deserves a spot on Philly’s draft board.

If the Eagles do go with a wide receiver in Round 1, they’ll, more than likely, have options that grade higher, Chris Olave and Jameson Williams for instance, but even though some are giving Watson first-round grades, Pro Football Focus slots him as their 11th-best receiver and 74th-ranked player overall on their big board. That makes him truly interesting for an Eagles team in need of upgrades at the position.

If Christian Watson is floating around and still on the board in Round 2 and Philly hasn’t addressed its need for a pass catcher, things could get very interesting.