Everyone varies in their opinions of mock drafts. As the midpoint of April sits in our rear-view mirrors, you’ve probably resigned yourselves to one or two theories. Either you’re sick of seeing them or you’re still checking them out to see if any of the theories about what the Philadelphia Eagles might do have changed.
Let’s assume you’re like us, and you love them. You probably see them in the same manner that you view those college basketball March Madness brackets that you fill out every year. Of course, you’re going to be wrong, but that doesn’t make them any less fun.
The final Thursday in April approaches. We won’t have to wait much longer for some answers, but let’s do a quick roundup anyway.
Here are a few theories as we near the NFL Draft and final decisions on what the Eagles decide to do.
We’re spanning the map. Here’s what the experts believe the Eagles will do with those first-round selections once the NFL Draft gets underway. As you can see, the opinions continue to vary.
CBS Sports: Eagles take controversial defensive lineman and star CB
In Ryan Wilson’s most recent mock, the Eagles settle on the controversial defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt at 15. They add cornerback Trent McDuffie at 18.
We’ll have to wait and see how Wyatt is valued, rumor has it that teams are taking him off of their draft boards and citing character concerns as the reason. The McDuffies angle is intriguing. There are a few draft pundits that grade him as the second-best corner behind Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner now.
NFL.com: Eagles take a wide receiver and end a decades-long drought
Peter Schrager is one of the NFL’s most trusted young voices. He wouldn’t be a mainstay on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football if he wasn’t. In a recent mock draft he pieced together, he gives the Birds wide receiver Drake London and linebacker Devin Lloyd to Philly at picks 15 and 18 respectively.
London gets the highest mark among wide receivers on quite a few of the big boards we’ve seen. The selection of Lloyd would mean the Eagles are finally paying the proper amount of attention to upgrading the linebacker position. As you know, they haven’t taken a linebacker in the first round of any NFL Draft since 1979 when Jerry Robinson was the selection out of UCLA.
Sports Illustrated: Eagles add a cornerback and star wide receiver
This one should turn a few heads. Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr sends cornerback Derek Stingley and wide receiver Jameson Williams to Philadelphia at 15 and 18. That would most certainly satisfy much of the desire for long-awaited upgrades in the secondary and wide receiver corps.
ESPN: Eagles add star wide receiver and versatile defensive back
We wrap things up with ESPN’s dynamic draft duo Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay. They’re always worth a mention around this time of year.
Their tag-team effort sits behind a paywall and requires you to be an ESPN Plus subscriber. It’s for that reason that we won’t do a deep dive or share any quotes, but for the inquiring minds, Jameson Williams and Michigan’s Daxton Hill are the choices.
The Daxton Hill selection is intriguing. He hasn’t been linked to Philly often, but he’s one of the more underappreciated (and versatile) defensive backs in the draft. He played a lot of slot corner for the Wolverines, but he probably grades out as an NFL safety.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens on April 28th. In the meantime, as you can see, there are plenty of theories to fuel chats in the break room or at the water cooler until Roger Goodell announces the draft is underway.