Eagles news: Reactions as PFF mock sees Philly taking trench warriors

Keep those notifications turned on, and be careful that you don’t forget to take those cellular devices off of their do not disturb or airplane modes because from now until that one-month break when the Philadelphia Eagles‘ players and coaches take some time off before beginning training camp, things are going to get busy.

The NFL Scouting Combine is already underway. On-field workouts begin on Thursday, March 2nd, and they run through Sunday. Once that wraps, we’ll be discussing Pro Days and free agency until the next NFL Draft arrives. We then dive into rookie minicamps and OTAs.

Buckle up. It should be fun. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There are plenty of mock drafts, pre-draft discussions, and free-agency discussions/rumors to keep you busy. Let’s dig into a couple of stories you might have missed.

Eagles news: A recent mock draft adds two trench stars to Philadelphia’s wheelhouse.

If you’re looking to give yourselves hours of reading material, be sure to keep Pro Football Focus bookmarked. Recently, they released a first and second-round NFL mock. Philly’s first two picks weren’t of the sexy variety per se, but they were worth a mention, particularly because they fall right in line with Howie Roseman’s business model.

The Indianapolis Colts trade up to the top spot and land their quarterback of the future, Bryce Young of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Former Ohio State Buckeyes standout C.J. Stroud is the Houston Texans’ choice at number two. The Eagles select Stroud’s former teammate, offensive tackle Paris Johnson at ten and they add Pittsburgh Panthers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey with the 30th-overall selection.

North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs is mocked to Philly in Round 2 with the 62nd-overall selection if you’re interested. Here’s what Trevor Sikkema, the writer of this one, said about both choices. We begin with the Johnson selection.

"The Eagles have made a living out of using their priority picks in the trenches. With their bonus first-round pick, that’s where I think they look. They have Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens to give them depth and versatility on the interior, and Paris Johnson Jr. can do the same at offensive tackle."

Our thoughts: Many grade Peter Skoronski (Northwestern) ahead of Johnson. We agree with that. We’d probably take the former if we had a choice, and Philly did in this scenario (Sikkema mocks Skoronski to the Tennessee Titans at 11).

PFF ranks Skoronski as the 15th best player on their NFL Draft big board ranking the top 100 prospects. Johnson is ranked 13th. While we grade Skoronski higher, the Birds wouldn’t lose with either guy, and both can move inside to play guard if Isaac Seumalo is gone.

Here are Sikkema’s thoughts about Calijah Kancey, who he, again, mocks to the Birds at 30.

"There’s a lot to like about Kancey’s pass-rush profile. The 6-foot, 280-pounder has some of the fastest hands and burst off the snap you’ll see. But that’s because he is smaller in overall size, which goes into some of the give and take of his scouting report. Putting him next to a space eater like Jordan Davis might form a magical pairing."

Our thoughts: Again, none of this is going to set Twitter on fire, but it’s a realistic theory. We aren’t discussing one of the top cornerbacks or a flashy skill player, but both moves fall in line with what we see Philly do.

If you’ll remember, Mel Kiper mocked Kancey to the Birds with the tenth-overall selection at the end of January. We called that a reach then, and still believe it to be so. Hearing his name called at the end of Round 1 or early on Day 2 of the NFL Draft seems like the more believable scenario.