Best Eagles draft, free-agent safety targets after Gardner-Johnson news
The NFL nears the dawn of the second week of its new calendar year. We finally have an answer on whether or C.J. Gardner-Johnson will be a member of the Philadelphia Eagles roster for the 2023-2024 NFL season. Let’s make long stories short… He won’t.
The news came late on Sunday, shortly after 9:30 p.m. EST that C.J. will join the Detroit Lions on a one-year deal. Naturally, the next question on most of our minds revolved around what comes next. Here’s your answer.
We enter territory that is both uncertain and familiar. As is seemingly the case every offseason, there are holes to fill at linebacker and safety. Philly has lost their top two players from last year’s depth chart at each of those positions. They have two ways to fill in the gaps, free agency’s pool and the coming selection meeting in April.
Here are the Eagles’ top five available targets at safety in, both, the NFL Draft and the free agency pool.
Here’s the bad news. The Eagles lost one of their better young players on the defensive side of the ball with C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s departure, one that has yet to reach his prime years. There’s also good news to report.
Replacing him is possible, and the Birds have two avenues to get that done. There are some talented free agents and blue-chip safety prospects in this year’s draft class.
We’d rather Philadelphia use the latter avenue, but let’s explore both. Here are the top five free-agent options.
Taylor Rapp, L.A. Rams
Though Taylor Rapp is still available and the best remaining FA at the position, he figures to be headed elsewhere. At the time of this story’s release, the Pats and Bengals are showing the most interest, so let’s move on.
Adrian Amos, Green Bay Packers
Is it just us or is Ryan Neal all of a sudden one of the best young safeties in all of the NFL? He played well for the Seahawks and they seem to be intent on keeping him in-house, so Adrian Amos climbs our list.
Last season was his worst, but we expect him to bounce back as he’s normally pretty solid. At 30, we’d advise the Eagles to steer clear though.
Jalen Mills, Patriots
Adrian Amos was someone we were watching, but he had a bad season. He also just turned 30, so we’re going with a guy the Eagles know a little better. Jalen Mills was just released by the Patriots.
Rodney McLeod, Indianapolis Colts
Rodney McLeod won’t cure those discussions about Philly keeping too many old guys around, but this is someone the fans have always loved. The main issue is he turns 33 in June.
Terrell Edmunds, Pittsburgh Steelers
Terrell Edmunds misses too many tackles. He is also a late-bloomer, but he plays well in coverage. He’s another name to watch as the best options now also include young guys that miss a lot of tackles (John Johnson) and a few guys who are getting old: Duron Harmon, Logan Ryan, and Kareem Jackson.
Here are the top five draft options.
Again, now seems like the time to build the secondary through the NFL Draft. That normally isn’t the Eagles’ business model, but we’ll see what happens.
Brian Branch, Alabama Crimson Tide
Team sources have compared Brian Branch to Minkah Fitzpatrick. That has our attention. He needs to add some weight, but his potential as a hybrid cornerback/safety is obvious.
Jartavius ‘Quan’ Martin, Ilinois Fighting Illini
Quan Martin could be a riser in this draft. He can play safety, nickel corner, and outside corner, but his natural position at the professional level is probably at safety
Cameron Mitchell, Northwestern Wildcats
Cameron Mitchell is another of these hybrid players with enough versatility to play deep at the line of scrimmage or in coverage.
Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M Aggies
Antonio Johnson played well in the final weeks of the season after being injured versus Alabama. He didn’t notch the 40-yard dash time that he would have liked at the NFL Scouting Combine (4.52), but he excelled during the field drills.
Daniel Scott, California Bears
Scott’s final season at California was a beauty: 82 tackles, three interceptions, and two pass breakups. He can run and has quality size. He’s the prototypical NFL safety from a size standpoint.
Honorable mention (draft prospects)
Keep your eyes on Brandon Joseph (Notre Dame), Demarco Hellams (Alabama), Sydney Brown (Illinois), Ji’Ayir Brown (Penn State), and Jordan Battle (Alabama). Those are the names that will wrap up our top ten.
Expect lines to be drawn that connect dots linking Philadelphia and some of these talented young safeties. Philadelphia almost never takes a defensive back in the first round of the NFL Draft, but who knows? This year could be a good time to do so (or go with one before Round 3.
One more thing to keep in mind: Don’t rule out the possibility of vice president/general manager Howie Roseman addressing secondary needs post-draft. He’s done that often as of late.
