5 positions the Eagles may ignore during the 2023 NFL Draft
Every NFL Draft has its personality and more than a handful of surprises in every round. Each of the 32 teams enters the selection meeting with a plan of attack. Then, to use football references, they’re forced to call audibles. The Philadelphia Eagles know this better than anyone.
Mike Tyson once described a boxing match by stating “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. Say what you want to say about the source, but that might be the best take on boxing and its ‘sweet science’ ever.
Here’s what’s funny. Tyson’s theory also describes the draft perfectly. Every organization has watched another that was scheduled to pick ahead of them scribble names on draft cards and announce players they would have taken.
Much has been made about the Eagles’ six picks and what they may or may not do with each of them. Fingers are crossed that all players are home runs, but who are we kidding? That rarely happens.
Since we’re all making guesses, here are a few about a handful of positions the Eagles might ignore during the NFL Draft.
Let’s be honest. We’ve written tons of mock drafts. We have read tons more, and you know what we figured out? None of us know what the Eagles are going to do when they’re on the clock and asked to make a selection.
It’s like Tyson and his ‘getting punched in the face’ theory. What happens if Jalen Carter, Peter Skoronski, and Bijan Robinson are all off of the board at the tenth-overall selection? What then?
We can make arguments for all of those guys being Philadelphia’s selection. Then again, we can argue against their selections as well.
We can argue the Eagles may very well draft another trench star, but we can also argue they chart a course that none of us are exploring.
Here are five positions they may have ignored after three days and seven rounds are over.
Much has been made about the fact that they don’t draft running backs in Round 1, while that’s true, there are exceptions.
Running back
Much has been made about the fact that the Eagles typically haven’t drafted running backs during Round 1 as of late. While that’s true, had Christian McCaffrey fallen to them in 2017, all of our takes on that would be different.
Howie Roseman and the Eagles were very high on McCaffrey during 2017’s selection meeting in Philly. As it turned out, the Carolina Panthers took the former Stanford star at eighth overall and removed all of the temptations.
Make no mistake about it. Despite what recent business models have stated, if Philly is high on Bijan, they will take him. If he isn’t the choice at ten, and if Jahmyr Gibbs is available at 30 (and the Birds agree that’s where he should be taken), they will select him there.
Still, with all of the baking said, here’s how fine the line is. Successful arguments can also be made that state Philly will ignore the position with all of their picks. Stay tuned.
Tight end
Dallas Goedert has proven that he has the stuff to be an elite tight end. Next up on the depth chart is Jack Stoll, who this franchise and coaching staff loves, and the raw but talented Grant Calcaterra.
The latter was selected during the draft last year and has the stuff to be exceptional. Whether he becomes so is up to him.
Dalton Keene is also in the mix. Don’t rule out Tyree Jackson being re-signed… again.
Linebacker
The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of bodies at the linebacker position. Currently, there are seven on the active roster and another on the injured reserve (Shaun Bradley).
While no one would object to seeing someone talented added via the selection meeting, the Birds drafted two linebackers in 2021, including Patrick Johnson. They added two more last season, Kyron Johnson and Nakobe Dean. Nicholas Morrow was signed on March 21st.
Don’t be shocked if, this time around, Philly uses their six draft choices to explore other needs. Philly could look to add a linebacker post-draft as they did last year with the Christian Elliss signing.
Cornerback
Depth at corner is needed, but that’s true about several other positions: running back, safety, EDGE, and defensive tackle among others. There’s a chance that, after three days of selections are made, we’ll still be discussing Philly’s need to fill a few holes at the same positions we discussed before a trip to Kansas City.
Currently, there are eight cornerbacks on the Eagles’ defensive roster. James Bradberry, Darius Slay, and Avonte Maddox will make the team, and that means Greedy Williams, Zech McPhearson, Josh Jobe, Josiah Scott, Mario Goodrich, and Tristin McCollum are all in competition for what might be three spots on the active roster.
We’ve seen Howie Roseman add defensive backs later on during the offseason. Ronald Darby, Steven Nelson, and James Bradberry come to mind, but upon further review, if Zech, Josh, or Mario can take another step, this unit won’t seem as though it’s in dire straits.
We’re pulling for this unit. We believe in them.
Quarterback
Marcus Mariota’s addition is an upgrade from Gardner Minshew. Ian Book has been with the team since August 31st of 2022. There’s no need to use draft capital on the position, but they should still be expected to add another player ahead of training camp.
