Eagles rumors: Philadelphia making late push to draft Jaxon Smith-Njigba

There’s a reason why most of us have filled out a bracket every year before March Madness begins and have yet to nail it one-hundred percent accurately. There are too many teams. There are too many moving parts, and if we’re being honest, as sports fans, we have a tendency to overanalyze and overthink things. What in the world does that have to do with the Philadelphia Eagles, you ask? Well… we’re glad you brought that up.

Here’s what we’re saying in our often long-winded manner. For years, we have watched the Final Four and the college basketball’s National Championship Game before shifting our focus completely to the NFL Draft. We then trade tourney brackets for mock drafts. We just can’t help ourselves.

Every year, we dedicate a month or more to attempting to predict Howie Roseman‘s next move. We thought we had this down. We were certain he’d draft an offensive or defensive lineman. Now, we aren’t quite as certain.

Throw Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s name into the Eagles rumor mill.

It appears Bijan Robinson has some company at the debate table. Add former Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njiba to the conversation. Just in case you have been living under a rock, here’s what you missed.

The former Texas running back has split the Eagles’ fan base in half. Some want him. Some don’t. Long-time Birds insider Howard Eskin has stated there’s a less than zero-percent chance that Philadelphia would take a tailback tenth overall. Well, how about this idea? What if they took a wide receiver?

According to several sources, including Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, Philly is making a late push to land the 2022 Rose Bowl offensive MVP. Talk about going against the grain, huh? If you’re keeping score, Smith-Njigba’s selection would mark the third time in the last four years that the Eagles have taken a wide receiver during the draft’s opening night (and they traded for another, A.J. Brown, last year). Here’s what Pauline said on the subject.

"I heard two interesting nuggets on Smith-Njiba this weekend. First, the Philadelphia Eagles are making a late push on the wideout and doing a lot of work on him in recent days. Second, Smith-Njiba is definitely part of the conversation for the Jets at 13 if the offensive tackles are off the board. I was told outright that the Jets are absolutely considering Smith-Njiba with that pick. Both bits of news surprised me, yet I was able to confirm each of them."

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 23 games at the collegiate level spanned three seasons. He snagged 110 receptions for 1,698 yards and scored ten touchdowns. Some believe he’ll be the first wide receiver taken this Thursday.

Philadelphia currently has seven wide receivers on the roster: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Tyrie Cleveland, Grew Ward, Devon Allen, Quez Watkins, and Britain Covey. It stands to reason that, if Smith-Njigba is the choice, he’d immediately compete with Watkins for the WR3 role.

Quez is coming off a disappointing outing last season. He has, however, vowed publicly that he’ll silence the doubters in 2023.