Philadelphia Eagles 2015 Draft: Aggregating Report Card Grades from the Web

Heading into the draft, the question on the mind of every Philadelphia Eagles fan centered on whether head coach Chip Kelly would be able to pull off a massive draft-day trade and grab his former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Although Kelly made a valiant effort, he came up short, and the Tennessee Titans selected the Oregon quarterback second overall.

The biggest positive, however, is that Kelly was able to keep all of his draft picks in 2015 and in the future, as well as key defensive cornerstones like Fletcher Cox, Mychal Kendricks, Brandon Boykin and Vinny Curry. In fact, Kelly kept all of them even through the end of the draft, despite recent reports that Kendricks and Boykin are both on the trade block. 

Kelly showed that his main focus in this draft was fixing the defensive side of the ball, as five of the team's six selections were defensive players. USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor, the first pick, was the only offensive pick, and he feels like a very safe pick who can immediately make some noise in Kelly's offense. 

The remainder of the picks included three players in the secondary: cornerback/safety Eric Rowe and cornerbacks JaCorey Shepherd and Randall Evans. Rowe figures to be a starter in 2015, likely at cornerback, while Evans is a possibility to move to safety. 

Linebacker Jordan Hicks feels like the eventual replacement for the combination of Kendricks and DeMeco Ryans. In 2015, he'll provide necessary depth for a position that suffered some key injuries last season. 

In all, the Eagles had a solid, yet unspectacular, draft. They improved the team on both sides of the ball, making a big splash on offense and several value picks on defense. 

The following slides will highlight five different grades for the Eagles' draft from across the internet. 

CBSSports.com

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Rob Rang of CBSSports.com on the Eagles' 2015 draft class:

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With so much talk of the Eagles looking to move up to nab Marcus Mariota, it would be easy to miscast Nelson Agholor as a consolation prize. In reality, Agholor's agility, speed and soft hands made him arguably the second-most pro-ready receiver in this class (behind No. 4 overall pick Amari Cooper). It won't take long for Agholor to prove a star in coach Chip Kelly's offense. Not surprisingly, the rest of Philadelphia's draft was dedicated to defense with Utah's Eric Rowe projecting as an upgrade at either cornerback or safety. I like his range and ballskills best at safety, especially with the Eagles nabbing an underrated cover corner in JaCorey Shepherd in the sixth round. If third round linebacker Jordan Hicks can show more durability in Philadelphia than he did at Texas, he could prove quite a steal. Grade: B

"

Rang gives extremely high praise for Agholor, and it's easy to see a Pac-12 wide receiver, with whom Kelly is already very familiar, making a lot of noise in the 2015 season. After all, Agholor should easily be able to win a starting spot on the outside next to last year's second-round pick Jordan Matthews. 

Rang's praise for Shepherd falls in line with what a number of draft experts have said, as the sixth-round cornerback possesses tremendous ball skills and is rarely, if ever, beat on deep passes. 

In general, Rang's grade for the Eagles basically fits exactly what I've been saying, especially regarding Agholor's immediate impact on the offense. 

Walter Football

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Walter Football on the Eagles' inability to trade up for Marcus Mariota:

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It's fair to question Kelly's strategy. He acquired an injury-prone quarterback who probably won't be able to make it through the 2015 season instead of a superior signal-caller who would be a terrific fit in his offense. Even if Sam Bradford somehow stays healthy in 2015, what if he signs a big contract as a result and then tears his ACL prior to the 2016 campaign? It's a very realistic scenario. The Eagles should've done everything in their power to trade for Mariota, but they simply did not do enough. Grade: C+

"

Walter Football implies that the lasting memory from the Eagles' draft class should have everything to do with the player they didn't get instead of focusing on the players they did get. To be honest, I agree 100 percent. 

While a majority, if not all, of the fanbase has managed to move on from Mariota almost immediately, this one is going to stick with the Eagles every time Mariota throws a touchdown pass for the Titans. If the quarterback turns in a spectacular NFL career, this miss will be unbearable. It will especially hurt if Bradford cannot stay healthy and the Eagles head into Kelly's fourth season with question marks at quarterback, like always. 

Kelly tried his hardest, but he couldn't get it done. Should he have offered more? Yes. Quite simply, this is a move Kelly needed to make happen, and he failed. It's going to be one that haunts this fanbase for years to come. Mariota, despite never spending a single second on the Eagles roster, will always be the one that got away. 

Bleacher Report

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Bleacher Report's Ty Schalter on the Nelson Agholor pick:

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Agholor is tall without being freaky big and fast without being freaky fast. He's a polished route-runner and a fine complement to young Jordan Matthews, on whom the Eagles will rely. However, he's not (yet) Jeremy Maclin, and Matthews sure isn't DeSean Jackson.

Unless Agholor stuns everyone and plays like one of the marquee receivers in this draft, Kelly's decision to twice let an established star wideout walk and burn his first-rounder on a rookie to replace him will rightly be questioned.

"

Overall, Schalter gave the Eagles' draft a C+, and clearly the Agholor pick is the one he reflected on the most. 

I could not possibly disagree more with Schalter's grade. During his two seasons as the Eagles head coach, Kelly has gotten career years out of Jackson and Riley Cooper in 2013 and Maclin in 2014. He's an offensive wizard, and he clearly prepared for the possible loss of Maclin by selecting two early-round receivers in 2014. Matthews played very well as a rookie, and while Josh Huff struggled, the guess here is that he takes a big step forward in 2015. 

There's no sign that a first-round wide receiver will disappoint in Kelly's offense. On a receiver corps with Matthews, Huff and Cooper, Agholor feels like a good bet to compete for and win a starting spot in 2015. 

Rotoworld

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Rotoworld's Evan Silva on the Eagles' 2015 draft class:

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Even after whiffing on Marcus Mariota, the Eagles kept their cool and made a lot of good draft-weekend moves. Not included here was a deal with Detroit that netted Philadelphia the Lions' 2016 third-round pick in exchange for the Eagles' 2015 fourth-rounder. I think it's good forward-thinking process for teams to make moves like that. Agholor will seamlessly replace Jeremy Maclin. Rowe was seen by some as a safety in the pre-draft phase, but will be a press corner in Philadelphia and is a good bet to start opposite Byron Maxwell right away. Hicks seems like a luxury pick considering the Eagles' inside linebacker depth, but will contribute on special teams and could replace Mychal Kendricks by as soon as 2016. Although Shepherd has athletic limitations, he was one of the best cornerbacks in college football last season. I'm admittedly not as familiar with Evans and [Brian] Mihalik. This draft wound up generating few headlines, but I feel confident the Eagles got better. (And they get to keep Fletcher Cox!) Grade: B-

"

The part about Silva's evaluation that I appreciated the most was his mention of the importance of the Eagles turning a fourth-round draft pick in 2015 into a third-round pick in 2016 in a trade with the Detroit Lions. I haven't heard many mention the move at all, and it's disappointing because I'll gladly take a pick a round higher, a year later, the way the Eagles did. That was some impressive maneuvering by Kelly during his first season as the team's general manager. It's a good sign of things to come regarding his appreciation of draft picks.

Fox Sports

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Ross Jones of Fox Sports gave the Eagles a grade of B+ based on Kelly finding his type of players and utilizing his draft picks on them. Notably, he mentioned Nelson Agholor as a player who can fit into Maclin's role well. It is also the first analysis I've seen that mentions Agholor's abilities in the return game. 

Jones also praised the versatility of defensive back Rowe, whose ability to play both cornerback and safety fits exactly what Kelly and defensive coordinator Billy Davis are looking for. Rowe, in fact, could be a candidate to open the 2015 season as a starter at either of the two positions. 

Finally, Jones suggested that both sixth-round cornerbacks, Shepherd and Evans, have solid potential down the road, which is a fair analysis. Shepherd possesses tremendous coverage skills, while Evans' underrated speed could make him an ideal candidate to play either cornerback or safety. 

Final Grades

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CBSSports.com: B

Walter Football: C+

Bleacher Report: C+

Rotoworld: B-

Fox Sports: B+

The general consensus around the web is that the Philadelphia Eagles had a solid draft, improving their team in a number of key spots, notably wide receiver and defensive back. Although the Eagles weren't able to land Mariota in a massive draft-day trade, they still added two certain Week 1 starters in Agholor and Rowe. 

Of course, grading a draft immediately after it happens is impossible. After all, none of these players has even stepped on the field yet. The Eagles may have landed the next Richard Sherman with their sixth-round pick of Shepherd. It's unlikely, but it's definitely possible. Of course, the Eagles could have also landed the next Freddie Mitchell in Agholor. 

It'll be interesting to see how the Eagles' improved corps at wide receiver and defensive back help a squad that won 10 games but missed the postseason with a late collapse in 2014.