2012 NFL Mock Draft: Philadelphia Eagles Swap for DeMeco Ryans to Shift Round 1?

A season ago, the Philadelphia Eagles defense was undone by a lack of quality from the linebacker position. 

Tuesday night, the team did something about that glaring need. 

As first reported by John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Eagles traded a fourth-round pick and swapped third-rounders with the Houston Texans in exchange for former Pro Bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans. 

On the comeback trail from an Achilles injury and miscast role in the Texans' 3-4 defense last season, Ryans struggled to stay on the field. With Houston looking more and more at Daryl Sharpton inside and the high cap number stuck to Ryans, they were comfortable giving him up for a bargain price to the Eagles.

Now that Philadelphia has the middle linebacker it lacked in 2011, which way will the team look with its first pick in April's 2012 NFL draft?

You could still argue that linebacker is a need, despite the fact that Ryans will likely play in the middle with Jamar Chaney scheduled to move back outside. However, which 4-3 linebacker has value at No. 15 overall besides Luke Kuechly? Could Kuechly still be an option even with Ryans on board?

What about the super athletic Zach Brown? Is it too early in the first round to reach for him?

The Eagles will eventually need to decide those answers, but there's other options at the team's disposal. 

Defensive line has always been an Andy Reid favorite, and the Giants proved in 2011 that you can never have enough pass-rushers up front. Adding a player such as Dontari Poe, Fletcher Cox or Michael Brockers—each viable options that could be available to Philadelphia in the first round—would add to a front-four that terrorized quarterbacks for most of 2011. 

Offensive tackle may also be considered, as Michael Vick got beat up a lot last season, in part because of bad protection up front. Even with all five starters from 2011 under contract, the Eagles could still look to add a young, promising player on either side of the line.

Overall, the Eagles' trade for Ryans on Tuesday opened up several options for the club at the draft. What was once a pick (Kuechly) that many agreed on, the Eagles' first-round selection now looks like as much a crapshoot as any other first-rounder.  

2012 NFL Mock Draft 

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (via trade with St. Louis Rams)

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, OT, USC

4. Cleveland Browns: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU  

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

6. St. Louis Rams: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State (via trade with Washington Redskins)  

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina

8. Miami Dolphins:  Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M 

9. Carolina Panthers: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

10. Buffalo Bills: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina

11. Kansas City Chiefs: Dontari Poe, NT Memphis

12. Seattle Seahawks: Nick Perry, DE, USC  

13. Arizona Cardinals: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa

14. Dallas Cowboys: David DeCastro, G, Stanford

15. Philadelphia Eagles: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

16. New York Jets: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama  

17. Cincinnati Bengals: Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

18. San Diego Chargers: Whitney Mercilus, DE/OLB, Illinois

19. Chicago Bears: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

20. Tennessee Titans: Cordy Glenn, G, Georgia 

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

22. Cleveland Browns: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame 

23. Detroit Lions: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State 

25. Denver Broncos: Devon Still, DT, Penn State

26. Houston Texans: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

27. New England Patriots: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

28. Green Bay Packers: Fletcher Cox, DL, Mississippi State

29. Baltimore Ravens: Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin

30. San Francisco 49ers: Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

31. New England Patriots: Rueben Randle, WR, LSU

32. New York Giants: Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama