Philadelphia Eagles 2012 NFL Draft: How to Replace Jason Peters

Wow. Moments ago it was confirmed that the Philadelphia Eagles premier left tackle, Jason Peters, will likely be out for the season due to an Achilles injury. There is no mourning period in the NFL, however, and the Eagles need to figure out a plan of attack quickly. The first thing that comes to mind is for them to sign a left tackle in free agency. That would be a great plan, except that the free agent will have all the leverage, and the Eagles will likely have to overspend for his services.

There is another option. The Eagles have multiple draft picks and recently solved one of their biggest needs by trading for former Texans Pro Bowl Linebacker DeMeco Ryans. With Ryans in place, the Eagles were believed to be free to take the BPA (Best Player Available) when it came time to pick at 15.

Now, they are out of the range where a star left tackle will fall and would have to reach for a Jonathan Martin out of Stanford or Mike Adams from Ohio State. Both have potential and are serviceable, but they would be exposed starting at LT their rookie years.The only true high-caliber left tackle this year is Matt Kalil from USC.

Kalil is a dominant run blocker that also stone-walls defensive linemen in the passing game. At 6'7", 310+ lbs with long arms, he has the perfect frame to start from day one without any concern. However, he is most likely a top-three pick, so you might as how he can be the answer for the Eagles. Well, don't worry, I have the solution.

Kevin Kolb was traded to Arizona for a second-round pick and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and that might be the best trade the Eagles ever made. Not only is Kolb looking like a bust, but for the relatively low price of the 15 overall pick, the two second-round picks they posses and a conditional third-round pick from the 2013 draft, Philadelphia could put together a strong package to trade up to third overall with Minnesota.

But wait a minute, where did that 2013 conditional third-rounder come from? The Tennessee Titans have not made confirmation about whether they would trade for Samuel, but if they could snag him for that price, I believe they would pounce on it. Not only would this be a key pick in the Vikings trade, but the Eagles would also get his huge contract off of their books, so it is a win-win situation.

With that extra money, they could go out and try to find a young outside linebacker like David Hawthorne to pair with Ryans in the middle of that defense. If, for some reason, that didn't work, they could also use it to extend the immensely talented running back Lesean "Shady" McCoy to a long-term deal. Eagles fans, this injury could be the best thing that has ever happened to you.