Philadelphia Eagles 2015 NFL Offseason Draft Scouting Guide
While 12 NFL teams are preparing for postseason football this weekend, the Philadelphia Eagles are already deep into their offseason planning. This is not what most people expected for a 10-6 team that was hosting a playoff game this time last year, but it is the simple, harsh reality of the situation.
And this will be a critical offseason for the Eagles, particularly at the draft, because the team is preparing to turn over a lot of aging talent over the coming years. In 2014, the team was relying on eight starters or key contributors who were already in their 30s or turning 30 before the Super Bowl.
In other words, the Eagles are an old team that desperately needs to add youth at multiple positions throughout the roster.
The plan all along has been to rebuild through the draft, but with so many needs, it’s a little scary. The Eagles weren’t a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year, even with all those veterans. With many of them set to be replaced now or in the near future, in addition to the other existing holes already on the roster, how soon will the Birds get there?
It all depends on how well they draft. In this early draft guide, we take a look at where the Eagles are picking and how many selections they have altogether. Then, we go through the major team needs, where they are likely to be addressed and even a few of the interesting names that could be on the short list at this juncture.
The Picks
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As a result of finishing with the best record among non-playoff teams, the Eagles own the 20th selection in the draft. They possess all of their picks between Rounds 1 through 7.
In addition to their own picks, the Eagles also have an extra fourth-rounder from the Buffalo Bills. This is from last year’s draft-day deal that sent running back Bryce Brown to the Bills.
The NFL has not yet announced compensatory picks for departed free agents. Even with eight picks, though, that number gives the Eagles some firepower to move up the draft board if they like.
Eagles Need: Cornerback
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The Eagles may not need to replace one, but both of their starting cornerbacks this offseason. Bradley Fletcher is horrible and a free agent, while Cary Williams could be a cap casualty. The team also hasn’t shown any willingness to play Brandon Boykin on the outside, Nolan Carroll flopped in his big opportunity in Week 17 and 2014 fourth-round pick Jaylen Watkins remains an unknown.
If the Eagles want to find somebody they could potentially plug into the lineup right away, Trae Waynes out of Michigan State seems like the best bet. Waynes—the consensus top cornerback in the draft—might fall to the Birds at No. 20, or the club could jump up a few spots to select him.
It’s probably a good idea for the Eagles to select more than one cornerback in the draft. Since head coach Chip Kelly’s arrival, the organization has focused on unearthing covermen who are at least 6’0”, so you can go ahead and draw a line through half the board. That being said, keep an eye on names like Josh Shaw out of USC and Ladarius Gunter out of Miami in the later rounds.
Eagles Need: Safety
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A complete rebuild of the secondary is on in Philadelphia with the anticipated departure of Nate Allen and no surefire replacement on the roster. Allen played a lot of single-high safety in the middle of the field for the Eagles, as well as some man-to-man coverage on occasion, so players with a similar pedigree in college will be the choice.
As with cornerback, the Eagles have also shown a preference for bigger players at safety, although that should be less of an issue in this draft, as most of the safeties have good listed size.
There appear to be some good options on Day 2 of the draft. Cody Prewitt out of Ole Miss was named a first-team All-American last season and has experience playing centerfield, as does Anthony Harris out of Virginia, who led the NCAA in interceptions in 2013. The Eagles really shouldn’t wait until much longer to address this need if they can help it.
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Eagles Need: Interior Linebacker
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Mychal Kendricks is a candidate for a long-term contract extension this offseason and should anchor the middle of Philadelphia’s defense for years to come. DeMeco Ryans, on the other hand, turns 31 this year, is coming off his second Achilles injury, has one year remaining on his contract and was arguably out of his element as an every-down linebacker in a 3-4 to begin with.
What would be absolutely great for the Eagles is if Mississippi State’s Benardrick McKinney falls to the team at No. 20. At 6’4”, 243 pounds, McKinney is massive and would complement the smaller Kendricks well. The only potential issue is the Eagles really need a cornerback more, so even if McKinney is there, I’m not sure they can afford to go that direction.
Instead, the team might be looking more toward the middle of the draft for a player coaches can mold to take over a year or two down the line. Again, I imagine size is important here, particularly with Kendricks already only 6’0”. Stephone Anthony out of Clemson, Ramik Wilson out of Georgia and A.J. Johnson out of Tennessee are some names that could be on the radar.
Eagles Need: Outside Linebacker
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It’s a shame this is such a big need after the Eagles used the 26th overall selection on Marcus Smith last year, but they simply can’t count on him after he played this year. Add in the fact that Trent Cole is a likely cap casualty and Brandon Graham could depart via free agency, and suddenly there could be a dearth of pass-rushers on this team.
You wouldn’t expect Philadelphia to go outside linebacker in the first round again necessarily, but the need for depth is relatively strong, so mid-round prospects are not off the table. Pac-12 players always seem to be of intrigue to Kelly, a former Oregon coach, so it’s not a bad idea to get a head start on learning how to pronounce Hau’Oli Kikaha out of Washington and Owamagbe Odighizuwa from UCLA.
When I go through the lists of draft prospects, I tend to find defensive ends who could potentially convert to outside linebacker are often better fits, as this is primarily a pass-rushing job. One such player I identified in a recent mock draft was Za’Darius Smith out of Kentucky, a late-round prospect who previously played basketball before switching to football. Versatility is a key here.
Eagles Need: Offensive Line
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With three starters well into their 30s, the Eagles could use help along the offensive line at either tackle or guard. However, in particular that infusion of talent would be useful on the interior, where both Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans are getting up there in years.
At no point would it be considered too early for the Eagles to draft an offensive guard. A.J. Cann out of South Carolina is No. 1 on most boards right now and should be there for Philadelphia at 20, although as previously mentioned, it’s not as pressing a need as cornerback.
Chances are the team will wait at least until Day 2, where there will still be plenty of promising players at a position that often goes overlooked early in the draft. Josue Matias out of Florida State, Laken Tomlinson out of Duke and Miles Dieffenbach out of Penn State could be on the radar. Another name to watch is Arie Kouandjio out of Alabama, where Birds offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland previously worked and may have some insider info.
Eagles Need: Quarterback
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Sorry to disappoint, Philly fans, but you can go ahead and scratch Marcus Mariota off your draft boards. Yes, I did say the Eagles had some firepower to move up in the draft but not that far. Technically, nothing is impossible, but this is certainly impractical and unlikely to say the very least.
That means the Eagles are not likely to find their quarterback of the future in this draft. Nick Foles deserves one more crack at the job anyway, so it’s not quite the worst scenario in the world.
That doesn’t mean the Eagles shouldn’t look to bring in a developmental prospect sometime during the middle of the draft, either. The player who really stands out here is Bryce Petty out of Baylor. Petty has good size, an NFL arm, decent all-around athleticism and is used to operating an uptempo offense. Some of the complaints about him in Dane Brugler’s scouting report for CBSSports.com, such as that he has operated solely out of a shotgun formation, wouldn’t be as much of an issue in Philadelphia’s offense.
At this point, Petty is the only quarterback prospect that really intrigues me for the Eagles at that stage in the draft. It’s not a great year to go shopping for passers.
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