What Positions Offer Most Value for Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 NFL Draft?

Once the Eagles finally complete their search for Chip Kelly's general manager, they can focus on the two most important aspects of the NFL offseason: free agency and the draft. 

While it's in free agency that teams can add key parts to their rosters, it's during the league's draft that true champions are built.

Look no further than the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions and the likely favorites to repeat this season. The Seahawks selected three of their best players—quarterback Russell Wilson, cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor—in the later rounds of the draft. 

The Eagles are far from the Seahawks, as we all saw in Week 14 of this season, but they are building together one off the league's better teams. With Kelly in charge, you know this is always going to be a team that strives to improve through the draft instead of free agency. 

It depends on what happens in free agency, but the Eagles currently have major needs at linebacker, cornerback and safety. They have a number of other positions where they could also use improvement, like wide receiver and offensive line. Then there are the positions where an upgrade would just be for want, not need, like running back, tight end and defensive end. 

Below are the five positions that make the most sense for the Eagles to look at in the 2015 draft. These are the most stacked positions, ones where the Eagles could use a first-, third- or fifth-round pick on a player without feeling like they're having to reach for a position of need. They are in order of need for the Eagles.

Cornerback

If you watched one Eagles game during the 2014 season, you saw that cornerback is this team's biggest need heading into the 2015 season. With Cary Williams scheduled to earn more than $8 million in 2015 and Bradley Fletcher heading for free agency, it's safe to say that the Eagles will need two new starters next season. 

While the Eagles could look to a number of the free-agent options, including Byron Maxwell, Antonio Cromartie and Perrish Cox, they also need to develop at least one long-term starter. It remains to be seen what the team's long-term plans are for nickel corner Brandon Boykin and last year's fourth-round draft pick, Jaylen Watkins. 

In the 2015 draft, the best option at cornerback is Trae Wayne, a mid-first-round talent out of Michigan State. If Wayne is available when the Eagles pick at No. 20, he makes a lot of sense. Other options include Washington's Marcus Peters, Florida State's P.J. Williams and LSU's Jalen Collins.

An intriguing option is Oregon's Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who played under Chip Kelly in college. Ekpre-Olomu stands just 5'9", and the Eagles' refusal to play Boykin on the outside tells you all you need to know about their obsession with height. Ekpre-Olomu is also coming off a torn ACL, so that could cause his draft stock to drastically fall, which could actually be a good thing if Kelly is interested in his former defensive back.

Outside Linebacker

Everything depends on whether the Eagles bring back veteran Trent Cole and/or former first-round pick Brandon Graham. With Cole scheduled to earn more than $11 million in 2015, it makes sense to ask the 33-year-old and two-time Pro Bowler to restructure his deal. After all, even Cole has to know that he's not worth top-tier money anymore.

Re-signing Brandon Graham seems like it could be tough, especially since talks cooled between Graham and the Eagles a few weeks ago, per Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com, and nothing has been reported since. 

Three of the top 15 players in the draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com (via CBSSports.com), are outside linebackers: Clemson's Vic Beasley, Washington's Shaq Thompson and Florida's Dante Fowler. After those three, the Eagles could look to spend a second- or third-round pick on a player like Washington's Hau'oli Kikaha or Oklahoma's Eric Striker.

Finally, Oregon's Tony Washington has to be an interesting fit, especially because he's versatile enough to play both outside and inside linebacker.

Offensive Guard

Here's a position that could be a dark-horse, early-round pick for the Eagles. After all, both starters, Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans, are well over 30 years old.

Mathis turns 34 during the 2015 season, and although he's been rated as the best left guard in the NFL in each of the last four seasons, per Pro Football Focus, the Eagles need to start thinking about their long-term replacement. Herremans, who turns 33 during the 2015 season, has struggled with injuries in two of the last three seasons and is only an average player anymore, at best. 

Since neither Matt Tobin nor Andrew Gardner, both undrafted free agents, panned out for the Eagles, it might be time to look via the draft for a replacement. Unfortunately, no player is projected as a first-round pick, per NFLDraftScout.com (via CBSSports.com). This won't be like the 2013 season, where two guards, Jonathan Cooper and Chance Warmack, were drafted in the top 10.

The top guard prospect listed is A.J. McCann, but he only has a second-round grade. Other possibilities for the Eagles include Duke's Laken Tomlinson and Texas A&M's Jarvis Harrison, both with mid-round grades.

Wide Receiver

Unfortunately, this is far from the 2014 draft class, which should undoubtedly go down as the best in history at the wide receiver position. After all, look at the insane amount of talent in this year's rookie class.

Odell Beckham and Mike Evans look like they could be once-in-a-generation players. Sammy Watkins, Kelvin Benjamin and Jordan Matthews look like future Pro Bowlers. Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry, Martavis Bryant and John Brown all flashed potential. And there are a handful of other rookies who could be solid contributors for years to come.

For the Eagles, wide receiver is a position that could become a major need if the Eagles don't find a way to bring back former first-round pick Jeremy Maclin. It's believed, however, that Maclin will be in an Eagles uniform in 2015 and for years to come, so this position falls more into the category of "want" than "need." Although the Eagles definitely missed DeSean Jackson in 2014, they still have (hopefully) Maclin, Matthews, Josh Huff and Riley Cooper. All but Cooper should be here for years to come. 

However, if the Eagles are interested in bringing in another wide receiver, there are a number of options they could look at in this year's draft. Kevin White is projected to be a mid-first-round pick, per NFLDraftScout.com (via CBSSports.com). Devin Funchess, a hybrid wide receiver/tight end, could be available in the second round. And Kansas State's Tyler Lockett might be the best deep threat if Kelly chooses to go that route again.

Running Back

By this point, the Eagles don't need a single running back. They would be perfectly content to enter the 2015 season with veteran LeSean McCoy as the starter, Darren Sproles as the backup and former undrafted free agent Chris Polk as the third running back.

But problems will arise in a year or two, as McCoy could be closer to the end of his career—or at least his time in Philly—than fans realize. He's already said that he would be willing to restructure his contract for the 2015 season, but he'll be 27 in July, and Kelly may want to look in a different direction soon. 

If the Eagles are eyeing a running back in the draft, they could spend anywhere from a second-round to a seventh-round pick on the position. Some of the top options at the position include Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, Georgia's Todd Gurley, Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah, Indiana's Tevin Coleman, Miami's Duke Johnson and Boise State's Jay Ajayi.

From the group listed above, only Gordon and Gurley would likely be drafted as an obvious long-term replacement to McCoy. The rest would be mid-round picks who could spell McCoy for eight to 10 carries per game. It remains to be seen if Kelly is the type of head coach who prefers a workhorse back or a rotation. The only running back he's had in the NFL has been one of the best, so that may not be the example to judge from.

With eight draft picks this spring, running back is a position the Eagles should keep in the back of their mind because of the talented depth throughout the rookie class, but it's not one that is a necessity. 

Salary cap information courtesy of EaglesCap.com.