Eric Rowe to Philadelphia Eagles: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

After selecting USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor in the first round, all expectations were on Eagles head coach Chip Kelly heading into the second round Friday.

After all, Kelly, in his first year of overseeing player personnel, missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to draft his Heisman Trophy-winning college quarterback, Marcus Mariota. Instead, he stayed at pick No. 20 and grabbed a speedy receiver who will give former No. 1 overall draft pick Sam Bradford another weapon in the passing game. 

I said I expect Kelly to be aggressive on Day 2 of the draft. He has been so far. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that the Eagles tried to trade up to the 45th pick with the Minnesota Vikings, but a deal wasn't worked out in time. Two spots later, however, the Eagles traded up five spots with the Miami Dolphins and selected versatile defensive back Eric Rowe.

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Details: Eagles trade 2nd round pick (52) and two 5th round picks (145 and 156) to Miami for 2nd round pick (47) and 6th round pick (191).

— Sheil Kapadia (@SheilKapadia) May 2, 2015"

Personally, I absolutely love this pick. Kelly chose to pass on versatile Oregon offensive lineman Jake Fisher, who was picked later in the round by the Cincinnati Bengals. Instead, he grabbed Rowe, who can fill a major need at both cornerback and safety. 

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"This is 1 of my favorite players in the draft. Rowe can match up on the outside with the big receivers in the NFL." - Mike Mayock on Rowe

— Eagles Insider (@EaglesInsider) May 2, 2015"

The Eagles have plenty of time to figure out whether Rowe is a corner or a safety. He's able to play both, although he says he prefers cornerback. The remainder of the draft could also dictate where Rowe plays in 2015 too. If Kelly drafts Penn State safety Adrian Amos in the third round, it makes more sense for Rowe to open his rookie season as a cornerback than a safety. 

The guess here, however, is that Kelly will roll with a veteran like Nolan Carroll as the other outside cornerback.

Rowe should have the early advantage to winning a starting safety job alongside Malcolm Jenkins. After all, his top competition consists of Earl Wolff, Ed Reynolds and Jerome Couplin. Even if the Eagles move last year's fourth-round draft pick Jaylen Watkins to safety, Rowe should be able to win a starting spot. 

At Utah, Rowe started all four seasons, collecting 261 tackles, 36 passes defensed, three interceptions and 1.5 sacks. He played safety for the first three seasons of his career before transferring to cornerback for his senior season. 

He's better in coverage than shown by lack of interceptions, however. The Eagles have high expectations for their defensive backs, especially their safeties, who need to be able to play in the slot and cover opposing tight ends. Rowe can do both of those well. 

At 6'1" and 205 pounds, Rowe still ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash. He's a physical presence and a high-character guy, and he's a player the Eagles expressed a ton of interest in, as they privately worked him out at their facility and hosted him for a visit. 

With Agholor and Rowe, the Eagles have two early-round picks who will both likely be Week 1 starters. That's something you can't say about either the 2014 Eagles' Marcus Smith and Jordan Matthews or the 2013 Eagles' Lane Johnson and Zach Ertz. 

A secondary that allowed 30 touchdown passes in 2014 and was repeatedly torched by quarterbacks, ranging from Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo to Austin Davis and Zach Mettenberger, will instantly be better with the presence of Rowe.

Although he missed hitting the grand slam with Marcus Mariota during the beginning of Round 1, Chip Kelly has done a very impressive job during his first two rounds as the man in charge in the Eagles' draft room.