3 things the Eagles shouldn't do in the 1st round of NFL draft
There are plenty of draft-day scenarios being thrown around for the Eagles, especially in the first round.
Draft a cornerback with the No. 14 pick. Go after a wide receiver. How about a defensive end? Or a running back? Or a linebacker? Trade up, trade back, or just trade out of the first round altogether.
The Eagles still have until April 27 to make up their minds — if their minds aren’t made up already. A lot can still happen, as the Eagles showed last April 20, just eight days before the 2016 draft, when they put together a package of picks in order to move up to No. 2 in the first round to select quarterback Carson Wentz.
The goal in the first round is to find an impact player, someone who will develop into a Pro Bowl player and remain with the team for a decade or more. For the Eagles, the last first-round pick to develop into that type of player was defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, taken 12th overall in 2012.
Right tackle Lane Johnson, fourth overall in 2013, and Wentz have that potential, too.
But the Eagles have also messed up their 2014 and 2015 first-round picks — defensive end Marcus Smith and wide receiver Nelson Agholor, respectively.
Here, then, are three things the Eagles have to avoid to make sure they don’t mess up the first round this year:
Don’t trade for Richard Sherman
You might ask what does the Seattle Seahawks cornerback have to do with the Eagles’ first-round pick? Well, it turns out the Seahawks are reportedly asking for a first-round pick and another mid-round pick in return for the four-time Pro Bowl player, who’s considered one of the top, if not the top, cornerbacks in the NFL.
It’s true that the Eagles desperately need help at cornerback, considering that Jalen Mills (the Eagles’ seventh-round pick last year) and Ron Brooks (a veteran coming off ACL surgery) are the only cornerbacks on the roster with experience playing for the Eagles last season.
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But Sherman is 29 years old, and it begs the question of how much time does he have left as an elite corner. Darrelle Revis, for years considered the top cornerback in the NFL, is 31, and he’s currently out of football.
That’s not even taking into account Sherman’s salary of $11.4 million this coming season and $13.6 million salary cap hit. The Eagles would have to do some finagling to make that work.
The bottom line is that a team would trade for someone like Sherman if it’s one player away from becoming a Super Bowl contender. The Eagles are not in that situation, as both owner Jeffrey Lurie and Eagles executive vice president for football operations Howie Roseman have made clear during this offseason.
They’re better off building through the draft, and not giving up a precious first-round pick.
Don’t take a running back
The temptation will no doubt be strong for the Eagles to take a running back with the No. 14 pick. Unless Leonard Fournette were to miraculously drop about 10 spots, the Eagles should resist.
That’s not to say that Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook wouldn’t make for fine NFL running backs. It’s just if you’re drafting a running back that high, then you should be getting an every-down back. And that is not certain with either back.
Besides, the Eagles were quite comfortable and quite successful last season with a rotation. Darren Sproles is still considered the receiving back out of the backfield and Wendell Smallwood can provide tough yards and a change of pace. Another back in the draft would only enhance that without having to carry the load.
This is a particularly deep draft for running backs. And last year, the Bears drafted Jordan Howard in the fifth round, and he finished with 1,313 yards, behind only Ezekiel Elliott in the NFL. The Bears’ college scouting director for that draft was Joe Douglas, who is the Eagles’ vice president of player personnel.
In other words, the Eagles should be able to get a running back later in the draft and work him in with Smallwood and Sproles rather than reach for a player in the first round who may or may not be an every-down back.
Don’t trade up
Another temptation would be to package some picks, and perhaps a player, to move into the top five or six in order to get someone like cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Again, this would defeat the purpose of the draft for the Eagles. They need to be stockpiling draft picks, not trading them away. Lattimore is considered the top cornerback in the draft. But some draft analysts have his teammate, Gareon Conley, rated just behind him. Conley should be available for the Eagles at No. 14.
But this draft is so deep that the Eagles could get two starting caliber cornerbacks in the first three rounds. In this draft, quantity, as well as quality, counts.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.