Wake-Up Call Mailbag: Eagles Big Board

Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott. (USA Today Sports)

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What order do you put the draft prospects in if the eagles have a chance to draft all of them? -Phillip

Because I haven’t spent much time looking at Laremy Tunsil or Jalen Ramey and it’d be stunning if either of them fell to No. 8, I’m not including them in my rankings (although I imagine they would be No. 1 and No. 2).

Also, to be clear: I ranked these guys not based on who the top prospects are, but the top guys I’d draft if I were the Eagles. For example, I don’t think Carson Wentz and Jared Goff are top-8 prospects, but with how valuable quarterbacks are, they get a nice boost toward the top of the board.

One notable name not on that list is Vernon Hargreaves, whom I have just behind Ronnie Stanley. I think the Florida cornerback has a higher ceiling, but I’d peg Stanley as more of a sure thing, and it’s hard for me to say no to a good offensive tackle. I think Stanley will be a very good pass protector in the NFL, and I’m not sure how many more games Jason Peters has left as an Eagle. I’m a big fan of Hargreaves’, and it wouldn’t shock me if he ends up being one of the five best players in the draft, but I’m going with the guy I view as the safer pick.

I also left out Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, who is the popular pick for the Eagles in mock drafts, because I think you can find a good feature back on Day 2 or the beginning of Day 3. It’s unclear how far some of these guys will fall, but two names to keep an eye on are Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Dixon and Alabama’s Kenyan Drake.

I wrestled a bit with where to slot DeForest Buckner, but I view his talent level as a notch above Stanley’s and Hargreaves’, and to me, that overrules questions about his scheme or position fit. Buckner said at the NFL Combine that 4-3 teams view him more as a defensive tackle, but I think Jim Schwartz would find a way to get a lot out of Buckner. As for Joey Bosa, I think he’s a better prospect than Buckner, but it doesn’t hurt that he’s also more of a natural fit in the 4-3.

The top three slots were surprisingly easy for me to fill out. It’s pretty hard to overvalue quarterbacks, but even with their importance, I think the Eagles would be crazy to pass on Myles Jack if he’s somehow available. I’d be pretty surprised if Jack isn’t one of the three best players to come out of this class, but his aggressive mentality would also fit Schwartz’s system perfectly.

As for the quarterbacks, my mind hasn’t changed about Wentz and Goff. I wouldn’t argue with you if you say Goff is more of a sure thing, but I think Wentz definitely has the higher upside, and he’s a guy I wouldn’t mind gambling on.

WHAT YOU MISSED

“Off the field, I am a cool person, but on the field you can assault people and not get in trouble for it.” Myles Jack’s Draft Daily.

Eagles pre-draft visit tracker: Several quarterbacks come to Philly this week.

NFL team officials reportedly think the Eagles are the second-most likely team to trade up in the draft.

Tim’s seven-round mock draft features a quarterback in the third round.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Les Bowen considers what would have happened had Ed Snider owned the Eagles.

Snider’s pugnacious, fiery style would have played as well with Eagles fans as it did with Flyers fans, provided he could have done what he did in hockey — win championships early on. The late Stan Hochman wrote a column about the Snider-Wolman feud, back in 2009, in which Hochman asked Snider about the infamous 15-year contract Wolman gave ’60s Eagles coach Joe Kuharich. “That was idiotic,” Snider said. “He was a lousy coach. Wolman did it on a whim. He told nobody about it before he did it.”

Snider and Dick Vermeil would have been a fascinating, combustible mix.

Snider probably would have seen the need for the Eagles to have their own stadium and practice facility long before the dawning of the 21st century. On the other hand, he was extremely thin-skinned. If Ed had been the owner, and fans were bussed in to New York to boo Donovan McNabb as the first-round pick in 1999, I can picture Ed climbing over seats to take up the matter face-to-face. That might not have ended well.

Tommy Lawlor on what the Eagles’ pre-draft visits say about the team.

The Eagles are interested in mid to late round DEs. The team has young guys in Vinny Curry and Brandon Graham. It doesn’t make sense that they would feel the need to add another young DE with a high pick. If someone falls and they like him, maybe. Right now they seem more interested in guys in rounds 5 through 7.

DT is a bit of a different story. The Eagles are looking at guys who could be 3rd round targets, as well as other prospects who might go later. All of them have the ability to penetrate and make plays.

At LB, the team is looking for someone to backup Jordan Hicks in the middle. They are checking out some physical players. The one exception is Jones, the speedy kid from LSU. I’m sure Jim Schwartz is fascinated by his potential.

My guess is that the Eagles are looking at a lot more Safeties and we’re just not hearing about it. They need depth and a player to develop for the future.

COMING UP

Draft Daily continues with a look at a mid-round quarterback prospect the Eagles have shown interest in.