The Eagles Select Nebraska Center Cam Jurgens In the 2nd Round

After moving up to grab Jordan Davis, and shocking the sports world by trading pick 18 to acquire AJ Brown, the Eagles finally made their second pick of the draft. With it, they selected Center Cam Jurgens out of Nebraska. He will eventually replace Jason Kelce. Nakobe Dean was available, but the Eagles instead chose to get Kelce’s eventual replacement.

Cam Jurgens fits the mold of Kelce as an athletic center who moves well on the field. Much like Kelce, he did not start his career at center. He played  linebacker in high school before shifting to the offensive end. And he moves like Kelce on the field. It was a common sight to see him making blocks down the field. Jurgens could eventually grow into the next long-term starter at center. But he will presumably not contribute much to the team this year.

The Eagles still have big holes at both Safety, and CB, with no clear answers on how to address them. They have just 3 picks remaining, with the next coming up in round 3. After that they have 1 5th round pick, and 1 7th rounder. There is some thought they could flip former first round picks Andre Dillard or Jalen Reagor for extra day 3 picks. But for now the Eagles will be left very shallow in the defensive back field. Many of the top DBs went off the board early in the 2nd. The Eagles lacked ammo to move up even if they wanted to.

While the Eagles moves on Day 1 went over with rave reviews, the reaction to this pick seems to be less excited. Many fans and media alike were left confused why the Eagles would spend a 2nd round pick on a player who wont play this year. One person who had a ton of praise for it however was Jason Kelce himself.

If Jurgens turns into half as good of a center as Kelce is, in 5 years no one will be complaining that he cost a 2nd round pick. But for now it is tough to swallow that with now limited draft capital, they picked someone who will redshirt his rookie year.