Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Trade Targets: Patrick Surtain II

Vic Fangio will take over as the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024. A reputable DC with a long resume and head coaching experience will impact personnel decisions. Who could Howie Roseman acquire to work with Fangio? Patrick Surtain II should top the offseason list for the Eagles.

The Denver Broncos selected Surtain with the 9th-overall pick in 2021, one pick before his Alabama teammate DeVonta Smith. The 5-foot-11 cornerback broke out with an All-Pro season in 2022, and he earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2023. 

The NFL Top 100 ranks him 49th-overall, the fourth-highest cornerback on the list. He only intercepted one pass in 17 games for the Broncos last season. However, he maintained a solid tendency for splash plays with 12 pass breakups.

Surtain played his rookie season with the Broncos in 2021 during Fangio’s final season as head coach in Denver.

Darius Slay fell short of expectations as a shutdown outside corner in 2023. James Bradberry became a serious liability by the end of the season. The Eagles need to get younger and more athletic in the secondary with the best years of Slay’s career behind him and a waning Bradberry about to turn 31 in training camp. 

Andrew DiCecco spoke on The John Kincade Show about how Fangio’s influence on beefing up the defense might include interest in Surtain. The Eagles also hired Christian Parker, who coached Denver’s defensive backs for each of Surtain’s first three NFL season.

Howie Roseman showed his willingness to spend aggressively to acquire premium young talent at the 2022 NFL Draft when he dealt for A.J. Brown. The Eagles had previously struggled to draft and develop wide receivers. They sensibly acquired a 24-year-old already playing at a high level with very little risk of development hiccups.

Surtain will turn 24 during the offseason. He would immediately jump a group of young cornerbacks in Philadelphia looking to establish themselves as NFL starters. Will the Eagles pull the trigger?

The Eagles reportedly had interest in drafting Patrick Surtain II in 2021 if he slipped past Denver. Howie Roseman also explored the market before the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline, but the reported asking price of two 1st-round picks for Surtain wouldn’t have been likely for a team with two seemingly stable cornerbacks.

The Carson Wentz trade stocked Philadelphia with draft capital that’s directly and indirectly been their ammo for three consecutive offseasons. The trickle-down effect includes an additional 2nd-rounder in 2024. However, the luxury of an extra 1st-round pick doesn’t allow them the same flexibility on the trade market like they had in 2022 when they acquired A.J. Brown.

Denver reportedly has interest in trading up from the 12th-overall spot to land a future franchise quarterback. If the lofty goal takes shape, they could look to load up their ammo by acquiring 2024 and 2025 1st-rounders from an aggressive GM like Howie Roseman.

Should the Eagles send the 22nd-overall pick in 2024 and their 2025 1st-round selection? Surtain would give them one top-tier talent at a premium position in the prime years of his career, just like they acquired with Brown in 2022.

The Eagles would sacrifice the chance to acquire a second top-tier talent at next year’s draft. Roseman must also consider the need to add future building blocks behind aging stars like Lane Johnson.

If they trade two 1st-rounders for Surtain, it doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t pick in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft. One of Roseman’s best strengths is his ability to bring the big picture together slowly by strategically collecting assets.

He could aggressively land Fangio an elite cornerback as a building block for a struggling defense. The move would also leave the opportunity for a follow-up move using the resources of a deep, talented roster during the rest of the offseason, at the 2024 NFL Trade Deadline, or during the early part of the 2025 offseason. 

The Eagles certainly won’t be the only team in the market for Patrick Surtain, but his services would make an awful lot of sense. Be on the lookout for a possible Howie Roseman blockbuster.

One of the primary reasons the Eagles' defense was so bad last season was their secondary. Darius Slay still played at a somewhat high level. But the rest of the secondary had major issues. James Bradberry fell off the side of a cliff. Avonte Maddox missed most of the season and struggled when he got back. And the rest of the cornerbacks didn't fare much better.

It is something we should have foresaw when the Eagles brought back two corners in their 30s on new contracts. The secondary was great in 2022. But hindsight tells us they should have gotten younger at a corner.

The problem is they have taken 2 cornerbacks in the first 3 rounds since 2017. Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglass. They drafted both in 2017. They have had chances. There have been good cornerbacks on the board for them. But they always went another way. And in some cases, the guy they drafted instead worked out really well. Looking back, taking Landon Dickerson over Asante Samuel Jr was probably for the best.

But after this season, they flat out need to get younger, and more importantly better, at corner. They can't come back next season with two aging starters, and a bunch of lottery tickets. We already took a look at some younger Corners they could target in free agency, but perhaps the better place to go shopping would be in this year's draft.

It is not a bad season to need a cornerback in the draft. Most sites have at least 5 corners ranked in their top 32 prospects for the 2024 draft. So let's take a look at some of the Eagles' options.

This draft lacks a unanimous top corner like we saw last year with Devon Witherspoon, or the year before with Derek Stingley Jr. Go to any of the draft sites, and there will be disagreement over who the top corner is. But Nate Wiggins has a strong case for it being him. He has the makeup of an elite corner. He is long, rangy, and versatile enough to fit any scheme. He is not the most physical tackler and sometimes gets beat by trying to make a big play. But you watch him play, and he just looks like an NFL corner.

Will he be there? It is hard to say at this point. Some people have him going around the 10th pick. Others have him falling to the 2nd round. With things being so even between the top cornerback prospects, it is very hard to tell who will, and will not be on the board when the Eagles pick at 22. But he is a name to consider if he does fall to 22.

Another corner in the running for best in the draft is Cooper DeJean. He is big for a corner, and fast. He also has the versatility to play cornerback and safety. Both of which are major needs for the Eagles. So whatever position he lands at, the Eagles could use him. And playing in the BIG 10, he has had a chance to cover some very good corners and held his own. Including Marvin Harrison Jr.

Mock drafts have him going anywhere from 11 to 27. So there is a chance he will still be there at 22.

Even though Arnold is still somewhat new to the CB position, he excelled there at Bama last season. 5 interceptions. 12 pass breakups, and he held QBs to a Rating of just 52.5 when targeting him. And his history as a Safety means he is not afraid to make a tackle either. He hits hard and wraps up. Eagles fans have seen corners whiff on tackles a ton over the past decade, but that shouldn't ever be a recurring issue with Arnold.

The exciting thing about him is that because he is so new to playing CB, he can still get better. He is technically still learning and is already playing at a high level. He is playing with great technique at CB already. Imagine what even more experience will do for him.

Arnold is not the only cornerback in the draft class from Bama. He shared the field with the guy who has the coolest name in this year's draft. Kool-Aid McKinstry. Not only is he a great corner, 16 defended passes last year, but he is also a leader. Watch the tape from Bama, and you will see him constantly communicating with his teammates, calling out plays, and making sure guys are in the right spot. His football IQ is through the roof, to go with a great skill set.

Like the other corners we have already talked about, the mock drafts have him all over the place. But a lot of them do have Kool-Aid ending up in Midnight Green. And if Howie finally gets over his thing for drafting cornerbacks in the first round, Philly would be a great landing spot for him.

Why not continue to add to the Eagles' collection of former Georgia players? It does not get more lockdown in college football than Lassiter was this past season. he gave up just 138 total yards in the 2023 season. Some scouts are concerned he is not enough of an athlete to keep this up at the NFL level. Some think he is a bit too lean. But there were similar knocks on Devon Witherspoon, and he was tremendous in his rookie season. Lassiter shut down SEC WRS. That has to stand for something.

Most people have him going somewhere between picks 20 and 32. If the Eagles want him, he should be there.

In terms of production, Mitchell looks like a future star. In 2023, he had 14 pass breakups and held QBs to a rating of 49 when targeting him. The issue will be the competition he played against. We can look at the other guys on this list and say they played against NFL Caliber WRs. Can we say that about the Mid-Amercian Conference (MAC)?

Christian Gonzalez got similar complaints last year and played at a high level. But the stats don't lie, and a lot of the best NFL Corners, come from the top NCAA conferences. That's not to say Mitchell won't be great. The fact that he is a freak athlete certainly helps the argument that he could buck that trend. It is just a bigger gamble than taking a corner from the SEC or Big 10.