Well, the Eagles season is over. They gave us a run last year, but could not entertain us past January 15th this year. They went out in the first round, and did so in ugly fashion. The Buccaneers, who aren’t very good to begin with, crushed them. And so the off-season begin. We are left wondering if Nick Sirianni will be back, who on the roster will be back, and more. But what the early exit does mean is now we start mock draft season early.
This Eagles team needs a lot of help. Especially on the defense. Their roster was seriously lacking in talent this season, especially at Linebacker, Safety, and Cornerback. But they could also look to find the eventual replacement for Lane Johnson. We know Howie Roseman loves taking Lineman. But will this draft be the one that makes him change his colors?
We made all the picks up to 22 and then tried to predict who could end up an Eagle in April. There were no trades in this mock draft. Predicting the draft is a hard enough task without putting trades into it. Once you start trying to predict what teams will trade up, who they will trade with, and what the compensation will be, you may as well be blindly throwing darts at a board. To decide who the teams besides the Eagles will pick, I mostly look at what those team’s media members and fans were saying, since a Vikings reporter will know way more about what they might do than I do.
Check Out Our First Mock Draft Below
Who could end up an Eagle on draft night? Will Howie finally spend a premium pick on a linebacker, safety, or cornerback? Will they continue to target players from the SEC as they have done in the past 3 drafts?
Here is our Mock Draft 2.0:
1) Chicago Bears (Via The Panthers)- QB – Caleb Williams- USC
Justin Fields made things very difficult for them. He played well enough at the end of the year to make a case to keep him. He did the same thing in 2022. And maybe they do trade out of this pick. But I’m not doing trades in this mock draft, and if they stay, it will be to take a QB. In this case, Caleb Williams.
2) Washington Commanders – QB- Drake Maye- UNC
The Commanders are taking a QB. This is their best chance at getting a franchise QB in a long time. New owner, new coach, it’s time for a new QB too. Drake Maye might end up being the best in the draft. As Eagles fans, we have been lucky not to have to worry about Washington most years outside of one year with RG3. That may not be the case for much longer.
3) New England Patriots- QB- Jayden Daniels- LSU
Like the Commanders, the Patriots definitely need to go QB. The good thing is there are lots of great options. Even with two QBs already off the board, they get the Heisman-winning QB. They give new head coach Jared Mayo a chance to grab his franchise QB.
4) Arizona Cardinals- WR- Marvin Harrison- Ohio State
Beating the Eagles cost the Cardinals their chance to grab one of the top QBs. That would have been a tough choice anyway with Kyler Murray under contract. But what is not a hard choice is taking Marvin Harrison JR. You could argue he is the best player in the draft.
5) Los Angeles Chargers- TE- Brock Bowers- Georgia
The Chargers need lots of help. On both sides of the ball. They could go O-line, they could go WR, they could take the best defender available. But I have them taking who might be the best player overall still on the board in Brock Bowers.
6) New York Giants- QB- Michael Pennix- Washington
The Giants are a team to watch for a potential trade-up if the Bears do want to move down. They need to be looking at QB, because Daniel Jones is not it. But even if they are stuck at 6, Michael Pennix JR is not a bad consolation prize.
7) Tennessee Titans- OT- Joe Alt- Notre Dame
If they go OT here, they will have their pick of Olu Fashanu and Joe Alt. Both would be great options and look like cornerstone tackles for years to come. O-Line is their biggest need, and they should get the best available, whoever they think that is.
8) Atlanta Falcons- EDGE- Laiatu Latu- UCLA
Falcons would likely want to be in on the QB hunt. But with the top 4 options already gone, they instead break the seal and take the first defender of the draft by grabbing perhaps the best edge rusher in the draft.
9) Chicago Bears – WR- Rome Odunze - Washington
They got a franchise QB, so give him another weapon too. DJ Moore already developed into a great WR, Odunze would give them a second. He brings an elite combination of size and speed to the NFL.
10) New York Jets- OT- Olu Fashanu- Penn State
The Jets need to protect Rodgers. The two best options are Alt and Fashanu. With Alt already off the board, they get another potentially elite LT in Fashanu instead. They could also go WR.
11) Minnesota Vikings – EDGE- Dallas Turner- Alabama
Another team who could be looking to trade up for a QB. But if they can’t, their next biggest need may be a pass rusher. Danielle Hunter had a breakout season, but they need someone to rush off the other side. And Turner would be a brilliant fit.
12) Denver Broncos- QB- Bo Nix- Oregon
We know someone will reach for a QB. It happens every year. The top 4 guys are all worthy first-round picks. But once you get into Bo Nix and JJ McCarthy, it gets iffy. But the Broncos will need a QB after pushing Wilson out, so they reach here for Nix.
13) Las Vegas Raiders- CB- Nate Wiggins- Clemson
Looking at other mock drafts, the consensus seems to be they go defense at 13. No CB has gone off the board yet, so they get their pick, and end up with Nate Wiggins out of Clemson. He could step in and be CB1 for them right out of college.
14) New Orleans Saints- OT- JC Latham- Alabama
The Saints need to invest in O-Line. There is a chance Ryan Ramczyk’s career could be over with a knee injury. Latham makes a ton of sense for them. Especially considering their current O-Line coach coached Latham at Bama in 2021.
15) Indianapolis Colts- CB- Cooper DeJean -Iowa
The Colts offense actually played well despite being stuck with Gardner Minshew. Anthony Richardson will be back next year. The consensus seems to be the Colts need to go defense. And Cooper would give them potentially the best corner in the draft.
16) Seattle Seahawks- EDGE- Chop Robinson – Penn State
Chop is one of the most exciting players in the draft. He has a chance to be a star. He needs to be more consistent, but he could end up a steal at pick 16 if his explosiveness translates to the NFL.
17) Jacksonville Jaguars- WR- Malik Nabers- LSU
If the draft turned out like this, the Jaguars should sprint to the stage to draft Nabers. He has a chance to be a superstar. And could quickly fix a lot of the issues the Jaguars had on offense this season.
18) Cincinnati Bengals- DT- Jer'zhan Newton- Illinois
The Bengals defense was a mess this year. Getting a healthy Burrow could fix most of their issues on offense. But they need an infusion of talent on defense, and Newton is the best Interior Lineman in the draft.
19) Los Angeles Rams- CB- Kool-Aid McKinstry- Alabama
Eagles fans won’t love the top 3 corners going off the board before pick 22. But the pick makes too much sense for the Rams here. Kool-Aid doesn’t just have the best name in the draft, but he also has the look of a guy who can step in and play at a high level right away.
20) Pittsburgh Steelers- OT- Taliese Fuaga- Oregon State
A lot of the talk around the Steelers is they will go O-Line in the draft. If so, Fuaga is the best left on the board. Many think he is the best run blocker in the draft, and he does feel like a perfect type of player for the Steelers.
21) Miami Dolphins- EDGE- Bralen Trice- Washington
The Dolphins have the pieces on offense. They were way too inconsistent, but the talent is there. That may be on the QB. But they aren’t going to move on from Tua yet because we have seen when he is good, he is very good. What they do need is more help on defense. And Trice is a good start in doing that.
22) Philadelphia Eagles- CB- Terrion Arnold- Alabama
Last time we had them taking Kamari Lassiter. And CB is certainly a major need, maybe more so than when we put out Mock Draft 1.0. But let’s take this time to talk about a different option. Terrion Arnold out of Alabama. The Eagles need a playmaker in the secondary, and Arnold certainly fits that bill with 5 picks this year. He also is not shy to come up and make a tackle against the run. The Eagles desperately need an infusion of speed and youth at Corner, and Arnold would fit that need perfectly.
