Philadelphia Eagles have just five main first round draft targets
Eric Galko of Sporting News said something very interesting regarding the Eagles draft in a recent edition of his “What I’ve Heard” column. According to his column, Galko says the Eagles have limited down their draft targets to just five players. Those five players are Christian McCaffrey, John Ross, Charles Harris, Derek Barnett and Gareon Conley.
Remember this is from his “What I’ve Heard” column, this is not the Eagles final list and we do not know how accurate this list is. But, everyone on this list is a realistic target. With that said, let’s break down each player he has listed.
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Christian McCaffrey
A do it all back. McCaffrey is like a swiss army knife, he has multiple tools at his disposal. Not only can he run, but he is also a lethal receiver and a big playmaker in the return game.
McCaffrey and Philadelphia is a match made in heaven. McCaffrey has been compared to Eagles great, Brian Westbrook. McCaffrey would give the Eagles an efficient run game as well as a passing option for Carson Wentz.
Doug Pederson loves to get his running backs engaged in the offense. McCaffrey makes too much sense for the Eagles.
John Ross
All offseason, Eagles GM Howie Roseman has made it clear, Philadelphia is going to give Carson Wentz weapons. Although they went out and signed Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, do not think they shy away from Ross.
With Jeffery and Smith on one-year deals, there is no guarantee the Eagles have them for years to come. Adding Ross gives Wentz a receiver to build with and also gives the Eagles a player who can stretch the field, a trait this team desperately needs.
Charles Harris and Derek Barnett
The thing with the Eagles is, they have glaring needs at cornerback. Because of that, people tend to not evaluate the other positions. If you look at this team, they also desperately need a pass rusher.
Last season, Brandon Graham led the team with only 5.5 sacks. Although Graham was a monster last season, he was not getting to the quarterback.
Harris and Barnett both excel in getting to the quarterback. In fact. Barnett broke Reggie White’s sack record in Tennessee with 33 in just three seasons. Harris racked up 18 sacks in his three years at Missouri as well. Both players can flat out get to the quarterback,
Adding one of these two to the team gives Philly a lot of depth as well as a lethal pass rusher. The Eagles would have players like Vinny Curry and Chris Long coming in as a depth player, now that would be scary.
Gareon Conley
Conley is a day one starting cornerback in the NFL. He has all the traits to become a pro bowl cornerback in the league.
Conley would come into Philadelphia and instantly become their best cornerback. However, sometimes when that happens, things get tricky. With a lot of expectation, he will have a lot of pressure. In a division with Odell Beckham, Dez Bryant, and Terrelle Pryor, Conley will have six rough outings.
There is no doubt Conley is going to be a great cornerback in this league. However, with a deep cornerback class, the Eagles might not have to address this position in the first round.
These are the five targets mentioned by Galko, take this with a grain of salt. However, all seem possible and all seem to bolster the Eagles in some way. The Eagles are in a position to take the best player available, they do not have to force a need.
With that being said, the Eagles can realistically draft all these players without forcing a need. Conley does address the Eagles biggest need, but he is not a reach, with the Sidney Jones injury, he is the second-best cornerback in the draft.
All five of these options are going to have a big impact for this team in year one and going forward. If this list is true and the Eagles draft one of these five players, the first round of the draft will be a success.
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