Top draft analyst predicts Eagles move in 1st round of 2024 draft
Top draft analyst predicts Eagles move in 1st round of 2024 draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah is one of the top draft analysts in the country and he’s also a former Eagles scout.
So he knows how Howie Roseman’s mind works.
“I would say this: He’s going to trade,” Jeremiah said on the latest episode of Takeoff with John Clark. “He’s not going to stay. I’ll go 70% up, 30% back would be my guess. I would say more likely to trade up than trade back but 0% he sticks and picks.”
Roseman, the Eagles’ longtime general manager, has never been shy about first-round trades, often moving up and down the board. The Eagles sit at No. 22 in this year’s draft but it certainly wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Eagles don’t end up picking a player at 22. That’s just now the way Howie normally does it.
In fact, Roseman has traded up on draft day in each of the last three years, landing Jalen Carter in 2023, Jordan Davis in 2022 and DeVonta Smith in 2021.
The position Jeremiah keeps coming back to for the Eagles in 2024? Cornerback.
Sure, Roseman has never drafted a corner in the first round and the franchise hasn’t done it since 2002, but some of that is simply circumstantial. It’s a position the Eagles clearly care about. And Jeremiah sees the value with a first-round corner as well as the obvious need.
“There’s some intriguing corners outside the first round but I do think there’s a drop-off from those top handful of guys,” Jeremiah said. “If I was going to lean in one direction, I’m leaning towards corner. Where we are right now as we march towards the draft, if I was going to put in my guess on the Eagles, it is one of the Alabama corners. Whether or not that’s where they are or they have to move up a little bit.”
There are several cornerbacks who are likely to be first-round picks later this week: Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo, Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry from Alabama, Cooper DeJean from Iowa and Nate Wiggins from Clemson.
Jeremiah likes the trade-up for the Eagles and he likes the cornerback position. So Clark asked Jeremiah for his prediction for the Eagles on Thursday night and he combined them:
“I’m going to say that the Philadelphia Eagles, they’re picking 22, I’m going to say it’s a very small move up, maybe it’s to get ahead of the Jags (at 17),” Jeremiah said. “I’m going to say the Philadelphia Eagles, as we sit and discuss today, they end up getting up to pick No. 16, they make that swap and get ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars and they take Terrion Arnold, the corner from Alabama.”
Arnold, 21, was a two-year starter at Alabama but really came into his own in 2023, surpassing his teammate McKinstry in the pecking order for the draft. Arnold (6-0, 189) had five interceptions and 17 pass breakups last season and then went out and aced the combine. He is Jeremiah’s 9th overall prospect in this year’s class.
The Eagles right now have Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks and some others at the cornerback spot. But Slay and Bradberry are over 30 and Bradberry is coming off a forgettable 2023 season. Corner is a short-term and long-term need for the Eagles. And landing one of the top guys in this class seems like an ideal outcome.
