Eagles should trade down in the 2013 NFL Draft
The Philadelphia Eagles have the fourth overall pick in the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft. The teams with the best record get the top picks right? Yeah, lets just go with that. All jokes aside, the Eagles were a sickening team to watch last season in all three phases of the game. Whether it was Michael Vick throwing pinpoint accurate passes to the other team, Bryce Brown running for 170 yards and then fumbling the ball in the most crucial moment of a game, or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, AKA Mr. Rodgers, inviting everybody to his neighborhood (The End Zone), the entire team was a complete and utter mess.
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With all of that said, the Eagles really don’t have any glaring needs on the offensive side of the ball. The only way they would, if Jason Peters has a setback rehabbing his Achilles injury which doesn’t look that way. If Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, and Todd Herremans all can come back healthy this season, the Eagles could have on of the top offensive lines in the league. Where they do have a need, however, is on the defensive side of the ball. With Chip Kelly’s recent hiring of Bill Davis as defensive coordinator, they will be switching to a 4-3 Under base defensive. Since the 4-3 Under is technically a 3-4, the Eagles will be in need of a versatile pass rusher to come off the edge who can also play the pass.
There are several players who fit this bill in this years crop of talent. Dion Jordan and Jarvis Jones are two names that I like at the top of the draft. Since the Eagles hold the fourth overall pick and have several major holes on defense (OLB, NT, CB, S), I feel it would be wise for them to trade down and acquire more picks in this years deep draft. Off topic here for one second. When it comes to draft positioning, the Eagles are unluckier than Manti Te’o in online relationships. Just Christian Ponder this for a second, if the Eagles would have sucked last year,they could have had either Andrew Luck or RG3. This year’s top QB prospects? Matt Barkley and Geno Smith. That’s like going from a Rolls Royce to a Honda.
Like I was saying, the Eagles should very seriously consider trying to trade back this April. There are some very talented players at the top of the board, but the Eagles most pressing need to me is a rush OLB. There are no rush OLB’s worthy of the number four overall pick unless you want to reach for someone. With there being several top OT’s in this year’s class, a OT needy team such as the Chargers or Cardinals could be dialing in to the Eagles to inquire about the number four pick. If the Eagles were to pull the trigger on one of these trades, they would most likely still be able to acquire a OLB like Jordan or Jones. If both players are already off the board, then the Eagles could snatch up the next best CB or DT prospect left on the board and use the extra pick or picks acquired in the trade to continue to build up the defensive side of the ball.
Kenny Dixon is an NFL team writer for TPF and can be contacted at KDixon@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com
I literally LOLed at the Ponder pun, but on a serious note, who do you think the Eagles would trade their high pick away for?
If they can pick up another 2nd round pick in this draft by moving down 4-8 spots I would definitely do it. This is a really deep draft at S and DT which they need both, They need an impact player on D, but there isn’t really a sure fire one in this draft. That’s why they could trade back, still get a good player on D and have 2 2nd round picks to work with.