The NFL Draft is quickly approaching. The Eagles have 11 total draft picks this season, and they need to use some of those assets to maneuver around the draft. I fully expect at least one more move to be made on draft night by Howie Roseman and the Eagles. Below are some hypothetical trades that the Eagles could consider making.
Plan A: The Eagles trade picks 12, 37, 70 and 123 to the Lions for picks 7 and 41
As much as I hate to say it, if Howie takes this route, it would be one of his best moves he has made as the GM of the Eagles. The Dolphins overpaid to move up from 12 to 6, which is why Howie had to pull the trigger and make the move. He can now capitalize on that and go get more value. There have been rumors circling about the Eagles being interested in trading back into the Top 10 of the draft. With the possibility of 4 Quarterbacks being taken with the top 4 picks, elite talent at other positions will fall.
Essentially, the Eagles would have gotten a 1st round pick next year to move back 1 spot in the 1st round this year, 4 spots in the 2nd round, and a 3rd and 4th round picks. I would even give up a little bit more if needed to get the deal done. I strongly believe that the Bengals will select an Offensive Tackle to protect their #1 overall pick Joe Burrow, and it is very likely that either Kyle Pitts or Ja’Marr Chase are there at pick 7. If either are there at pick 7, this trade is a no brainer for the Eagles.
Plan B: The Eagles stay put at 12 and select Jaycee Horn. They then trade picks 37 and 70 to the New York Jets for pick 23 and select Rashod Bateman.
This move nets you the best of both worlds. The Eagles desperately need help in the Defensive backfield, but also need a legit WR1. This move allows the Eagles to fix both of those issues in 1 single draft.
Jaycee Horn is a strong, physical CB who likes to get in the opposing Receiver’s face. With the crazy amount of weapons all over the NFC East, the Eagles will now have 2 very good CB ready to lock down their opponents. Horn will be able to start as a CB2 and grow into the CB1 role within the next few seasons. Many people are down on Darius Slay, but I believe the scheme of former Defensive Coordinator, Jim Schwartz, played a big role in why the secondary has struggled. Schwartz rarely brought pressure, and the secondary was asked to cover for way too long every play. I expect the Eagles to get after the Quarterback with new DC, Jonathon Gannon, while allowing the Corners to get into the face of their opponent and lock them down.
Rashod Bateman is the most underrated player in this draft in my opinion. Playing at Minnesota, he had very poor Quarterback play, while that team also lacked national media attention. Bateman is somewhat of a big body WR, who plays even bigger than his size. He attacks the ball in the air, and has shown flashes of being able to make plays with the ball in his hands after the catch. Bateman is a high volume WR, who can run any route on the route tree. Pairing Bateman with a healthy Jalen Reagor and Dallas Goedert in the passing game, while having Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders in the run game would give the Eagles a sneaky good and very fun to watch offense in 2021.
Plan C: The Eagles trade pick 37 and Zach Ertz to the Bills for pick 30
The Zach Ertz trade drama has cooled down as of late, but if Ertz and the Eagles are still planning to part ways, here is a way the Eagles can use Ertz to gain a little bit of value. This gives the Eagles the chance to go up and get the player they would want at 37 that might not fall to them. Some notable players could be Terrace Marshall, Asante Samuel Jr, Jaelan Phillips or Trevon Moehrig just to name a few. This trade is much better than just shipping Ertz away for a 6th round pick that isn’t going to ever help this football team.
-Mike Devlin
@mikedevlin12