There is growing confidence among NFL draft experts that the Philadelphia Eagles could be targeting a wide receiver in the first round. The biggest name being heard? Jameson Williams, the Tyreek Hill clone out of Alabama coming off a season-ending ACL tear. It would be a flashy and sensible pick at No. 15.
Pairing Williams with DeVonta Smith could be a lethal one-two punch for Philly. Then, the Eagles could use the 18th overall selection on one of the most underrated players in the entire 2022 draft class: Daxton Hill.
The hybrid defensive back from Michigan did it all for the Wolverines, including making tackles at the line of scrimmage and playing centerfield as a game-changing ballhawk. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay both agree he would be a sneaky good pick for Philadelphia in the first round.
“I don’t hear this guy’s name mentioned at all,” Kiper said, via First Draft. “I don’t know why, maybe because the safety spot, they don’t want to talk about it. I think as a pure defensive back he’s right there with [Trent] McDuffie. I think he’s a mid-first round-caliber player. He’s No. 14, 15 on my board right now. Love Daxton Hill.”
I would love to know how Daxton Hill is not a projected top 10 pick.
McShay added: “Yeah, I’m in the same range, I think I got him at 15 in this class and I agree. He’s like the silent player that no one wants to talk about because they’re not sure, is he a free safety? Is he a nickel corner? What is he? He’s a damn good cover guy who makes plays on the ball and he’s not that big [6-foot, 191 pounds] but he plays a lot bigger than his size in terms of his aggressiveness against the run.”
The Eagles own a pair of first round picks and plenty of flexibility. @MelKiperESPN and @McShay13 dig in on how they should address this draft.
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Georgia’s Jordan Davis, Another Name to Watch
Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis (6-foot-6, 342 pounds) has been a trendy pick for the Eagles in the first round. NBC Sports’ Peter King had him going to Philly at No. 15 in his latest mock draft. Ditto for Underdog Network’s Josh Norris.
And NFL Media’s James Palmer sees Davis as the perfect replacement for an aging Fletcher Cox who could be playing his final season in midnight green. Everyone knows how much Eagles general manager Howie Roseman loves drafting trench guys, too.
“Jordan Davis from Georgia is a guy that has been linked to them pretty regularly,” Palmer said. “They’ve done a lot of work with him, obviously an unbelievable size and athleticism that he has in the middle of the defensive line. He’s a big piece when you look at Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox both in the last years of their contracts and Cox being 32 years old. You can get deeper and you can prepare for the future in a spot where Howie Roseman likes to fill a need.”
The #eagles are sitting at 15 and 18, but don’t have a need to fill on their roster that a lot of other teams ahead of them have. Does that help them? Probably. My report on @nflnetwork on NFL NOW
Eagles Players Report to Practice Facility
The Eagles’ offseason conditioning program officially kicked off on April 25 with several players reporting to the NovaCare Complex. The team posted photos of Jalen Hurts, Darius Slay, Miles Sanders, Avonte Maddox, and Marcus Epps getting some work in from their Twitter account. Everyone was wearing wide smiles ahead of the 2022 football season.
It’s good to be back
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NFL Draft Expert Says Eagles Need ‘Silent Player No One Wants To Talk About’