The Philadelphia Eagles rumors are already heating up heading into the offseason. There is still time for the Eagles to bounce back, but it would be a surprise if the team did not address the secondary in the coming months.
Aside from signing one of the available free agents, Philly is going to have to wait until after the season to make a move. Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski believes the Eagles should consider trading down in the 2024 NFL draft.
Philadelphia is expected to once again be picking at the end of the first round. Heading into Week 15, the Eagles hold the No. 28 pick.
Stop us if you have heard this before: Philadelphia drafting a standout Georgia Bulldogs defender. Here is why Georgia corner Kamari Lassiter could be a solution for a struggling Eagles secondary.
NFL Draft 2024: Georgia Corner Kamari Lassiter a Fit for Philadelphia Eagles
Sobleski suggests the Eagles target Lassiter in the aforementioned trade down scenario. In a moment, we will get to whether this is a realistic scenario given Lassiter could land in the first round.
“As one of the squads expected to land somewhere near the back end of the first round, those picks become valuable for teams searching to drastically improve their rosters because those picks include fifth-round rookie options,” Sobleski detailed in a December 8, 2023 article titled, “2024 NFL Draft: Week 14 Buzz and Teams That Could Look to Trade out of 1st-Round Pick.” “But Philadelphia is already operating at a Super Bowl standard. The Eagles can move down, add assets and continue to accumulate talent elsewhere.
“Keep in mind, Roseman already traded away third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks for next April’s draft. Philadelphia can recoup some ammunition with another early trade.”
Eagles Rumors: Philly May Need to Avoid Trading Down to Land Kamari Lassiter
Lassiter was part of the Bulldogs back-to-back championship runs in 2021 and 2022. This season, Lassiter posted 37 tackles and 8 pass deflections in 13 appearances.
Philadelphia’s secondary is among the worst NFL units this season. The Eagles rank 28th in the league allowing 259.9 yards per contest.
If Philly truly wants Lassiter, it remains to be seen if the team can afford to trade back in the draft. ESPN’s Matt Miller agrees with the Lassiter to Philadelphia fit, but has the Eagles taking the corner at No. 29 in his latest mock draft. Miller believes the Philly secondary needs “major upgrades” this offseason which could start with Lassiter.
“A Georgia defender to the Eagles? We’ve seen it before! And it seems to work well for Philly,” Miller detailed in a December 12 NFL mock draft. “Lassiter isn’t the front-seven playmaker that GM Howie Roseman loves to draft in Round 1, but the secondary could use major upgrades considering that Darius Slay and James Bradberry will both be at least 31 years old come Week 1 of next season.
“The Eagles took Kelee Ringo in Round 4 last April and signed Eli Ricks and Josh Jobe as undrafted free agents over the past two years, but it’s time to invest in a premium prospect at the position. Lassiter has seven pass breakups this season and has allowed just nine receptions.”
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