Howie Roseman came out firing last night moving up three slots to select left tackle Andre Dillard out of Washington State.
Ravens trade: Pick 22
Eagles trade: Pick 25, Pick 125, Pick 197.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 26, 2019
Thanks to some head scratching decisions in the early portion of the draft, (cough Raiders, cough GIANTS) some of the projected top offensive lineman unexpectedly fell down the board. This allowed Roseman to pounce on a player that they had in their top 10 and believe is the best tackle in this draft.
Eagles Howie Roseman on Andre Dillard:
“This was the best tackle in the draft, usually those guys go in the top 10 and that’s how we had him rated. When he started to fall we saw him fall, we saw it as an opportunity to get a top 10 player. We’re trying to load up on the lines” pic.twitter.com/LG0Dbf0SAF
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) April 26, 2019
Dillard, who was a four year starter at Washington State, was one of the main reasons for the teams offensive success in 2018.
Per PFF, Andre Dillard allowed just 13 total pressures (1 sack) on an FBS-high 722 pass-blocking snaps last season at Wazzu. #Eagles https://t.co/pyOGDtuLsj
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) April 26, 2019
This was a very solid pick by Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas. Keeping Carson Wentz healthy is the key to their success moving forward. Dillard was widely regarded as a top 15 talent. He was the # 12 overall player on Daniel Jeremiah’s big board. They get major value at 22 and now have their left tackle of the future. When they brought back Jason Peters for 2019 the hand writing was on the wall for how they felt about Big V (free agent after this season) and Jordan Mailata going forward. That’s not to say Mailata couldn’t eventually become a contributor, but now they have a true successor at one of the leagues most important positions in place.
I had left tackle as the Eagles # 1 off-season priority. They have now addressed the position for this upcoming season and beyond.
Updated #Eagles offseason checklist
1. Left tackle/O line depth âś… (draft one more)
2. Running back âś… (possisbly draft another)
3. Pass rusher âś… (possibly draft another)4. Impact LB – only need
5. D line depth âś… (draft a DT)
6. Secondary depth âś…âś…
7. Burner WR âś…— Brian (@B_McGLOCK) March 29, 2019
Now we look ahead to day two. The Eagles currently have two selections for tonight, 53 and 57. There is a ton of talent left on the board, specifically at positions that they should look to address.
Wide Receiver:Â
Parris Campbell, Ohio State
I mocked the Eagles to select Campbell at 53. He is a versatile speedster who is more of slot guy right now but can eventually be moved to the outside. He would be a major weapon in this offense.
A. J Brown, Ole Miss
Brown is a big, productive wide receiver. He doesn’t have lightening speed, but would be a viable option in the slot.
Hakeem Butler, Iowa State
Butler is a big WR at 6’5 220. He was also a big play maker at Iowa State last season catching 60 passes for 1,318 yards (22 YPC) and 9 TDs.
Andy Isabella, UmassÂ
Isabella is a bit of a sleeper, but you shouldn’t sleep on this kid. He has been rising up draft boards since the Senior Bowl. He has 4.3 speed and could be used in a number of ways in this offense. 53 or 57 might be a little steep, but it’s possible the Eagles could trade back a bit and then land him.
More on the top WRs for the #NFLDraft2019 👇👇https://t.co/I2j8QQvtZJ pic.twitter.com/3hHUp481HK
— PFF (@PFF) April 24, 2019
Running back:
Darrell Henderson, MemphisÂ
I love Darrell Henderson. Just check out his stats from the two UCF games….
31/199/1 and 16/210/3
This guy is a beast. He is a capable reciever as well which would fit in well with Jordan Howard. It’s possible he could be had later in the draft, but he should be on the Eagles radar.
Miles Sanders, Penn Sate
Sanders seems to be the consensus from fans and it’s easy to see why. He had 1,274 yards and 9 TDs and added 24 catches for 244 yards last season. He also has limited wear and tear.
David Montgomery- Iowa State, Justice Hill- Oklahoma StateÂ
If you’re looking for compliments to Jordan Howard from a receiving perspective, these may be your guys.
Montgomery had 71 career catches at ISU while Hill had 49 at Ok State. Both players would fit in well as a third down back, although they have the ability to do more.
Safety:Â
Juan Thornhill, UVA
I mocked Thornhill to the Eagles at 57. He is a coverage/ball-hawk type safety that they typically like.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, FloridaÂ
Gardner Johnson is another solid coverage safety who can fill multiple rolls. He would fit in well in this system. He had 71 tackles, 3 sacks and 4 interceptions last season at Florida.
Other position to watch: Corner
If any of these top corners continue to take a tumble, (Byron Murphy, Greedy Williams, Rock Ya-Sin) it’s possible that Howie moves up to grab one.
Other players to watch:Â
Jaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana TechÂ
Trysten Hill, DT, UCF
Never count the Eagles out to take a defensive lineman. They had both of these players in for official visits.
Erik McCoy, G/C Texas A&MÂ
McCoy will probably go off the board quickly, but if he were to drop he would be major value at 53. The Eagles still need a guard and McCoy could also turn out to be the center of the future.
Possible trades?
It wouldn’t be a shock to see the Eagles move around the draft board and get creative. They don’t have a third round pick and just gave up the better of their two fourth rounders to move up and take Dillard. With so much talent left on the board, they could be active today in order to get a few more picks. Whether that’s trading down or trading Nelson Agholor remains to be seen.