I know, I know. Whenever you see my name as the writer of a blog and the topic is about Philadelphia sports, slander is sure to follow. Not this time! I ran a draft simulation for the Eagles and just want to share my results. I’ll give a bit of a synopsis about some of the picks but I’ve been saying forever I am not a college football guy and don’t really know what I’m talking about. That’s why I let the computer make the picks.
Before I show you the picks I want to remind everyone that tonight a bunch of Branded bloggers and myself will be hopping on a live stream to watch the first round together. You can watch on YouTube (click here), Facebook or Twitter! The show is presented by Kenwood Beer, a Philly company. I know we have to say Kenwood is good because they’re a sponsor but I went down to PA to watch March Madness with the Branded crew and we were drinking Kenwood and it’s truly unbelievable. Probably the best thing about your city is Kenwood beer.
https://twitter.com/branded_sports/status/1381264393564983299?s=21
https://twitter.com/branded_sports/status/1387056715045117954?s=21
Alright, now the reason you’re all here.
PFF has a draft simulator on their site. So, what I did was take control of the Eagles and I drafted the best player available. I did not look for fit or position, I didn’t attempt any trades. I just took the highest rated player (rated by PFF) that was available. Lets see how we did.
Landing Slater would be solid for the Eagles. I hear his name in the 7-11 range mostly and some people actually have him over Sewell so this wouldn’t be the worst case scenario. I think if Surtain is available like he is here I’d go with him but Slater isn’t a terrible pick by any means.
I don’t know if Elijah Moore will be available at 37. He’s not Chase, Waddle or Smith but I actually think Moore is a solid player and I have him going in the first round in my mock. I think Moore sliding to 37 is more likely than Slater dropping to 12 but Eagles fans should be happy with these first two picks. We’ve helped your line and gotten Hurts/Flacco another weapon.
Pick 70 is where, in my opinion, we get in some trouble. Admittedly, I have no idea if Molden is good or will be good. I do know that everyone and their grandma has said this is a weak safety draft, though.
First, I don’t know if the Eagles pick 70 and 84. I would guess they trade at least one of these but I’m not doing trades. For the pick itself I’ve been told if you’re drafting a Kentucky player you should be drafting Joseph. Per the rules, the Eagles are drafting Davis.
In a weak Safety draft the Eagles are selecting their second Safety. I’d genuinely be shocked if this happened but we are sticking to the rules. I refuse to deviate!
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. I have no clue who will be good once drafted but drafting an offensive lineman is always a good idea no matter what team you’re a fan of but it’s certainly a good idea when the QB you benched last year was one of the most sacked guys in the NFL. Eagles get their second lineman of the weekend.
This is the ideal time to pickup a RB. Is Herbert good? No clue. What I do know is we don’t draft RB in the first round but in the 6th? Yeah, we love 6th round RB ESPECIALLY when you already have your RB of the future in Sanders.
More offensive linemen? Why not! One of them has to end up being decent, right?
Okay, I promise this is the last offensive lineman they take in the simulation. Do they draft 4 linemen? Probably not. Is it an awful strategy? Well, it’s better than drafting 4 QBs.
Taking a second RB seems unlikely. 4 linemen, maybe but 2 RB? No shot!
And the draft is over! I think if I was an Eagles fan I wouldn’t be mad at this outcome for the most part. I think if Slater falls and they take him over Surtain the fans will be pissed, especially if we get another clip of the Vikings front office laughing at the Eagles for not taking the obvious guy.
While I do think Surtain will be good, picking linemen is the safest thing you can do in the first round. I was listening to TylerIAm on his podcast a week or two ago and he was reading out the percentage of players drafted in the first round at X position to sign a second contract with the team that drafted them. Linemen were the highest (If I remember correctly) at around 50% chance they resign with who drafted them while CB/S were tied for DEAD LAST at about 23% chance of resigning. Now is this a talent thing, an ego thing who knows but long term it might be the right move to take Slater over Surtain if given the opportunity.
FINAL GRADES:
PFF hates the Eagles taking Slater at 12, which really surprised me. They loved the Moore pick in the second round just like I do and the loved the late round RB picks. If the Eagles walk away with a B draft they might riot in Philly because of how happy they are. Too bad Howie is the one who’s making the picks…