Eagles sitting on ‘prime real estate' in NFL draft

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After winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history, the Eagles are going to be in a unique situation when the first round of the NFL draft kicks off at AT&T Stadium on April 26. 

The Eagles have the 32nd and final pick in the first round. 

That's not necessarily a bad thing. 

During his nearly two-hour-long pre-NFL Combine conference call on Monday afternoon, well-respected NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock explained the situation the Eagles find themselves in.

"When you look at sitting at 32, and I've had this conversation with teams that are used to drafting late, I think you've got to be multiple," Mayock said. "I think you've got to be versatile. By that I mean you've got to get a good football player, but you also have to have an ability to move down if possible, if necessary. 

"And the Eagles don't have, if I remember this correctly, a two and a three. So an ability to move down would be first and foremost in my mind. A lot of teams like to move up to get quarterbacks at the end of the first round to get that extra fifth-year option. So sitting at 32 is prime real estate for a move down. That's first and foremost. Secondly, if you're sitting at 32 and you're going to pick, you want to pick somebody that you think is safe." 

Mayock is right about the Eagles' gap between picks. They have that selection at No. 32, but don't have another pick until the fourth round. Their second-round pick belongs to the Browns; it went there as a part of the move up to draft Carson Wentz in 2016. And the third-round pick belongs to the Bills; they got it along with Jordan Matthews in the trade for Ronald Darby. 

A good example of what Mayock was talking about with the 32nd pick came back in 2014, when the Vikings traded up to No. 32 to draft Teddy Bridgewater. The Seahawks got two picks back: the Vikings' second-round pick (No. 40) and their fourth-round pick (No. 108). Basically, the Seahawks traded down eight spots and gained a fourth-rounder. 

Like the Seahawks in 2014, the Eagles enter this draft with just six total picks. The Eagles could obviously use some extra picks.

Mayock clearly thinks the Eagles are in a great position. He praised VP of football operations Howie Roseman, saying Roseman's last two years rank in the "general manager's Hall of Fame." 

When explaining how good of a spot the Eagles are in, Mayock pointed out that most of their starters, aside from Nigel Bradham, are still under contract and said Sidney Jones (last year's second-round pick because of an Achilles tear) is now ready to play. 

"They've really positioned themselves pretty darn well," Mayock said. 

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