NFL Draft Rumors: Eagles could pick these defenders instead of WR in first round

Share

We're just 15 days from the 2020 NFL Draft, and draft rumors are swirling more than the winds over the Schuylkill. One rumbling we've heard more than once now: the Eagles might be interested in using their No. 21 pick on a defender.

Over at Sports Illustrated on Wednesday, NFL insider Albert Breer answered in a mailbag column one of the hottest questions in this year's draft: Are the Eagles taking a wide receiver in the first round?

And Breer, like Adam Schefter before him, isn't sold. Breer even listed a few possible defensive options the Eagles might like more than, say, LSU wideout Justin Jefferson at No. 21:

I get the idea that Eagles fans are ready to burn the Linc to the ground if Philly doesn’t take one in the first round—given the inactivity in fixing that position this offseason, and awkward contractual spot they’re in with Alshon Jeffery. But I’m not totally convinced it happens.

(...) 

Let’s say (Xavier) McKinney is there. Or K’Lavon Chaisson is there. Or (CJ) Henderson is there and the value in pairing him with Darius Slay, and fixing the corner spot once and for all, is too great.

And to further this, let’s say (Ceedee) Lamb and (Jerry) Jeudy are gone. If Henry Ruggs is there, maybe you take him. Or maybe you think to yourself that taking one of the others makes sense, knowing a similar player, in K.J. Hamler, might be around in Round 2. If Ruggs is gone? Then, it’d seem, the value of the defensive guys may further outdistance, say, Justin Jefferson.

The odds say Jefferson is a likely pick for the Eagles, and they've been linked to him many times. But is that more out of convenience and perceived fit?

Howie Roseman is nothing if not a guy who wants to get value out of his draft picks, and if he thinks the best value at No. 21 is taking a cornerback like CJ Henderson instead of a wide receiver like Jefferson, he'll make the defender move every time.

NBC Sports Philadelphia's Reuben Frank examined today some possible options at wide receiver who might be available in the third round. This is a deep wide receiver draft.

Eagles fans are, indeed, hungry for a young star wide receiver. Roseman knows this, but he still might zig on draft night when fans want him to zag.

Subscribe and rate the Eagle Eye podcast: 
Apple Podcasts / Google Play / Stitcher / Spotify / Art19

Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Eagles

Contact Us