This week is all about NFL free agency and the new league year, but no one can ignore the 2021 NFL Draft looming just six weeks away. The ability to add young, relatively cheap players will color what teams do in free agency - and according to the most prominent NFL insider around, the Eagles should be excited about their draft prospects.
ESPN insider Adam Schefter joined The John Kincade Show on 97.5 The Fanatic on Wednesday morning to discuss a number of NFL goings-on, and at one point the discussion turned to what we should be expecting during the first round of the draft on April 28.
Schefter is constantly talking to executives from around the league, and from what he's heard, the top of the draft board is going to be wild.
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It's also very good for Eagles fans:
"I believe by the Eagles' pick at 6, I think there will be four quarterbacks picked.
"[...]
"And so, I will not be surprised if there are four quarterbacks that go before them, and they're sitting there with their choice of these other guys. Maybe the No. 1 wide receiver, or however it plays out.
NFL
"I'm not convinced Miami will be at 3 yet, we'll see how that plays out; the Jets are listening at 2; the Falcons... I'm confident Cincinnati will be sitting there at 5, they don't really move around an awful lot."
That's basically perfect news for the Eagles, who have recently sounded out on drafting a quarterback in the first round. If four QBs are gone in the first six picks, that means they'll have a shot at one of the three big non-quarterback weapons in this year's draft: Alabama WR Devonta Smith, LSU WR Ja'Marr Chase, or Florida TE Kyle Pitts.
Now, how does Cincinnati staying at No. 5 impact the Eagles' choices? It's going to be a nail-biter.
For this exercise, let's assume this year's draft is absolute chaos at the top, as Schefter suggests it could be, and the first four picks (!) are quarterbacks via trade-ups, trade-downs, and other wild options. The Bengals, then, are likely choosing between Oregon OL Penei Sewell and LSU's Chase. Eagles fans, of course, are hoping Cincy chooses Sewell, and after the Bengals seemed to hit on drafting a wide receiver last year with Tee Higgins, plus the performance of guys like Auden Tate and Tyler Boyd at the position, it's totally possible the Bengals choose Sewell instead of Chase in order to protect Joe Burrow for the forseeable future.
The main threat, however, is that Burrow makes a little bit of a push to be reunited with Chase after the two were unstoppable at LSU in college en route to a national championship. In that case, the Eagles still get a chance to choose between Smith or Pitts, two absolute difference makers. But it would be great - maybe even a little scary, in the paralyzed-by-choice sense - to get a shot at all three.
Ultimately, plenty can change between now and April 28. But if this is what Schefter's hearing, it's music to Eagles fans' ears.
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