McShay’s NFL Mock Draft: Eagles Land WR in 2nd Round

Todd McShay’s latest NFL mock draft might draw interest to Eagles fans because the ESPN analyst has Philadelphia selecting a player at a position they haven't taken in the first-round since 1979.

If you were hoping for a wide receiver with the No. 12 pick, don't worry Eagles fans, you'll get that wide out in the second-round with pick 37.

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McShay has the Eagles landing 6-foot-2, 210-pound Minnesota receiver Rashod Bateman, who had 60 catches for 1219 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2019 and 36 catches for 472 yards and two scores in five 2020 games.

OK, exhale, Philadelphia. The Eagles got a receiver -- and a good one -- in the second round after missing out on a top guy in Round 1. Bateman has a little JuJu Smith-Schuster to his game -- he is versatile with good hands and underrated speed, and he isn't afraid to work the middle of the field.

Bateman, who just wan a 4.39, 40-yard dash on Thursday, maybe have moved himself out of round two and into the first round with that performance.

If he were drafted by Philadelphia, Bateman would have a good chance to contribute right away with Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Travis Fulgham, J.J Arcega-Whiteside, John Hightower and Quez Watkins to compete with.

As for that first-round pick, the Eagles finally address their need at linebacker. They team hasn't taken a linebacker in round one since selecting UCLA linebacker Jerry Robinson in 1979. McShay has them taking Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons.

Many mock drafts have the Eagles going with one of the wide receivers or cornerbacks.

Here’s what McShay has to say about Parsons:

Let's start with the bad news: As we thought might be the case, the Eagles miss out on the top four pass-catchers in the class after their trade out of No. 6 overall. That's a problem. The WR room has Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward and Travis Fulgham as the top three options, not leaving QB Jalen Hurts in the best position to find success in an evaluation period. But here's the good news: The Eagles hold 11 picks this year (the most in the NFL) in a draft with a deep receiver class, the 2022 first-rounder received in the trade will certainly prove valuable, and Philly can still land a guy like Parsons here. He can do a little bit of everything in the middle of this defense.

Parsons is a difference making player at 6-foot-3, 246 pounds, running a 4.39 40-yard dash at his pro day workout last Thursday.

While Parsons chose to forego his 2020 season, he is viewed as a top-10 player and three-down linebacker in the NFL.