Todd McShay’s Post NFL Combine Mock Draft: Eagles Take Three on Defense
NFL Draft season is heating up with the NFL Combine in the rear-view, now its time to take a look at the latest Mock Draft from ESPN's Todd McShay.
Since his latest mock draft Russell Wilson has been traded, Seattle went from no first-round pick to pick No. 9 and the combine has players moving up and down draft boards.
While there is more information out there, the teams still have interviews and pro-day workouts coming up, so these names could continue to move up-and-down the board.
The Eagles still own three picks, No. 15, 16 and 19 so let's take a look at who McShay sees wearing midnight green this season.
First up the Eagles buck a trend, doing something they haven't down since the 1970's, by taking a linebacker in Round 1, taking Utah's Devin Lloyd.
Ah, we've entered the Eagles' portion of the draft, in which they'll make three picks over the course of the next five. They don't look at linebackers in Round 1 often -- they've taken just one here over the past 40 years (Marcus Smith in 2014) -- but Lloyd's sideline-to-sideline range and versatility make him a perfect fit in the middle of the Philadelphia defense. He filled the stat sheet last season with impact numbers in all facets of the game: 96 tackles, 8.0 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, four interceptions and seven passes broken up.
Could Howie Roseman change his philosophy and start adapting to the new NFL? Many teams, including the Eagles are implementing multiple looks up front with linebackers more and more important with the short, quick passing game becoming a big part of teams offenses.
Lloyd is a versatile linebacker who would look great in the middle of the Eagles defense. He ran a 4.66 40-yard dash time at the combine, but is still considered the best at his position in this years draft.
Next up the Eagles stay on the defensive side of the ball, taking LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. at pick 16.
April 6 is circled on the calendar of the scouts for every team that covets a first-round cornerback. It's the LSU pro day, when we should finally see Stingley in action after he opted to sit out the combine workouts while rehabbing his left foot injury a bit longer. There's not a more confusing evaluation in the class. Stingley is versatile, physical, long and fast. In fact, if I were forced to choose between Ahmad Gardner and him, and I was basing the decision on Gardner's 2021 tape (which is excellent) and Stingley's 2019 tape, I'd take the latter. That's how good he was during his freshman campaign.
But 2020 brought uneven play, and 2021 was largely lost to injury. Failing to quiet concerns at the combine only heightened the apprehension around using an early pick on him. All that said, he has the traits to be shutdown corner in the NFL. Darius Slay and Stingley could be one of the top duos in the league.
There was a time where you would see Stingley landing in the Top 5 of mock drafts, but it shows you how fluid this process can be, with a deep pool of corners.
He has battled injuries, which kept him from competing at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. He suffered a a Lisfranc injury during the season, but he says his recovery is ahead of schedule and will participate in the LSU pro day, making him an attractive pick at No. 16.
Finally the Eagles add to their pass rush, adding Michigan's David Ojabo with pick No. 19.
I still think the Eagles stick with Jalen Hurts at quarterback -- Pittsburgh, next on the board, is undoubtedly holding its breath here -- so let's instead address another potential issue. The Eagles' 29 sacks last season were No. 31 in the league, Derek Barnett is a free agent, and age is starting to catch up to Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham. Ojabo has a quick first step and closes with explosion. That explosion was on display at the combine, where he ran a 4.55 in the 40 and had a solid 10-foot-2 broad jump. His production (11 sacks last season) would be welcomed in Philly. (As an aside, I considered Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks, too, but the Day 2 receiver pool is so deep that the Eagles can wait.)
Ojabo has been a popular pick for the Eagles in mock drafts and the Eagles certainly need to add an edge rusher in his years draft, but after running a 4.55 40-yard dash at the combine he might be moving up into the Top 15.
There are plenty of interesting players that will be on the board when the Eagles make their picks, including Jordan Davis, Chris Olave, Nakobe Dean, and even if they want to think about quarterback Malik Willis who McShay has going No. 20 to Pittsburgh.
The NFL Draft begins on Thursday April 28th.