With two days until the NFL Draft, all indications point towards the Eagles selecting a defensive lineman in the first round. But... what if Howie Roseman decides to shock everyone and go elsewhere? Today, RB examines three potential sleeper picks that would be homerun selections at 32 for the Eagles! He also takes a peek at what the final mock drafts are saying about the most likely Eagles pick.
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00:00We are two days away from the NFL draft and the Eagles are targeting a specific position.
00:07Well, that's what the experts are saying.
00:09What if they don't?
00:10What if Howie decides to surprise us all and go for a different position of need?
00:15Well, today we'll talk about three sleepers that could fall to the end of the first round.
00:20And if the birds end up with any of these players, it'll be a pure home run selection.
00:25We'll get into it all, but welcome into A to Z Philly.
00:27I'm RB. Do me a favor, like this video, go down below, subscribe to the channel and ring the bell.
00:33Get ready for all this draft content coming your way.
00:36We will have you covered up and through the NFL draft.
00:39And I'll tell you what, man, I'm so ready for this thing to just get here and be on its way
00:43because I feel like for the last several weeks, months since the Super Bowl, really,
00:48we've just been looking at draft prospects, talking about different players.
00:52It's an exciting night, an exciting event for these guys to start their careers.
00:56But I'm ready to see who's going to start their midnight green journey, right?
01:00A lot of these young players have made significant impacts in the last couple years.
01:05A lot of people are projecting a young defensive lineman to the Eagles early in this draft.
01:10And I think that's fair.
01:12If we go look at our mock draft database, here's the final updated needs and players
01:17that the Eagles could look at at pick 32, right?
01:20Kenneth Grant, Nick Eminwari, James Pierce, Ezra Raku, Luther Burden, Walter Nolan,
01:26Gray Zabel, Tyler Booker, Amika Egbuka, and Donovan Jackson.
01:32All right, those are the guys that they have here on Mock Draft Database.
01:35And if we look at who the experts or who the journalists are drafting at 32 for the Eagles,
01:43who they have the most likely pick, it's still Walter Nolan.
01:46We looked at this last week, but only 9.6% are saying Walter Nolan, 7.5% are saying Donovan
01:53Ezra Raku, and 6.7% are saying James Pierce.
01:57So really, nobody knows, right?
02:00It's an up in the air type of thing.
02:02And I ran five mock drafts, and I'm going to run through them quickly here.
02:05I only did the first round.
02:07So the first one I ran, I got Siobhan Ravel out of East Carolina.
02:11That's a cornerback.
02:12Definitely interesting.
02:13Second one I got, Donovan Ezra Raku out of Boston College, a guy we've talked about.
02:19Definitely in my top five prospects.
02:22I think he's very explosive and just a very twitchy player and a South Jersey kid.
02:26I think it'd be a really good story.
02:28The third guy that I have going here is Josh Connerly Jr., right?
02:32Guy we've talked about, offensive lineman.
02:34Don't know if he'll be there at 32, but definitely think he would be a good prospect for the Eagles,
02:39both in the short and long term.
02:41The fourth one I ran, I got Tyleek Williams, who's starting to rise up boards.
02:46He's starting to get up there on the mock draft boards.
02:49And could he potentially sneak into the first round of national championship this past season at Ohio State?
02:56And the last one I ran, I got Donovan Ezra Raku again.
02:59So I ran five mock drafts today.
03:02The Donovan Ezra Raku pick showed up twice and a lot of different varying results.
03:07So what if they don't go with a defensive lineman?
03:11One more we'll look at here is on tankathon.com.
03:13They have Nick Scorton to the Eagles, who had a top 30 visit, had that picture with Brandon Graham.
03:19He's a guy they like.
03:21Like I said, a lot of defensive line depth.
03:23But I'm starting to think it's a possibility they could go with another position.
03:26And I'm going to tell you right now, as I look over here on Pro Football Network, mock draft, big board right now, there's a lot of talented players in this range, right?
03:36Walter Nolan, who is the favorite right now.
03:39Gray Zabel, we talked about.
03:40Josh Simmons, who will probably go up a bit.
03:43Nick Scorton, James Pierce, right?
03:45A lot of running backs, wide receivers.
03:47Eagles don't really need to hit that early on.
03:49But Tyleek Williams, a guy, like I said, who's climbing up a lot of big boards.
03:53Siobhan Revell, Donovan Ezraku, Kenneth Grant, Donovan Jackson, Xavier Watts, Josh Connerly.
04:00So a lot of guys on this list.
04:03And if I look at their draft rankings, like I said, these players in this range, I'm surprised Ezraku's down to 33.
04:10But if he is there at 32, I don't think Howie would hesitate to take him.
04:14I think he's a really talented player with a bright future, a lot of upside.
04:18But ladies and gentlemen, let's forget about defensive line.
04:22Three sleepers that they could look at.
04:24Number one, who is falling down a bit in the latest mock drafts, is Nick Emanwari.
04:30Nick Emanwari, a safety.
04:32We talked about Malachi's starts.
04:33I think it's pretty much a lock at this point that he goes in the mid-20s.
04:37Nick Emanwari, out of South Carolina, a junior, 220 pounds, 6'3".
04:43And this guy has been a late bloomer.
04:45But ladies and gentlemen, he is amazing.
04:4812 games this past year, 88 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions.
04:54And pretty much from watching this guy, I mean, he jumps off the screen.
04:58He's a safety that could come right in, plug in, be the Eagles' potential starting safety in year one.
05:04Right?
05:04Have that rookie contribution just like Quignon and Dejean did at corner.
05:08He's an elite athlete.
05:10The guy moves all around the field.
05:12Great in coverage, right?
05:13He can come up in the box.
05:15And the only knock on him right now is that he needs to take better angles to the football.
05:20He needs to stay focused during an entire game.
05:22Yeah, those are things that can be corrected with the right proper coaching at the next level.
05:27Quickly closes gaps when the ball is in the air on receivers.
05:30Very fluid mover in pass coverage.
05:33Helps him stick with shifty and fast receivers.
05:36Physicality.
05:37Size.
05:37This guy has all the tools.
05:40Reliable tackler with strong technique.
05:42Explosiveness.
05:43Aggressiveness.
05:44All the things you want to hear about a guy in your secondary.
05:48And I like this guy a lot.
05:49He's been on my list from early on.
05:50And I just didn't think there would ever be an opportunity for him to slide down the board.
05:54But in the latest drafts and the mock drafts, he's starting to fall down into those late 20s, maybe early 30s.
06:01If he is there at 32, I think he goes safety and I think you take him.
06:05The second guy that we need to discuss, and this might be a wild card, but Mason Taylor.
06:12Ladies and gentlemen, right?
06:14Everybody's talking about this guy as the son of former Hall of Famer Jason Taylor.
06:18He's a tight end out of LSU.
06:206'5", 255.
06:22Ladies and gentlemen, Mason Taylor is going to be very, very good at the next level.
06:28Everybody's talking about Tyler Warren.
06:30They're talking about Colson Loveland.
06:31And those guys are legit.
06:33But Mason Taylor, in my opinion, is right there behind him.
06:36He was not in an offense that utilized him enough at LSU.
06:40A lot of his routes were in the flat.
06:42He didn't have a good route tree.
06:44So you're telling me that this guy didn't have a good route tree and he didn't get the ball enough.
06:48Well, guess what?
06:49I have a system in Philadelphia, if Dallas Goddard's not here, where you're going to be the security blanket.
06:54You're going to get the ball a lot.
06:55They say he's competitive as a blocker.
06:58This guy's way ahead of the curve when it comes to blocking.
07:02Usually that's something that you have to teach these guys at the next level.
07:05He's a great blocker from day one.
07:07Does a nice job breaking down from motion to land cross formation blocks.
07:12Shows wiggle, active hands.
07:14He's got great hands.
07:14Catches most of the passes and he destroys soft coverage defenders looking to catch him.
07:21Length, athletic ability, allows him to seal an awesome rush lane.
07:26Smooth athlete with impressive body control.
07:28Burst and length, flips head around.
07:30Great mirroring ability.
07:32Finishes well around traffic.
07:34Look at all these strengths.
07:35This guy is going to be a stud.
07:37And with the Philadelphia Eagles and their track record of drafting tight ends, especially early in the second round, this guy is in the perfect range.
07:46If Howie wants to trade out and even move back a couple slots while the Browns and the Giants take quarterbacks and all that great stuff, the Eagles might get future draft capital and have Mason Taylor fall right into their lap.
08:00I think it is a home run pick.
08:01I think this could be the Dallas Goddard replacement.
08:04Matter of fact, his comp is Dallas Goddard.
08:07I mean, he looks like another Dallas Goddard.
08:10I would love to have him in this offense.
08:13The third guy is Donovan Jackson out of Ohio State.
08:17Another guy that I think is going under the radar, but some have had him mocked in the early second round and late first round.
08:25And ladies and gentlemen, 6'4", 3'15", offensive guard out of Ohio State, national champion.
08:31Howie Roseman loves national champions.
08:34Jackson was named second team All-American, first team All-Big Ten in 2024.
08:39He started in 14 games in their national championship winning season.
08:44He had some reserve snaps on the right side as a freshman.
08:47He played predominantly as a left guard in college.
08:50When left tackle Josh Simmons, who's probably going to be much higher in this draft than him, got hurt.
08:56Jackson kicked outside to left tackle, showcasing impressive adaptability kicking outside.
09:03This guy can play guard.
09:04He can play tackle.
09:06Probably grades out as a guard at the NFL level.
09:09Could be a backup tackle if you need him to be.
09:11Grades out pretty well.
09:13Long arms.
09:14Ability to kick outside at left tackle last minute and perform.
09:17Three-year starter at a Blue Blood program who tested on the toughest stages.
09:23Thick built guard prospect who carries his weight well.
09:27Lower half flexibility improved.
09:29Naturally powerful anchor.
09:31Grip strength at the point of attack is impressive.
09:34Yeah, I like this guy.
09:36I think he sounds just like a Howie Roseman pick.
09:38Looking at his weaknesses.
09:40Can struggle against stunting edge rushers working across his body.
09:44Hand placement can be a bit inconsistent.
09:46When he changes direction and pass protection, his agility proves to be average.
09:51So, he needs to become a better athlete and needs to have better technique.
09:55Yeah, bring this guy into Stoutley University and watch what he does.
09:58I think he could be really, really good.
10:00So, at the end of the day, the Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of different things they can choose from on Thursday night.
10:07I mean, there's a lot of guys at the position of need for the bird.
10:11So, I think there is a really good chance that they just stay at 32 and make that pick.
10:15But, all about maneuvering the chess pieces, playing the board.
10:19And when you look at the Eagles, they have a lot of leverage coming into Thursday night.
10:22And they're going to be looking for a player that can contribute early, contribute right away.
10:26Especially with the guys they've lost on the defensive end.
10:30I think there's a good chance that whoever they do draft ends up being a contributor in year one.
10:36The question is, what position are they going to look at?
10:38Where are they going to go?
10:39Give me your thoughts and predictions down below in the comment section.
10:43And, as always, appreciate everybody for tapping in.
10:45Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe.
10:47And I'll catch you all in the next one.