April 30, 2022
In the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up for Georgia DT Jordan Davis, and traded for former Titans WR A.J. Brown. In Round 2, they took Nebraska C Cam Jurgens, and in Round 3, they may have found a steal in Georgia LB Nakobe Dean.
The Eagles have two picks in Round 6 after trading out of Round 5. Their next pick is at 188th overall, which is the ninth pick in the sixth round, followed by pick 198. Here are a bunch of players who make sense for them in Round 6.
• Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE, South Carolina: Enagbare played the "Buck" linebacker spot in South Carolina's defense. The short explanation of the "Buck" position is an edge rusher who will sometimes line up inside on obvious passing downs, but who also sees time as an off-ball linebacker, tasked with coverage duties. He had 14 sacks over the last three seasons in that role. His role will be a little more simplified in the NFL as a 4-3 DE.
• Jeffrey Gunter, SAM, Coastal Carolina: Gunter had 17 sacks the last three seasons, and he had decent testing numbers at the Combine. If you watched Coastal's game against BYU in 2020 "Mullets vs. Mormons," you saw that Gunter (cough) plays with an edge.
• Amare Barno, EDGE, Virginia Tech: Workout warrior who ran a ridiculous 4.36 40 at 6'5, 246. 10 sacks in two seasons at VT.
• Verone McKinley, S, Oregon: McKinley doesn't have great size (5'10, 198), and he didn't have a great workout at the Combine, but he is a highly instinctual, productive, playmaking safety who had 77 tackles and 6 INTs for Oregon in 2021.
• Jamaree Salyer, OL, Georgia: The Eagles love versatile offensive linemen like Salyer, who has played all five OL spots over the course of his career at Georgia. In the NFL, he'll very likely be a guard.
• Obinna Eze, OT, TCU: Eze is a long (6'7, 36 1/2" arms) offensive tackle prospect originally from Nigeria, who is likely to go on Day 3. In that sense, he fits the theme of the Eagles' taking shots on big, athletic late Day 3 offensive tackles from overseas, like they did with Jordan Mailata and Prince Tega Wanogho. Eze also comes from TCU, where the Eagles recently drafted a pair of offensive linemen in Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Matt Pryor.
• Jesse Luketa, EDGE, Penn State: We'll call Luketa a SAM backer, because that's likely what his role would be with the Eagles if they were to draft him. He played both at linebacker and defensive end for Penn State, and while he was very well regarded by coaches there, his overall college production (0.5 career sacks) left plenty to be desired.
• Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson: Ross was a star for Clemson as a true freshman in 2018, when he had 46 catches for 1,000 yards (21.7 YPC) and 9 TDs in route to a National Championship. In the National Championship Game against Alabama, he had 6 catches for 153 yards and a TD. He has good size, and he uses it well, boxing out defenders on in-breaking routes, and winning 50-50 balls down the field and in the red zone. He also shows good hands at times, though he will have occasional concentration drops. Normally, Ross would be thought of as a first-round pick. However, he comes with significant injury risks. In his sophomore season in 2019, his production fell off some (66-865-8), and in 2020, he missed the entire season with "congenital fusion in his spine," a condition he has had since birth, but only found about after getting x-rays on what was thought to be a stinger. Ross was cleared to play in 2021, but he only had 46 catches for 514 yards (11.2 YPC) and 3 TDs. Very difficult player to project.
• Bo Melton, WR, Rutgers: Melton didn't put up great numbers playing in a crappy Rutgers offense, but he had a productive week at the Senior Bowl, and he ran a 4.34 at the Combine. In addition to possessing good speed, Melton breaks a lot of tackles for a player his size. Reminds me a little of a poor man's Brandin Cooks.
• Abram Smith, RB, Baylor: Smith is a fun prospect in that he played LB as a junior (48 tackles, five for loss, and a sack), but had a huge senior season as a running back, finishing fifth in the nation with 1,601 rushing yards on 6.2 yards per carry. He has good size, good enough speed, and he's a physical "get it and go" runner.
• Zonovan "Bam" Knight, RB, North Carolina State: Knight isn't a wrecking ball of a runner, but he does break more than his share of tackles because of his ability to maintain balance through contact. He also has good vision, he hits open holes, he understands angles, and he typically gets the most meat on the bone reasonably possible on every run. In my opinion, he is an ideal backup running back who will get you the yards that are there without sacrificing what has been blocked up for him.
• Isaiah Weston, WR, Northern Iowa: Weston is a player I know very little about, but he obviously has intriguing size-speed measurables at 6'4, 214, with a 4.42 40. While he only had 37 catches in 2021, he averaged 23.9(!) yards per catch, and could be worth a late-round flier.
• Carson Strong, QB, Nevada: Strong completed over 70 percent of his passes in each of the last two seasons. He has good height, a compact delivery, decent arm strength, good accuracy in the short-to-intermediate areas of the field, and he can decisively get the ball out quickly. On the downside, he's not a factor as a runner, and he has potential long-term knee issues.
• Jeremiah Hall, FB, Oklahoma: Yeah baby, a fullback! In 2021, Hall had 32 receptions for 334 yards and 4 TDs. He has a career yards per catch average of 11.1 and 12 career receiving TDs. Doubling as a TE, Hall has some legitimate receiving chops, as in, down the field, and not just as a dump-down guy. And, of course, coming from Oklahoma, he shared a backfield with Jalen Hurts. The Eagles don't currently carry a fullback on their roster, nor have they in some time, but if they commit to a run-heavy offense in 2022 and beyond, maybe a fullback who can double as a tight end would make some sense?
• Matt Araiza, P, San Diego State: I mean, he hits 80-yard punts.
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