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Sixth Overall Pick, you say?

24 November 2020 DRAFT Philadelphia Eagles


As it sits today, the Philadelphia Eagles would pick at the 19. This isn’t exactly ideal for a team that has as many glaring holes as this Eagles team does. However, 19 is the lowest pick an NFL playoff team can hold and with a 3-6-1 record, the Eales are at the bottom of the barrel. One bright spot to this could be the potential shakeup that occurs during Thanksgiving football. The Dallas Cowboys are set to square off against the Washington Football Team, both as 3 win teams. The winner of that game will then take over the division lead. Assuming the Seahawks continue their stretch of dominance against Philadelphia this week, Philadelphia will then slide into the ninth overall pick, depending on what happens with the series of 3 win teams in front of them. Detroit and Houston are both top 11 picks right now and the two teams will square off on Thanksgiving as well. The 3 win Giants will face a Joe Burrow-less Bengals team as well. So if all goes according to plan, the Eagles could be staring at a potential top 6-7 pick. So with that, let’s look at some first round draft prospects that could peak the Eagles’ interest in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Micah Parsons – Middle Linebacker – Penn State University

Assuming that three out of the first four picks will be the big three quarterbacks (Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance), Penei Sewell being the lone position player taken, that leaves a lot of talent on the board for the Eagles to pick from. Walk on down to Harrisburg native and perennial college football star, 6 Foot 3 inch, 245 pound linebacker, Micah Parsons. This is a no-brainer pick with the way the Eagles’ linebackers have played this season. It took a Nathan Gerry injury for him to finally stop being targeted on the field, giving up a perfect passer rating, having no passes defensed and giving up two touchdowns in route, Parsons is the exact opposite. You want versatility? The man played running back and defensive end in high school. When Parsons walked onto the Penn State campus, he was under the impression that he would be a defensive end until Head Coach James Franklin said that he would be competing for a starting position as a middle linebacker as a True Freshman. What did Parsons do with that opportunity? He started nine games and led the team in tackles, the first True Freshman in Penn State history to do so. Parsons then followed that up by winning the 2019 Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Award in route to a consensus All-American selection and winning Defensive MVP of the 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic. Although Parsons opted out of the 2020 season, he has been preparing for the NFL Draft since opting out and is primed to be an instant contributor to any defense.

Caleb Farley – Cornerback – Virginia Tech University

What could be better than a lockdown corner opposite of Darius Slay for the Eagles’ secondary? Standing at 6 feet, 2 inches tall and 207 pounds, Farley could be just that. The versatility that we spoke of with Parsons? Farley has that too. Originally a high school quarterback, Farley accounted for over 4,000 all-purpose yards and 58 total touchdowns in his time as at Maiden High School. Once committed to Virginia Tech, Farley was converted to a wide receiver because of his speed but missed his freshman year due to a knee injury. Upon his return from injury in 2018, Farley was then converted to cornerback where he found his home, finishing the season with 36 tackles, two picks and a sack. Once Farley harnessed his energy into the cornerback conversion, he came back in 2019 to be named a first-team All ACC cornerback after recording 20 tackles, 12 passes defensed, and four interceptions, one which was returned for a touchdown. Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports said “”Size-and-speed specimen” is a football phrase I don’t toss around lightly in scouting reports. I save it for the truly large and explosive downfield burners. And I have no hesitation labeling Farley a size-and-speed specimen. On film, he’s looks every bit as tall as his listed height of 6-2. And good luck finding a play in which he was beaten down the field. There are a few snaps in which the receiver Farley was covering got loose within the first few yards off the line, but that’s when the towering cornerback’s afterburners were pushed, and he recovered in a flash.” Sound good to you guys? Me too.

Ja’Marr Chase – Wide Receiver – Louisiana State University

This is a guy that I’ve been crying over since the 2020 NFL Draft. Every single Eagles fan was no stranger to the name Justin Jefferson. Meanwhile, I was saying “let’s wait a year and draft Ja’Marr Chase,” and it could actually come to fruition. Unanimously thought of as the nation’s top wide receiver going into the 2020 NCAA Football season, Chase shocked the world and opted out, setting his sights on his inevitable ascension to the NFL. The 6 foot, 207 pound wide receiver was coming off a historic 2019 season. In route to a 2019 National Championship, Chase caught 84 passes for 1,780 yards (SEC record) and an astounding TWENTY receiving touchdowns (SEC record). These game changing stats led to him winning the 2019 Fred Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver in college football and a unanimous First Team All-American selection. On top of all this, Chase has faced the scrutiny of playing in the BIG games while at LSU. In his two games leading to the Tigers winning a college football championship, Chase secured 23 passes for 484 yards and three touchdowns. Of his final three games as a Tiger, Chase saw nothing but NFL talent across from him. Chase was shadowed by Noah Igbinoghene (Miami Dolphins First Round pick), Trevon Diggs (Dallas Cowboys Second Round pick) and A.J. Terrell (Atlanta Falcons First Round pick). Do I need to do any more convincing? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Well, what do you guys think? Will the football gods bless us with a top selection whenever we need it most or will they continue to look at the fan base selling our soul for a Super Bowl as an aid to our misery? Week 12 will tell us all we need to know and hopefully we can continue to look into these top prospects in a star-studded class of them. Next week may be a whole new batch of guys for us to look at. Either way, let’s start looking forward instead of backwards. Go Birds!


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