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Eagles Mock Draft


Many experts see this draft as a deep draft but it may not be as deep as they claim. This year's draft is indeed deep at a few positions, especially at wide receiver, but it also seems quite shallow at others, including the offensive line and defensive secondary positions. The success of the 2014 Philadelphia Eagles' draft depends to a large part on how the Eagles decide to handle the combination of depth at some positions and shallowness at others in a way that matches team needs. This is a complicated draft this year and a lot rides on how picks fit together while anticipating what other teams do.

Below is my mock draft for the Eagles:

Player POS Round
Brandin Cooks WR 1
Kareem Martin ROLB 2
Rashaad Reynolds CB 3
Brock Vereen SS 4
Russell Bodine OC 5
Lavelle Westbrooks CB 7
Damian Copeland WR UDFA
George Atkinson RB UDFA
Matt Hazel WR UDFA
James Wilder RB UDFA
Kasim Edebali OLB UDFA
James Morris ILB UDFA
Anthony Hitchens OLB UDFA
Ryan Groy OG UDFA
Isaiah Lewis SS UDFA
John Urschel OG UDFA



While the Eagles are settled on the OL, they could use some depth on the line that has versatility and size. The 5th pick, UNC's Russell Bodine, offers the opportunity to add size at center while also adding his ability to play at guard. With the light rumors about Kelce's size being insufficient for Kelly's purposes it might not be such a bad idea to pick up a big guy who has solid experience at C and size enough to play G. Bodine's a mauler and his style fits the Kelly dive offense. The risk here with Bodine at 5 is that he could go as early as the 3rd round due to the shallow pool of OLmen. I'd like Bodine in the 4th or even the 3rd round if (a) he were significantly faster and (b) we desperately needed a C or G right away.

Russell Bodine Highlights

Unfortunately for the Eagles they need to rely on this draft in order to create healthy competition and depth across the defensive secondary. While Georgia Southern's Lavelle Westbrooks is a good pick at CB for the 7th round, he is a project, and like most projects, they never make it much further than the practice squad. Oregon State's Rashaad Reynolds, however, could easily be a starter on the current Eagles squad. While he is not the biggest guy he will contribute to run stopping with his skilled tackling. Reynolds also shows excellent agility, footwork and speed. In the 3rd round Reynolds is a value pick.

Rashaad Reynolds, vs. Wash St., 2013

If opportunities for drafting CBs seem limited, try safety and you'll see exactly the shallowness of this draft. The Eagles do need to add some quality into the mix and they may be able to do that in the 4th round with Minnesota's Brock Vereen. Vereen is a character guy who can cover but like Kurt Coleman he has short arms limiting his tackling ability somewhat. Vereen comes from a family of NFL guys and probably knows what it takes to succeed in this league and has athleticism that blows Coleman out of the water.

Brock Vereen vs Iowa 2013

The draft may be shallow on the OL and in the defensive secondary but it is anything but shallow with OLBs, DEs, RBs and WRs. 2014 is flush with wide receivers, allegedly at historic proportions as the hype machine says, but I think a team like the Eagles would be wise to take advantage of it deep and look for UDFA bargains like RBs George Atkinson and James Wilder, WRs Damian Copeland and Matt Hazel, and OLBs Kaseem Edebali and Anthony Hitchens.

Damian Copeland Highlights

Unfortunately the needs of the Eagles cannot be satisfied only with UDFAs at OLB and WR. It is my hope that the Eagles will draft home run propsects in Brandin Cooks in the 1st and Kareem Martin in the 2nd.

While Cooks doesn't have the size of Kelvin Benjamin or Mike Evans, he does have remarkable speed and agility that can easily translate into success as the deep guy in the Kelly offense. Imagine a guy who could bring all the speed of Desean Jackson but also add the ability to work more complicated routes, stick to them, and be a team leader. Oh, and still add height and weight.

Brandin Cooks Highlights

Kareem Martin, meanwhile, could easily learn from and quickly earn shared time with Trent Cole at the ROLB slot. Martin is special to watch with his freakish length and athleticism, and he is a leader who would fit well in a Kelly-run program.

Kareem Martin Highlights

With any draft the question is always whether you can improve your team. By emphasizing athleticism, size, character, and competition in the defensive secondary, the Eagles could improve by drafting Cooks, Martin, Reynolds, Vereen, Bodine, and Westbrooks.