NFL Mock Draft 2016: Ezekiel Elliott to the Eagles is a fan favorite pick

NFL free agency has gone quiet and there are only 38 days until the 2016 NFL Draft is scheduled to take place on April 28. In the meantime, we're going to kill some time with our regular Mock Draft Monday series. Last week SB Nation's Dan Kadar had the Philadelphia Eagles taking a running back, yes, a running back at pick No. 8 overall. Guess who he has the Eagles taking again this week.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State - Running back value be damned, Elliott is regarded as one of the draft's 10 best players by NFL evaluators. In dropping DeMarco Murray after one season and moving into the top 10, the Eagles are in a position to pick Elliott. He can do everything you want in a running back and will give Philadelphia a player to build the offense around.

There's been a lot of debate about whether or not a running back makes sense in the first round. There's merit to both sides of the argument. I'm not going to rehash that here. Instead, I'm going to point out that Elliott to the Eagles is the most popular pick according to a recent poll here on Bleeding Green Nation.

Elliott, Hargreaves, and Stanley are the three players most commonly linked to the Eagles at this point in the draft process. As you can see, Elliott is favored over the other prospects.

The Eagles need a running back. They don't need to draft one as high as the No. 8 pick, and my expectation is they won't based on their history. I can't see Howie Roseman doing it. But I don't think the option should be completely off the table if the team truly sees Elliott as a special talent. He won't turn 21 until late July so he should have plenty of mileage on him.

What do you think of this week's pick?