NFL Mock Draft 2016: Everyone is mocking Ezekiel Elliott to the Eagles

The 2016 NFL Draft is only one month (31 days) away from tonight. 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 Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott. This week he has the Birds taking ... the same player at No. 8 overall.

There is a reason the Eagles were willing to take on Byron Maxwell's terrible contract, and it's likely because there is a player inside the top 10 they want. Elliott could be the guy. He may not be as good as Todd Gurley last year, but it's very close. He's a plug-and-play three-down running back who should be a star early in his career.

Elliott is by far and away the player most commonly mocked to the Eagles at this point of the offseason. 19 out of 39 mocks (48.7%) in our mock draft roundup have the Birds drafting the Ohio State rusher. The next closest player is Ronnie Stanley, who only appeared in nine out of the 39 mocks.

Would the Eagles really take a running back in the first round, though? Executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman didn't rule out the possibility.

"There’s this narrative that you can get running backs in the fifth, sixth, seventh round and undrafted free agency," Roseman said during a morning break. "But when you look back at the last ten years of guys that are really in the top ten in rushing, those guys are high picks.

"And so, when you find a special talent at that position, that guy who can run the ball, who can pass protect, who can catch the ball out of the backfield, that’s a unique weapon."

There are mixed feelings about Elliott. BGN's Ben Natan writes he's the best player in this year's draft class. BGN's Dave Mangels writes the Eagles should not draft Elliott. I'm going to make a case for why the Eagles should draft him at some point this week. As if you couldn't get enough Zeke talk.

So what do you think of this week's pick?