NFL Mock Draft 2017: Two rounds of picks

There are only 17 days until the 2017 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 27. Just a little over two weeks to go! Let’s kill some time until then with our weekly Mock Draft Monday series. (Feel free to also check out our latest 2017 mock draft roundup.)

SB Nation’s Dan Kadar had the Eagles selecting running back Christian McCaffrey at No. 14 last week. In his two round mock this week, Kadar has the Eagles still going with the Stanford running back in the first round.

Running back or wide receiver, McCaffrey will make plays all over the place in Philadelphia’s offense.

As seen in BGN’s aforementioned mock draft roundup, McCaffrey is a popular pick for the Birds. There might be good reason for this. A panel of NFL experts recently told Peter King that Philadelphia is where McCaffrey is likely to end up. There’s also a rumor out there about the Eagles being one of the teams most interested in McCaffrey.

But while I’m all for the Eagles making serious upgrades to the running back position, I really just don’t expect them to go that direction in the first round. We’ll see.

We’ve talked about McCaffrey enough by now. Let’s look at who Kadar has the Eagles taking in the second round at No. 43.

43. Philadelphia Eagles: Adoree’ Jackson, CB, Southern California

Philadelphia is extremely thin at cornerback, and Jackson could push his way into the starting lineup as a rookie.

Interesting pick. Jackson is one of the more unique players in this draft class. The 21-year-old cornerback also lined up on offense and special teams for USC.

As a defender, Jackson finished his three-year college career with 139 tackles, 28 passes defensed, six interceptions (five in 2016), three forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown. As a receiver, Jackson had 39 receptions for 628 yards (16.1 average) and six scores. He also gained 92 yards on 15 rushing attempts (6.1 average).

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Jackson was also featured as both a kick and punt returner. On 79 kick returns, he averaged 27.1 yards and scored four touchdowns. On 46 punt returns, he averaged 12.6 yards and scored four touchdowns. The kid can clearly make plays.

Jackson ranks as the seventh best cornerback prospect this year in BGN’s draft rankings.

7. Adoreé Jackson, USC: On the flip side of the athletic spectrum, Adoreé Jackson not only is an awesome athlete, but he consistently got better every year he was at USC. While he is still inconsistent in coverage, the flashes he has in terms of ball skills are absolutely amazing. Also he is a hell of a return man. He has one of the higher ceilings for a cornerback in this class and if he continues to get better, he should hit that ceiling sooner than later.

Not only could Jackson be a potential solution to the Eagles’ cornerback problem, but he could also fill Philadelphia’s need for a new returner now that Josh Huff and Kenjon Barner are gone and Darren Sproles will be retiring after this season.

Check out Jackson’s highlights below.

So, what do you think of this week’s picks?