Eagles Draft Picks 2017: Grade the Eagles’ selection of Sidney Jones

The Philadelphia Eagles selected Sidney Jones with the No. 43 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Ever since Jones tore his Achilles in early March, everyone wondered where he would fall in the draft. Prior to getting hurt, Jones was clearly one of the best cornerbacks prospects in this draft. Many had him as the No. 2 corner behind Marshon Lattimore. Jones seemed like the perfect pick for the Eagles at No. 14.

But then that injury happened, and now we’re here with Jones ending up being a second-round pick.

So, is this a good selection for the Eagles? There’s reason for optimism. If Jones can get healthy, the Eagles just may have gotten a steal. That would be great for Philadelphia considering how badly they need cornerback help.

But there’s also considerable downside to this pick. There’s really no guarantee Jones will come back 100% from his injury. And it seems very unlikely he’ll make much, if any, impact for the Eagles in 2017.

That’s not necessarily the worst thing in the world, though. It’s not like the Eagles figure to be Super Bowl favorites right now. Playing the long-game could end up serving them well.

Personally, I don’t hate this pick. I really wanted the Eagles to take him at No. 14 before the injury. But I’m not crazy excited about this selection. Again, we can’t undersell the fact that there’s considerable downside here. As BGN’s Dave Mangels pointed out earlier this offseason, taking injured players and stashing them for a year hasn’t worked out for a number of teams in recent history.

Jones is only 20 years old and he showed great signs of promise. This isn’t a bad pick by any means. But it’s not a slam dunk selection for me. I’m giving this a “B” grade.

How do you feel? Grade the pick yourself below.