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NFL Mock Draft Roundup 2018: Derrius Guice is a popular pick for the Eagles

Who should the Eagles pick?

NCAA Football: Texas A&M at Louisiana State Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The 2018 NFL Draft is less than a month away! Mock draft season is in full gear and there’s no shortage of opinion as to whom the Philadelphia Eagles might select with the No. 32 overall pick. Let’s take a look at which players the experts have the Eagles taking this week.

BGN Radio (Benjamin Solak) - Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon

Crosby is not a guy who blows your mind with athleticism. When I talk about him, I say he’s more smooth than explosive. Technique is also not going to blow you away. But this is a guy who is very controlled throughout his body, has ideal size, and ideal length. I think the foot quickness has improved during his time at Oregon.

SB Nation (Dan Kadar) - Orlando Brown, OT, Oklahoma

Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson was considered for this pick, but it’s a little high for him. People are down on Brown, but the mountainous blocker can sit for a year behind Jason Peters to get stronger and hone his footwork. What you can’t add with other blockers is pure size, and Brown has it. He often wins his blocking assignments thanks to sheer size and the extra time it takes edge rushers to get around him is enough for the quarterback to get the ball off.

ESPN Insider (Mel Kiper) - Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State

My best comp for Goedert after watching him closely in 2017? Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. So this pick would mean the Eagles get a ready-made replacement for Trey Burton (and Brent Celek). Philadelphia showed last season that there are plenty of snaps available for multiple tight ends. Goedert is an adequate blocker who will be a threat as a pass-catcher. This is a great situation for him.

Rotoworld (Josh Norris) - D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland

The Eagles are showing interest in RB, TE and WR prospects. Moore has some Randall Cobb and Percy Harvin to his game, in a bigger frame.

NFL.com (Peter Schrager) - Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville

The world champs add a talented cornerback to an already strong defensive backfield.

NFL.com (Lance Zierlein) - Derrius Guice, RB, LSU

The Eagles won the Super Bowl with a committee approach at RB last season. Guice gives them an every-down runner who flashed his enormous potential when he was healthy in 2016.

CBS Sports (Chris Trapasso) - Tyrell Crosby, OT, Oregon

Crosby isn’t the next Jason Peters, but he’s a similar type of offensive tackle who’s very mobile and dominates in the zone run game.

CBS Sports (R.J. White) - Justin Reid, S, Stanford

With two potential tackle options coming off the board right before their pick, the Eagles pivot to taking Reid, a safety they’ve reportedly had a lot of interest in. Corey Graham is a free agent, so Reid can come in and immediately fill the third safety role for the Philadelphia defense while giving them a long-term plan when Malcolm Jenkins or Rodney McLeod get too old or expensive to keep.

CBS Sports (Will Brinson) - Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State

After losing Trey Burton in free agency, the Eagles can go into the first round of the draft and start planning for the long haul with another tight end to pair with Zach Ertz.

DraftTek (Broz) - Maurice Hurst, DT, Michigan

The Eagles’ defensive line was given a healthy share of credit for the team’s championship run in 2017, and rightfully so. The success on the D-Line has given some fans a sense of over-confidence there; a common opinion is that a RD1 defensive lineman would fall into the “luxury pick” category. Even before the recent drama that has popped up in the news, I still considered D-Line a need for the Eagles. As the third DT, recently departed Beau Allen played over 40% of the defensive snaps in 2017. So when mulling over positions of importance on the defense, the third tackle (as well as third DE and nickel corner) should rank as a higher need than the third “starting” linebacker in the Eagles’ 4-3 scheme. It should also be noted that Jim Schwartz platoons linemen in and out of the game so frequently you might expect them to be wearing orange and black instead of midnight green. Not only would Wolverine DT Maurice Hurst represent a huge upgrade at the third defensive tackle spot, he’d also provide some much-needed competition for Tim Jernigan. As concerns of Hurst’s health problems slowly diminish (I mean, it’s not an MCL, people...it’s just a freaking heart), so do the chances that the best interior pass rusher in the draft will last until the 32nd pick. While Hurst’s stats are respectable (130 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and 31 TFL since 2015), you don’t truly appreciate the player until you watch him play.

NJ.com (Matt Lombardo) - Derrius Guice, RB, LSU

The Eagles lost LeGarrette Blount via free agency, and Jay Ajayi is in the final year of his contract. Guice has the potential to be a three-down bell-cow and star at the NFL level, which is exactly the kind of player that the Eagles should target to continue building around quarterback Carson Wentz.

SUMMARY

RB Derrius Guice - 2
TE Dallas Goedert - 2
OT Tyrell Crosby - 2
OT Orlando Brown - 1
DT Maurice Hurst - 1
S Justin Reid - 1
WR D.J. Moore - 1
CB Jaire Alexander - 1

OT - 3
RB - 2
TE - 2
DT - 1
S - 1
WR - 1
CB - 1

Offense - 8
Defense - 3

THOUGHTS

  • There are eight different players mocked to the Eagles this week.
  • Derrius Guice is one of the three most common options. On BGN Radio this week, NDT Scouting’s Jon Ledyard said that he’s heard Howie Roseman has a first-round grade on the LSU running back. Duce Staley is also reportedly a big fan of Guice. I don’t think Guice will fall to No. 32, but it would sure be fun if he did. Read more about Guice via Michael Kist’s scouting report on him.
  • The more I’ve thought about it, the more I can’t see the Eagles going tight end at No. 32. I discussed this more at length on Friday’s episode of BGN Radio.

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