Rumor: Courtland Sutton was one of the players the Eagles were considering if they stayed at pick No. 32

The notion that the Philadelphia Eagles wanted to trade out of the No. 32 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft was one of the worst kept secrets heading into that first night.

Sure enough, the Eagles got their wish after the Baltimore Ravens traded up to get Lamar Jackson.

But what if Jackson didn’t fall that far? And what if the Eagles were stuck at No. 32 with no real appetizing trade offers on the table?

If that turned out to be the case, the Eagles might have added a new wide receiver to their team instead of a new tight end. Here’s an interesting note from Sports Illustrated:

Speaking of the 32nd overall pick, one nugget I picked up over the past week was that the Eagles would’ve considered SMU receiver Courtland Sutton there, among others, had they not found a trade partner. Sutton went eight picks later, to Denver, and Philly wound up with Dallas Goedert at 49 instead (the Ravens and Eagles also swapped 4s as part of the deal). Not a bad outcome for the champs.

This rumor isn’t hard to believe. Sutton himself said the Eagles showed the most pre-draft interest in him. Philadelphia had a formal meeting with him at the NFL Combine and also brought him to the NovaCare Complex for a pre-draft visit.

In addition to all of that, there was a pre-draft rumor about the Eagles looking to add an “impact wide receiver” to their roster.

Ultimately, the Eagles didn’t value Sutton enough to take him at No. 32. They decided to trade down to No. 49 and pick up Baltimore’s 2019 second-round pick (and jump up seven spots in the fourth round) instead.

As a result from their trade, the Eagles selected Dallas Goedert at No. 49 and Avonte Maddox at No. 125. Then they still have the Ravens’ second in next year’s class. Would you rather have all that over Sutton? I’d say yes. And that’s no disrespect to Sutton, who could turn out to be a nice player. I just think the Eagles got the better value in this case.

What say you?