2019 NFL Mock Draft: Eagles pick up a running back in the second round

There are 31 days until the 2019 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 25. Exactly one month away! We’re going to kill some time until then with our weekly Mock Draft Monday series. (You can also check out BGN’s latest mock draft roundup.)

This week’s mock draft goes two rounds deep. Here’s who SB Nation’s Dan Kadar has the Philadelphia Eagles taking with their three selections in the top 57 picks:

25. Philadelphia Eagles: Jerry Tillery, DL, Notre Dame: If Adderley were still available, he’d be the easy choice for the Eagles. With him gone, the safety value at No. 25 is questionable. Deionte Thompson of Alabama seems to be more in the second-round territory, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is more of a nickel corner. Tillery can provide the Eagles with good depth up front and can line up everywhere down the line.

53. Philadelphia Eagles (via Baltimore): Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic

57. Philadelphia Eagles: Max Scharping, OT, Northern Illinois

I’ve previously offered my thoughts on Tillery as the Eagles’ first-round pick. I think there’s a case to be made for him, even with Philly signing Malik Jackson in free agency. The trio of Fletcher Cox, Jackson, and Tillery would give the Eagles a real strong group of disruptive interior pass rushers.

Some may feel like Tillery is a reach at No. 25 but I don’t know that it’s so egregious. Daniel Jeremiah has Tillery as his No. 34 overall prospect. The Draft Network has him at No. 31. Rotoworld’s Josh Norris actually has him at No. 13 overall:

Age: 23 | Athletic Profile: 84th percentile. Where He Wins: Gives you a chance of winning a one on one rep every time he’s fortunate to have one. Won from a variety of alignments, face up or over top of a gap. Wins with immediate explosion or locking up, creating a balance advantage, and winning to one half of a blocker. It can be difficult to find interior players with balance, flexibility and explosion. He offers that combination. His awareness is at a high level, as even when his job is to create lanes for others, he still works towards the quarterback on a flat line when hitting depth. Add leverage and hand use to press above his eyes, and you’ve got a winner. Forecast: I know Tillery isn’t often ranked here, but he fulfills so many of my biases. He offers the potential to create disruption from the interior on every play.

With no guarantee that the Eagles can land Ed Oliver or Christian Wilkins, Tillery could be a real nice consolation prize.

But enough about that. Let’s get to the REAL reason you’re here for this mock draft: a running back! Omg! The Eagles finally address their biggest roster hole!

Singletary is a player we’ve previously discussed since Jeremiah said he sees him as a fit for Philly. BGN’s Michael Kist has the 5-7, 203 pound prospect as his fifth best running back in this year’s class:

The nation’s leader in touchdowns, with 52 trips to pay dirt in the last two years, rounds out the group. He isn’t going to wow you with a flashy athletic profile, but the more you watch his tape, the more you appreciate his game. He’s at one with contact and slips tacklers at an alarmingly high rate. From my article on Singletary back in December: “Pro Football Focus credits him with 89 broken tackles this season, which leads all other backs in the country by a comfortable 26. That’s an improvement on last year’s tally, when he broke 83 tackles. He’s been doing his thing for a while, amassing 714 carries, 4,289 yards and 66 touchdowns in his career at FAU.” It was smart for Singletary to declare early; he’s accrued 765 touches while at Florida Atlantic and needed to take advantage of a weaker running back class. Given the opportunity, Singletary is a solid complimentary piece to any backfield needing consistent production. Summary: Singletary projects as a “1b” that can be featured in spurts and will take time to develop in the passing game.

Singletary did not test well at the NFL Combine but his tape sure is intriguing. The way he cuts really reminds of you Eagles all-time leading rusher LeSean McCoy.

Singletary doesn’t project as a lead back but the Eagles haven’t truly employed one of those in the Doug Pederson era anyway. He could fit in Philly’s running back by committee approach.

Kadar’s final pick for the Eagles is an offensive tackle. The 6-6, 327 Scharping boasted good athleticism at the Combine. Here’s a scouting report from NFL.com:

Ascending tackle prospect with impressive combination of size and functional athletic ability. Scharping has the ability to handle bull-rushers and finds ways to recover and get guys blocked after getting beat early. However, NFL rushers will look to exploit the inconsistent footwork and balance that shows up when his pass sets become hurried and unfocused against true edge speed. He might get a shot at left tackle, but might be best-suited on the right side where he has the potential to become an above-average starter.

Jason Peters is 37 years old and Halapoulivaati Vaitai is currently set to be a free agent after this season. The Eagles could develop Scharping for a season before having him compete with Jordan Mailata for a starting job at tackle in 2020.

What do you think of this week’s picks?