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NFL Mock Draft 2020: 100 days away from the first round

Right WR fit for Philly?

College Football Playoff National Championship - Clemson v LSU Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

There are exactly 100 days remaining until the 2020 NFL Draft. What better way to kill some time than by looking at who the Philadelphia Eagles might select at pick No. 21? Here’s the latest mock draft from SB Nation’s Dan Kadar:

21. Philadelphia Eagles: Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson

Higgins may have only had three receptions in Monday night’s national title game, but he still profiles as a No. 1 receiver option in the NFL. As the season wore on, it was obvious that the Eagles need weapons on offense. A receiver like Higgins should be the first of a few added in this draft.

Higgins is the fifth wide receiver off the board in this scenario. The four who went ahead of him: Jerry Jeudy, CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs III, and Laviska Shenault.

We all know receiver is a huge need for the Eagles this offseason. Alshon Jeffery’s future is very much up in the air. Do the Eagles find a way to move on from him? Even if he is back, when will the 30-year-old be healthy following his Lisfranc injury? DeSean Jackson is expected to be back but he’ll be turning 34 years old and the Eagles can’t possibly count on him to stay healthy for all 16 games. Nelson Agholor is a free agent and he won’t be back. JJ Arcega-Whiteside cannot be counted upon as a sure thing in Year 2 after a disappointing rookie season. Greg Ward, Robert Davis, and Deontay Burnett aren’t locks to even make the 2020 roster, though Ward at least has a realistic shot.

But is Higgins the right fit for Philly? Scouting report from RotoExperts:

The elephant in the room with Tee Higgins at the combine and during the draft is going to be his long-speed. He has been measured at 6’5, 190 pounds which is a very odd size for a wide receiver (i.e we would expect him to weigh more like 210-220 pounds at that height) but the bigger issue is that it was reported he ran a 4.75 40 coming out of high school. Now, he is definitely going to be faster at 21 than he was 18 and I think there is enough evidence in the Alabama and Ohio State games that he has functional athleticism but certainly will not be a burner. We have seen over the last few years a real divergence in the types of wide receivers that find success. Boundary wide receivers like Mike Evans don’t technically NEED to have 4.4’s speed (but it helps).

The reasons to be really positive on Higgins are that he is really is perfectly sized for a modern-day NFL X wide receiver. NFL teams will not find it hard to develop a muscle + diet program to get Higgins to the right weight. At 6’4 with a dominator rating north of 25% in his two full-time playing season and at the age of 21 (will start his rookie at year at 21 and a half), he checks a lot of the boxes that we look at in an early-round selection at wide receiver.

In a vacuum, Higgins is an intriguing talent due to his size and jump ball ability. But the Eagles desperately need to add speed to their roster. It’s been frustrating to watch two straight seasons of slow, plodding players fail to generate explosive plays. Higgins made big plays at Clemson; he averaged 18.1 yards per reception and scored 27 touchdowns. But it’s not like he was a true burner who was regularly generating a ton of separation. It’s hard not to be wary of his profile.

What say you?

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