Eagles held at least seven pre-draft visits before they got shut down by the coronavirus pandemic

I have to say ... coronavirus has been a huge hit to my brand as the guy who tracks the Philadelphia Eagles’ pre-draft visits each year. To be clear, my angle in these cancellations is also the least important thing to be impacted by COVID-19.

But not even a global pandemic can shut me down entirely. I previously tracked five of the Eagles’ visits that took place before the NFL mandated quarantining. Now we have word of two more thanks to Justin Melo (@JustinM_NFL) of Music City Miracles. (Justin’s also been doing a great job of reporting which prospects have FaceTimed with certain teams. I’ll be rounding those up in my annual pre-draft interest tracker, which will obviously be relatively sparse this year.)

The two names to add to the previous list are: LSU offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles and Utah defensive tackle Leki Fotu. Let’s take a closer look at each prospect.

SAAHDIQ CHARLES

Charles, 20, mostly played left tackle at LSU. He missed games in his last two years with the Tigers due to both disciplinary and injury reasons. Those issues are likely what prompted the Eagles to invite him to Philly so they can gain more information on his situation.

Charles profiles as a Day 3 pick. The Eagles could have interesting in selecting him as a developmental offensive lineman. Philly has a need for tackle depth with Halapoulivaati Vaitai leaving in free agency and Jason Peters potentially not returning as well. There’s currently no clear cut swing tackle behind expected starters Andre Dillard and Lane Johnson. Maybe the Eagles view Charles as capable of being their next Big V.

Scouting report from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

Charles is a plus-athlete with good bend and agility but the lack of core strength could linger as a concern early in his career. He needs to play with better snap quickness and body control to help him control both the first and second phases of run blocks. He’s not a waist-bender, but he does play too far forward in both run and pass blocking and defenders took advantage of that. Charles has a corral mentality in his pass sets even though he shows decent sustain and mirror once he gets locked in. His ability to recover is a big saving grace in his favor right now. He lacks desired tackle size and is still a work in progress, but he has enough traits to warrant consideration as a swing tackle with guard potential.

Spider graph via Mockdraftable:

LEKI FOTU

Fotu, who turns 22 in August, is a massive defensive lineman at 6-5, 330 pounds. He finished his college career with 82 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles, and three pass deflections.

The Eagles are already pretty set at defensive tackle — in the short-term, at least — with Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, and Javon Hargrave as the main trio. The team also re-signed Hassan Ridgeway as a favorite to win the fourth spot in the rotation. With that said, the Eagles will need to consider the future of the position with Cox and Jackson both being 30 by the end of the 2020 season.

But Fotu doesn’t profile as the type of player the Eagles should be highly valuing. Run-stuffing defensive lineman are pretty fungible.

Scouting report from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

Fotu was put into position to try to make plays in the Utah scheme, but with his massive frame and natural strength, he’s much more likely to be groomed as a two-gapping, odd-front nose. His athletic ability is fairly impressive for his size, but his impact in the biggest games felt a little overstated after studying tape. He needs to play with better bend and more consistent anchor to squeeze the interior and fulfill his potential as a run-plugger. His draft value could be capped because he’s an early down player who offers no real rush value.

Spider graph via Mockdraftable:

Read more about the other five known visits by using the links below.

Complete list of known Philadelphia Eagles draft visits

LSU OT Saahdiq Charles

Utah DT Leki Fotu

Alabama DE Terrell Lewis - [Click here]

Wyoming LB Logan Wilson - [Click here]

Colorado LB Davion Taylor - [Click here]

UCLA CB Darnay Holmes - [Click here]

Louisiana Tech CB Amik Robertson - [Click here]