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2020 NFL Draft rumors are abound as Thursday night approaches. And while they can be fun to discuss, it’s important to take everything we hear and read with a grain of salt.
With that in mind, let’s check out the latest Philadelphia Eagles buzz from SportsRadio 94WIP’s Howard Eskin.
“Well, I think they’re going to take a linebacker or move back. I have two things. Because I do not think — I mean, there are some mock drafts that have [Henry] Ruggs slipping to No. 21, I don’t know how Ruggs slips to 21. If [Justin] Jefferson is there, they would take Jefferson. I’ve had some people tell me [that the Eagles] really think Jefferson is good. And Chris Simms, who I had on last week, and is on my podcast right now, doesn’t like the Jerry Jeudy fit and has him no better than 25. But I don’t think he’s going to be there, either. So if you get a receiver there, either Ruggs or Jefferson … obviously CeeDee Lamb is not going to be there. Ruggs or Jefferson, I think they take him.
If they’re not there, I’ve talked to multiple people that like Patrick Queen, the linebacker out of LSU, better than [Kenneth] Murray out of Oklahoma. So, if Patrick Queen is there, because everyone has pumped up Murray.
And if none of them are there, I think they trade back and then still take a wide receiver. So, I’ll think they take a wide receiver somewhere … whether it’s at 21, 21 if he’s there, if the linebacker Queen is not there, they’ll move back and probably take a wide receiver there.”
Summarizing the Eagles’ realistic preferences at No. 21 as suggested by Eskin:
1) Justin Jefferson (or Henry Ruggs III if he unexpectedly falls)
2) Patrick Queen
3) Trade back and take a wide receiver
Eskin is just the latest of many voices to suggest the Eagles really like Jefferson and would take him at No. 21. There’s thought that Jefferson won’t even make it to Philly’s pick, however. A small trade up might be necessary to ensure the Jaguars don’t take him at No. 20 and also to block other teams from moving ahead of the Eagles to select the LSU pass catcher.
The linebacker stuff is interesting because there continues to be talk that the Eagles could really select one in the first round for the first time since 1979. Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah has Philly taking Murray at No. 21 but Eskin seems to indicate the Eagles prefer Queen.
Trading back to take a receiver is a tricky game because the Eagles can’t move down too far in the order. They don’t want to find themselves sitting on their hands as a run on that position starts to begin. The likes of Jalen Reagor or Denzel Mims or Brandon Aiyuk are probably in the trade back tier.
Of course, there was also a rumor out there last week that was claiming the Eagles are “aggressively pursuing” a trade up for CeeDee Lamb. So, who truly knows what this team is planning.
We’ll find out soon enough in just a couple of days.