NFL Draft Results: Eagles pick K’Von Wallace at No. 127

With the 127th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select ... Clemson safety K’Von Wallace!

The Eagles showed interest in Wallace leading up to the draft. They interviewed him at the Senior Bowl before scheduling some FaceTime meetings with him.

The Eagles had a need for some safety depth, as we previously wrote about:

The Eagles are counting on moving Jalen Mills to safety to successfully replace Malcolm Jenkins’ old role. That’s, uh, a rather large assumption to make. Even if the Mills transition does go well, he’s only on a one-year deal. The same goes for free agent signing Will Parks. Rodney McLeod re-signed to a two-year contract but he’s turning 30 and is coming off a poor season in pass coverage.

The Eagles don’t have any young safeties in the pipeline, unless for some reason you’re counting fringe NFL roster talents Marcus Epps and Rudy Ford. The Eagles need to add a safety who has a chance to be a future contributor.

It’ll be interesting to see how Wallace fits into the secondary picture. The 22-year-old is listed at safety but he played over 50% of his snaps in the slot as a senior. The Eagles sure do love their nickel defenders.

The guess here is Wallace will mainly be a backup and a special teams contributor as a rookie. He has the potential to earn a bigger role in the future. The Eagles could view Wallace in the Malcolm Jenkins mold due to his versatility.

Scouting report via NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

While he played some safety and a lot of big nickel in 2019, his biggest impact came when cutting it loose as a downhill blitzer, disrupting the run and smashing quarterbacks. Wallace plays with exceptional grit and tenacity. He unloads with everything he’s got on hit after hit. His hips may be too tight to hold up in man coverage and he lacks range as a high safety. He’s a potential backup safety capable of playing near the line and helping on special teams.

College stats via Pro Football Reference:

Spider graph via Mockdraftable:

Highlights:

Grade the pick

Remaining Eagles draft picks

1st - No. 21 - Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU

2nd - No. 53 - Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma

3rd - No. 103 - Davion Taylor, LB, Colorado

4th - No. 127 - K’Von Wallace, S, Clemson

4th - No. 145

4th - No. 146

5th - No. 168

6th - No. 190

Eagles’ top remaining needs

Wide receiver

Cornerback

Interior offensive line