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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:
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Spider graph via Mockdraftable:
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Highlights:
Grade the pick
Poll
Grade the Eagles’ selection of K’Von Wallace at No. 127
This poll is closed
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26%
A
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50%
B
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17%
C
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2%
D
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2%
F
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