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5 draft prospects who fit in Nick Sirianni’s offense

How the Eagles’ new head coach hire could impact the 2021 NFL Draft.

Kentucky vs Florida Photo by Courtney Culbreath/Collegiate Images/Getty Images

Nick Sirianni is the new head coach in Philadelphia, confirming the team’s dedication to revitalizing the offense and making sure scoring is the core of the Eagles’ identity. Now that there’s a hire and a staff to come, the next step will be filling out the team with the right personnel. In terms of predicting a draft philosophy, it is hard to gauge how much Sirianni will be straying from the offensive identity of his time with the Colts. After all, he didn’t call plays, but had a hand in play design and game planning. Here are some draft prospects that make sense for Sirianni’s offense, given what we know about him.

1 - DeVonta Smith, Wide Receiver, Alabama:

Duh. DeVonta Smith’s fit in Philadelphia was going to be good no matter who the coach was, but it’s hard to see his stock with the Eagles go anything but up with Nick Sirianni in the fold. Sirianni has spent the majority of his career coaching wide receivers and he will probably fall in love with DeVonta Smith’s technical proficiency.

2 - Rondale Moore, Wide Receiver, Purdue:

Sirianni’s offense has looked considerably different the last three seasons because the Colts have had three different starting quarterbacks. One constant, however, is the emphasis on establishing the short passing game and allowing receivers to pick up yards after the catch. Rondale Moore’s most obvious asset is his ability with the ball in his hands. Moore can play in the slot or stretch the field on the outside, giving Sirianni a TY Hilton-like player to get the ball to.

3 - Kyle Pitts, Tight End, Florida

Seeing that Nick Sirianni is a disciple of Frank Reich, he will probably love multiple tight end sets. With Zach Ertz’ future up in the air, it’s tempting to imagine Kyle Pitts coming into this offense. Pitts is a true chess piece for an offensive mind to move around an offense. He can line up out wide, in the slot, in the backfield or inline as a typical tight end. His freakish speed and above the rim ball skills make him an enticing prospect. Him and Dallas Goedert would create havoc in this offense.

4 - Alex Leatherwood, Offensive Lineman, Alabama

One of the strengths of the Indianapolis offense has been their physicality up front. Alex Leatherwood is a right tackle or guard prospect who brings strength, length and a hard-nosed style of play. As the Eagles look to get younger up front, Leatherwood makes sense as an early day two target who could bring some muscle to the offensive line.

5 - Javonte Williams, Running Back, UNC

The Colts offense has deployed running backs in a multitude of different ways over the last three years. While Indianapolis always had a 200+ carry back under Sirianni, the team spread the ball around to a committee behind them and tended to move them around the formation for mismatches. Miles Sanders and Boston Scott give the Eagles a lot of flexibility considering their pass catching ability and, for Sanders, homerun speed. However, it is easy to see a hole on the team where a bruiser could be. Javonte Williams comes to mind as a mid round answer to that need. Williams is a tackle-breaking machine who could line up in the backfield while the Eagles move Scott and Sanders around.

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