Mel Kiper mock draft: Newest projection has Eagles adding to the trenches

The Godfather of Mock Drafts, Mel Kiper Jr., released his third version of how he thinks the 2023 first round will go earlier this week. There is a new team (Carolina Panthers) picking first overall and Kiper also projects a top-five trade, that doesn’t make much sense to me, but we don’t really care about any of that!

Let’s take a look at who he has the Birds selecting.

With Kiper projecting the top four quarterbacks going off the board in the first five picks there is bound to be some value for teams like Philadelphia, who you may remember is set at QB, in the bottom half of the top-10. The trenches aren’t always the sexiest way to build a team, but it is almost always the correct way.

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Kiper thinks the Eagles will take Northwestern Wildcats offensive lineman Peter Skoronski with their first, uh, first-round pick. A handsome genius who writes here on occasion is also high on Skoronski and thinks that the Birds could look his way at pick 10. Since guard Isaac Seumalo moved on in free agency, and center Jason Kelce is coming back on a one-year/farewell (???) deal, Philadelphia could use some reinforcements on the interior of the o-line. Skoronski played tackle in college but his measurements project him as a guard in the NFL.

Let’s stay in the trenches but switch to the other side of the ball for Philly’s second first-round selection. Kiper, and pretty much everyone else, likes Pitt Panthers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey.

If Kancey were to fall to the Eagles at No. 30, which Kiper is projecting, I’d imagine the Birds will be sprinting up to the podium to get their pick in. What’s that? The same handsome genius from before ALSO likes Kancey? Man, maybe that guy should be in charge of the draft for the Eagles this year? Kiper also mentions that the Eagles might look at a safety with pick No. 30 since C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps both left in free agency.