Eagles NFL Draft Grade

Eagles Overall Draft Grade: C Because of trade. (If we had these picks and didn’t trade it would be a B)

Carson wentz, QB- If we had the number two pick in the first place and wanted to make this pick it

would be a B. If we factor in the many picks that we gave up to trade up, then the pick would be a D. The reason the pick gets a D is because we already had two capable QBs. It doesn’t make sense to sign Bradford and Daniels to huge contracts if we didn’t have faith in them. If we were going to trade up we should not have signed Bradford.

Carson has potential. He is big, has a strong arm, and goes through his progressions well. He is athletic, but not super athletic. He played in the former 1AA level, which is below the top level of football. He also only started a year and a half. He could work out and if he does, it will be a good move. The odds of it working out are probably forty percent. If it doesn’t work out we will be hard pressed to be a good team since we lost so many draft picks.

Grade: B, if we didn’t trade up. Grade: D, since we traded up.

Isaac Seumalo, G – I like Isaac a lot. I hoped that we would be able to get him later in the draft though since he was originally projected to go in the 5th. He is one of the more athletic guards. He needs to get a little stronger, but otherwise he has good potential to start at guard in the near future. He could potential play tackle also since he has good feet and is athletic. He’s a little shorter than a lot of OTs, but he has good arm length.

Grade: A-

Wendell Smallwood, RB – On first inspection Wendell seems like he could be a good running back. He had 1,519 rushing yards and a 6.4 yard average. He also caught the ball well during his career and had 618 receiving yards in three years. He also has good measurable. A 4.42 and a 6.83 3cone. His other numbers are reasonable, but not great. Everything looks good until you put on his tape. He is a one speed player. If a hole is there he can go through it and he is reasonably fast. He doesn’t seem like a 4.4 player though. He isn’t very explosive through the hole either. He doesn’t have power and his lateral agility isn’t that impressive for being a smaller guy. He simply isn’t that impressive. He is pretty much the same running back as Kenjon Barner (the Eagles third RB), but he isn’t as fast or explosive and doesn’t cut as well. The Eagles missed out on DeAndre Washington earlier in the round which isn’t their fault, but Jonathan Williams was still available. He is better at cutting and quicker feet even though he weights 12 more pounds. He is more explosive and way more powerful. He doesn’t have the same top speed, but he will be a much better running back. Alex Collins was also a better back that was still available. Lastly, if we were going to take a running back that isn’t good, we should have taken Kentrell Brothers ILB.

Grade: D -

Halapoulivaati Vaitai, OT – I’m really wary about Halapoulivaati. He is big at 320 6’6, and he benches well, but he doesn’t have the core strength needed to play guard at this time. He could develop it so he has a chance to be a good Guard. He doesn’t seem to be athletic enough to play tackle and will get beat by speed rushers. There were times that he got destroyed by speed. His feet aren’t good enough to play tackle. He also plays with too high pad level, which will give him problems with bull rushers. He is taller than preferred to play guard, but it seems like he’s going to have to play guard. Lastly, he doesn’t get much push in the run game. He has potential, but I would have chosen Mortiz Boehringer WR or Elandon Roberts ILB.

Grade: C-

Blake Contess, CB – He has some potential. He seems to be athletic enough based on his measurable. His statistics are reasonable also. He is light though at 184 and isn’t great in run support since he takes bad angles and is weak. He will probably have to play nickel corner. If we didn’t trade up to take Wentz, I would have taken Brandon Allen QB here. We could have also considered Mitch Mathews WR or James Cowser LB.

Grade: B-

Jalen Mills, FS – He is athletic enough for Safety or even corner back. He has good size at 6 foot, but if he is going to play safety he should bulk up from his current 191 weight. He adds depth and has potential to be a slot corner back. He could play safety if he gets bigger and gets better against the run. For a seventh round pick he isn’t bad. We could have considered Dwayne Washington RB, or Aaron Green RB or James Cowser LB, or Tyler Matakevich LB here.

Grade: B+

Alex McCalister, DE – He has potential. He shows ability to rush the passer. He is much too small though to play DE right now. He needs to put on 20 lbs at least. He is athletic and could probably bulk up and keep his speed. He is a project with some upside. He had pretty good statistics for being a part time rusher. He simply needs to get much bigger and stronger. He also has some character concerns according to NFL.com I don’t hate the pick but once again I would have probably taken We could have considered Aaron Green RB, James Cowser LB, Scooby Wright III, or Tyler Matakevich LB here.

Grade: B+

Joe Walker, ILB – Joe has potential. He is athletic enough to play linebacker in the NFL. He has reasonable statistics, but nothing that impressive. On tape he seems to be athletic enough, but he takes bad angles and is fooled by jukes. He doesn’t seem that impressive on tape but there is limited tape. He has some potential for a 7^th round pick. I would have considered Aaron Green RB, Brandon Burks RB, James Cowser LB, Justin Zimmer DT, or Beau Sandland TE here.

Grade: B