Philadelphia Eagles 2019 NFL Draft Grades and Assessment

Eagles Draft Grades and Alternate Possibilities 

Overall Grade: B

Round 1: Andre Dillard OT, Washington State 6’5” 315: Grade A

The Eagles traded up a few spots for Dillard and it was worth it! He’s the prospect that I wanted most and it’s amazing that we got him. He has good size and height with decently long arms. He’s one of the best pass blockers in the NFL and should be a great LT for many years to come. He’s also extremely athletic for an OT. One of the most athletic. He will need to work on his run blocking, but is a great prospect. He’ll be able to fill in for any injured offensive lineman this year and take over for Jason Peters when he retires.

Round 2: Miles Sanders RB, Penn State 5’11” 211: Grade A-

The Eagles needed a running back to fill the shoes of Darren Sproles. They traded for Jordan Howard from the Bears, but his contract only lasts one more year. Howard is a decent running back with some power, but isn’t very shifty or a great pass catcher. Sanders has the chance to be a great every down back. He needs to become more explosive, but I think he can do that. He’ll have a chance to develop behind Howard for a year before he becomes the man. Sanders has only one year of production because he played behind Saquon Barkley (Greatest running back prospect of all time, who proved it in his rookie year). Sanders had a reasonable six yard average and tested very well at the combine in the shuttle and three cone drills. He shows on tape that he has good balance and shiftiness to make people miss and stay on his feet. He also has good power in his leg drive. He doesn’t have great explosiveness or top speed, but he’s more likely to succeed than someone like Darrell Henderson who does have those attributes, but isn’t as shifty.

Other options: we could have signed TJ Yeldon in free Agency and gone with Sharping here. I also would have preferred to trade this pick for Duke Johnson, RB on the Browns. 

Max Sharping OT/G, Northern Illinois 6’6” 327, Round 2/3, – He is very big at 327, but is still very athletic. He has some issues with his balance and footwork, but still graded very well as a pass blocker and a run blocker. He’s probably better as a RT than a LT. He’s another player that the Eagles should target in the second or third round. He could have filled in for Brandon Brooks while he’s injured and then taken over for Isaac Seumalo.

Round 2: J.J. Arcega-whiteside WR, Stanford 6’2” 225: Grade B- 

The Eagles didn’t need a WR and there were better receivers still available if they wanted to pick one. He has pretty good size and long arms. He had a decent senior year with over a thousand yards and 14 TDs. He also had a good career average of 16.4 yards per catch. His 40 time was also good at 4.5. Unfortunately, his other measurables are not good and it shows on tape. He had a poor 34 inch vertical, a 9’11” board, a 4.41 shuttle, and a 7.23 cone drill. All of these numbers are bellow average and are not NFL caliber numbers. That being said, he didn’t do well in college because of his athleticism or ability to get open. And Players do succeed with his level of athleticism, namely Anquan Boldin. He did well because of his long arms, and ability to win 50/50 balls. He is strong and has great hands. He is able to box defenders out and make contested catches. He has a chance to be a good NFL starter.

Prospects I would have taken instead:

If we wanted a WR here, I would have preferred to draft D.K. Metcalf who is taller with longer arms and much more straight-line speed. 

I would have taken Juan Thornhill:

Juan Thornhill Safety, Virginia 6’0” 205: Round 2/3– I’d take him in the second. He has great athleticism, enough to play cornerback in the NFL. He also had many passes broken up and six interceptions during his senior year.  

Justin Layne CB, Michigan St. 6’2” 192: Round 2– He has great height and good explosiveness. He isn’t as much of an elite athlete as some, but seems to be enough of an athlete. He has many pass break ups in his senior year.

Round 4: Shareef Miller EDGE, Penn State 6’4” 254: Grade C-

Miller has okay size and good arm length. He doesn’t look very strong and really has no bull rush. His first step isn’t that impressive either. He doesn’t look great against the run. His stats are okay. His tackle numbers are low but his 15 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks are decent. His 40 is middle of the road. His bench reps and vertical jump are the worst out of ever EDGE rusher. His shuttle is on the lower end, and he had no cone drill. His highlights are okay, but several times, he was unblocked or part of a group tackle. He’s fine for a 4^th round pick and could develop into an okay player.

Players that I would have drafted instead: There were some good LBs with potential and we also need an LB.

Blake Cashman LB, Minnesota 6’1” 237: Round 5/6 – While he’s not known as being super athletic he tested very well at the combine and he looks quick to me on tape. He had over a hundred tackles his senior year and 15 tackles for a loss. He also had 10.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks during his sophomore year.

Ben Burr-Kirven LB, Washington 6’0” 230, Round 6/7– Smaller at 230, but he is extremely athletic with an excellent 40 time of 4.56 and great shuttle and cone times of 4.09 and 6.85. He was productive throughout college, but had a ridiculous 176 tackles his senior year.

Cole Holcomb LB, North Carolina 6’1 231: Round 6 – Great athleticism with a 4.5 in the 40, an 11’ broad, a 4.14 shuttle and a 6.77 three cone. He was also very productive with 312 tackles in three years and 12 passes defended. He also had 4 forced fumbles during his senior year.

Round 5: Clayton Thorson QB, Northwestern, 6’4” 222 Grade: B-

He doesn’t have any combine measurable, but moves decently well in the pocket. He’s not super fast, but he did have many TDs on QB sneaks. His stats are terrible. He had only 6.3 yards per catch, and threw way too many interceptions and not a lot of touch downs. He does have many starts though. His arm talent seems decent with decent power. His release is a little slow and his accuracy is just okay on long and intermediate throws. His short throw accuracy is good. He makes some bad decisions and sometimes throws into double coverage. He goes through his progressions well. He took a lot of sacks, many of which were his fault, but his offensive line was average as well. He didn’t have great receivers to throw to. He’s a developmental prospect with some potential.

Player that I would have drafted instead:

Cole Holcomb LB, North Carolina 6’1 231: Round 6 – Great athleticism with a 4.5 in the 40, an 11’ broad, a 4.14 shuttle and a 6.77 three cone. He was also very productive with 312 tackles in three years and 12 passes defended. He also had 4 forced fumbles during his senior year.