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Eagles should draft Best Player Available before TE in the first round

I know the Eagles need another Tight End to add depth at the position; however, I don’t believe the Eagles should Draft a Tight End with their First Draft pick in Round 1.  I believe the Eagles should draft the best player available on their Board when they make their selection in Round 1.

Tight End Mike Gesicki, from Penn State, will be gone before the Eagles make their Draft pick.  The best Tight Ends in this Draft Class are below/NFL Scouts’ rankings vary.

  1. Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 6′ 5″/247, Combine: 40/4.54, Bench/ 22 Reps, BJ/ 10′ 9″.
  2. Hayden Hurst, South Carolina, 6′ 4″/250, Combine: 40/4.67, Bench/DNP, BJ/10′.  DNP=Did Not Participate.  Many NFL Scouts rate Hurst as the most NFL-Ready Tight End in this Draft Class.  Hurst performed very well in Combine Pass Receiving Drills.  He’s considered to be most Athletic TE in Draft.
  3. Mark Andrews, Oklahoma, 6′ 5″/256, Combine 40/4.67, Bench/17 Reps, BJ/9′ 5″.  John Mackey Award Winner as College Football’s Outstanding Tight End in 2017 College Football Season.
  4. Dallas Goedert, S. Dakota State, 6′ 5″/256, Combine: Bench/23 Reps, Pro Day: BJ/10′ 1″, VJ/35″. Goedert hasn’t run 40 Yard Dash at Combine or his Pro Day because of a Hamstring injury.  Eagles’ TE Coach, Justin Peelle attended Goedert’s Pro Day to evaluate him.  Reports state that Goedert performed very good in Pass Catching Drills at his Pro Day Workout.
  5. Ian Thomas, Indiana, 6′ 4″/259, Combine: 40/4.74, Bench/DNP, BJ/10′ 3″.

I believe the Eagles should Draft one of the following three Draft Prospects who should be available when the Eagles pick.

USC Outside Linebacker/Edge, Uchenna Nwosu, 6′ 3″/251, Combine: 40/4.65, Bench/20 Reps, BJ/9′ 11″. In the 2017 College Football Season, Nwosu recorded 75 Tackles, 10 Sacks, 13 PD (Passes Defended), 1 Interception.  Nwosu is known as an excellent Linebacker/Edge Football player who is highly skilled and ferocious at rushing and sacking (10 Sacks) the Passer.  He is very disruptive to the Quarterback and the Offense.  He is productive, and a force at defending the pass and covering Receivers/Running Backs, as shown by his 13 Passes Defended, which is outstanding for an Outside Linebacker who is also effectively playing the Edge.  I believe USC Linebacker/Edge, Uchenna Nwosu, would be an excellent Draft selection for the Eagles as their 1ST Round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

LSU Wide Receiver D. J. Chark, 6′ 3″/199, Combine: 40/4.34, Bench/16 Reps, BJ/10′ 9″.  In 2017 College Season, Chark averaged 21.9 Yards Per Reception.  He blew up the Combine by running the fastest40/4.34 time for Wide Receivers, in addition to his display of Power with a 10′ 9″ Broad Jump.  Chark showed his Receiving skills at this year’s Senior Bowl by catching 5 Balls for 160 Yards.  He displayed his speed, elusiveness, and agility by evading Defensive Backs and accelerating past the DB’s to the End Zone.  The Corners at the Senior Bowl were unable to contain Chark, or prevent him from gaining 160 Yards in Pass Receptions.

Chark’s performance at the Combine and the Senior Bowl significantly raised his Draft stock for him to be considered among the top 5 Wideouts in this year’s WR Draft Class.  I rank him in the top three behind Alabama’s Calvin Ridley and Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk.  Chark should be on the board when the Eagles make their Draft selection in the first round.

Louisville Cornerback Jaire Alexander, 5′ 11″/196, Combine 40/4.38, Bench/14 Reps, BJ/10′ 7″.  Alexander had an outstanding Combine performance with a blazing 4.38 Forty.  I have Alexander ranked as the 3rd best Cornerback Prospect in this year’s Draft behind Ohio State CB Denzel Ward, and Iowa CB Josh Jackson.  Alexander is an impressive Athlete who is considered among the most Athletic Corners in the Draft who also possesses very good ball skills.  Alexander is a tough and instinctive Corner.  He’s very quick, and he has good closing speed on the ball, especially at the catch point.  He recognizes routes while staying close to Receivers on deep balls, and he has agility and speed to defend and close on comebacks, outs, and slants.  Alexander doubles as a Punt/Kickoff return, man.  He was injured in his 2017 Season which impaired his productivity.  He needs to display better run support and tackling skills.

I would like to see the Eagles select one of these outstanding Football Prospects on Draft day.  Maybe the Eagles can garner a trade somehow to secure an extra Draft pick in the second round to select one of these Tight Ends.  This is a good Tight End Draft Class.

This piece was put together by James Watkins, Jr. a former football scout, and the newest addition to Draft Diamonds.

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

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