Top Target Or Off The Board? The Importance Of The Eagles' Medical Staff

Talk about extremes. UCLA's Laiatu Latu may be the Eagles' top target on Thursday night or he could be wiped from the organization's board.

PHILADELPHIA -  When predicting the NFL Draft, outsiders always work with incomplete information.

And there is one aspect of the evaluation process that can upset the apple cart of any educated guess: the medical checks.

The idea of red-flagging players for medical concerns is generally misunderstood in the NFL. Here in Philadelphia, the Eagles rarely completely remove a player from consideration but they can be relegated to only Day 3 consideration in what is essentially a cost-benefit analysis.

Perhaps the best recent example of that policy was DK Metcalf in the 2019 draft, a player selected No. 64 overall by Seattle.

In the ensuing years, Metcalf has proven to be a first-round talent and more importantly has provided that kind of production for the Seahawks, amassing three 1,000-yard seasons and at least 900 yards in all five of his professional campaigns.

Many Eagles fans will bring up the name Metcalf to this day, noting the Philadelphia personnel department took bust J.J. Arcega-Whiteside seven spots before the Seattle star. It hasn’t helped that Metcalf has had his way with the Eagles on several occasions as well.

What those fans don’t know, however, is that Metcalf was deemed off-limits until Day 3 by the medical staff because of a neck fusion surgery he had to undergo. And the Eagles weren’t the only organization to make that decision.

The Seahawks felt the juice was worth the squeeze at No. 64 in the second round and have reaped the benefits ever since.

“We put a grade based on what we think the player is going to be, not only this year but what the player is going to be three, four, five years down the line when we develop them at, really, the best of their abilities,” Eagles’ general manager Howie Roseman said at his pre-draft availability earlier this month. “And then we come in and we meet with the doctors.”

From there, everything can change in an instant.

“Our doctors are a huge part of this process. We are not experts in that field, and so we take their guidance on that,” Roseman said. "… So you know, a lot of times, you’re looking at a player, you love a player, but there’s concern about, you know, being able to get into the second contract, and so you’ve got to weigh that and where you’re willing to take the guy versus maybe a guy at the same level at a different position, or maybe a click below, but the guy hasn’t missed a game and you feel really confident.

"I think that’s all the information that goes into weighing these decisions.”

Dr. David Chao, a former team doctor for the San Diego Chargers, reviewed Metcalf’s injury from video at the time.

“In reviewing the video, Metcalf does not suffer a catastrophic neck fracture,” Chao wrote. “He likely has a fusion at one level to treat disc herniation and/or ligamentous instability. Many players have continued their career from a single level fusion surgery. This does put increased stress on the level above and below, but in and of itself does not preclude football or amount to much of a medical downgrade. If he needed a second level fused, that indeed would jeopardize his career.” 

The Eagles’ medical staff and every other one around the NFL had the complete picture, however.

The Metcalf case is relevant here in 2024 because there is another top prospect who had to medically retire for a period at the University of Washington in edge rusher Laiatu Latu.

Latu eventually returned to the game at UCLA and proved very durable. A clean medical history and Latu would likely be a potential top-10 pick. He’s expected to land in the bottom half of the first round and the Eagles brought him in for a top-30 visit, exhausting all avenues to ascertain whether Latu is a viable option for them in the first round.

Two days before the draft, Latu could be the Eagles’ top target as they start the process at No. 22 overall or be wiped from consideration if Dr. Arsh Dhanota, Philadelphia’s chief medical officer, recommended the organization take a safer route.

A fly on the wall may have that information. Your favorite draftnik does not.

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