Alabama Sending 5, but Who Will be Last Man Standing in Draft Green Room?
PHILADELPHIA - There will be people and there will be players at the 2021 NFL Draft in Cleveland, which kicks off on Thursday night with the first round and runs through Saturday.
It will be unlike last year when the entire draft was done virtually.
The league isn’t going crazy with the number of people who will be allowed to attend, but the expectation is it will feel a little more like normal this year than last year.
Still, just 13 players have been invited to attend, each of whom is expected to be taken in the first round.
Five of those players are from Alabama: receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, defensive back Patrick Surtain II, quarterback Mac Jones, and defensive tackle Christian Barmore.
One of them could be an Eagle.
It won’t be Jones, who is expected to be the third overall selection, going to the 49ers.
It won’t be Barmore, unless the Eagles trade down, with, say, the Chicago Bears at No. 20. Unlikely, though.
It probably won’t be Surtain, who seems ticketed to go to the Cowboys at No. 10.
It could be Waddle or Smith. One of those pass-catchers could be gone by the time the Eagles make the 12th overall selection. If one is there – no matter which one – the Eagles could take him.
Or they could go a completely different direction.
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There was a report by Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline that the Eagles have a real interest in Michigan edge Kwity Paye.
Pauline will hold a conference call together with PFN’s Trey Wingo on Wednesday morning, shortly after Pauline’s mock draft is released.
Anything is possible for the Eagles.
In addition to the five Alabama players who will attend the festivities on Thursday night, the others expected to be in Cleveland are North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, Miami edge Gregory Rousseau, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Virginia Tech DB Caleb Farley, and Northwestern OL Rashawn Slater.
Slater is being mocked to the Eagles with the 12th pick by SI.com’s Eagle Maven contributor, John McMullen.
The NFL will also have 45 other players participate virtually, including presumptive No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson quarterback.
There are odds from Vegas as to which of the 13 players will be “the last man standing” in the green room while waiting to hear his name called.
Barmore is the favorite followed by Rousseau and Farley.
Here are the odds:
1. Christian Barmore: +125
2. Gregory Rousseau: +185
3. Caleb Farley: +1100
4. Micah Parsons: +2900
5. Rashawn Slater: +4500
6. Patrick Surtain II: +7000
7. Mac Jones: +7500
8. Jaylen Waddle: +8000
9. DeVonta Smith: +8000
10. Trey Lance: +15000
11. Ja’Marr Chase: +25000
12. Kyle Pitts: +27500
13. Zach Wilson: +30000
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
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