Does Drafting A Safety Early Make Sense For Eagles? One Analyst Makes His Case

What will Eagles general manager Howie Roseman do in the NFL draft? That is always the question around this time of year, even though the annual selection process won’t begin until April 24.

He is one of the more unpredictable GMs in the league, trading for A.J. Brown as the first round of the draft began in 2022 and, last year, trading up to select Cooper DeJean in the second round, to name just a couple of his wide-ranging draft maneuvers.

NFL Network Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah used to work in a lot of NFL scouting departments and was a national scout for the Eagles’ front office from 2010-12. He knows Roseman well, and he spoke to nearly 200 reporters across the country on Thursday to preview the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins in Indianapolis on Feb. 27 with on-field drills.

“I wouldn't rule anything out with Howie and going either direction (in a trade up or back), but their roster is in such great shape,” said Jeremiah. “We'll see what happens with free agency. They have some key guys there, but they have so much roster depth.

“They're traditionally a big line of scrimmage team in the draft, and this is a draft especially on the defensive side (where) there's depth and quality there. If somebody wants to jump up, I could easily see them sliding back and trying to get some more shots at it here on Day 2. I think there's a lot of value in day 2 in this year's draft class. That would be more likely to me than moving north.

“I think it would be moving south. Again, don't rule anything out with them. When in doubt, just sit there and wait for some uber-talented Georgia, Alabama player to fall into their lap.”

Jeremiah has another Georgia player falling in Roseman’s lap - safety Malaki Starks with the 32nd and last pick after winning Super Bowl LIX. Safety doesn’t seem like a great need, but if Starks is there, he could be the best player available and that makes sense.

The Eagles have never drafted a safety in the first round – even Brian Dawkins came in the second – and the team has starters Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson signed through next season. They also have Sydney Brown, who struggled with various injuries after rehabbing a torn ACL for the first half of the year.

The thing about Starks is he plays in the slot, too. That is DeJean’s home, though he can play outside as well. So, maybe Starks gives the Eagles position versatility if they want to flop DeJean to the outside at some point, depending on what they do with Darius Slay and free agent Isaiah Rodgers.

So, yeah, Starks does make some sense on some level.

“He's such an easy mover, like a fluid athlete,” said Jeremiah about Starks. “He just didn't make as many plays this year. He made the big pick, a big-time athletic interception down the field in the Clemson game, and then after that just didn't make a ton of plays. But real reliable. He's obviously a really smooth athlete, takes really good angles. Gets guys on the ground.

“I like the fact that he's young. I think his best football is still ahead of him, and I like the fact that he has safety nickel flex and can do a lot of different things. To me I think it will be interesting to see how he works out and how he tests, but he's right there to me more so in the back half of the first half than the first half of the first round.”

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