Draft Experts Favor Jaylen Waddle, but Patrick Surtain Odds-on-Favorite for Eagles
PHILADELPHIA – If Daniel Jeremiah was making the Eagles’ selection at No. 12 when the 2021 NFL Draft begins on Thursday night, the NFL Network’s Draft analyst wouldn’t hesitate as to who he would take.
Of course, there’s a chance Jaylen Waddle won’t be there. Probably a better than 50-50 chance the Alabama receiver will be gone.
But if he isn’t taken by the Giants or another team in the top 10…
“I know they took a receiver last year with (Jalen) Reagor and I know you don’t want to keep going back to those types of positions in the first round,” said Jeremiah on a media call earlier this week. “You want to build at the more premier positions and corner would outrank receiver, but I would take Waddle.
“He’s too intriguing to me with what he can do in a league where you need explosive plays. He gives those to you. He’s going to take a lot of pressure off the quarterback, he’s going to have an influence on the run game too.”
Odds released by www.oddschecker.com have cornerback Patrick Surtain as the favorite to be the Eagles' pick, however.
See the link: https://www.oddschecker.com/us/football/nfl-specials)
Surtain is currently given +300 odds, or an implied 25 percent chance of being the pick. The second favorite is a three-way tie between Jaycee Horn, DeVonta Smith, and Waddle all at +430, or an implied 18.9 percent chance. Smith is currently the oddsmakers’ favorite to be the New York Giants' first selection at +300.
“Oddsmakers seem pretty clear that they believe this (Eagles) pick will be a CB or a WR," said OddsChecker spokesman Kyle Newman. "That makes sense, the Eagles are baron at both positions. I’m surprised a WR isn’t the favorite given the fact the Eagles haven’t had a wide receiver hit even 900 yards since 2015.
"In the last two years, the Eagles failed to get a WR to even 600 yards. It just seems like WR is simply the more logical bet here, though teams aren’t always logical.”
What's been illogical is that the Eagles haven't drafted a player from Alabama since Freddie Milons in the fifth round of the 2002 draft.
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Like Jeremiah, SiriusXM NFL radio host and former longtime Cowboys GM Gil Brandt said the Eagles should take Waddle – if he is still there at 12 - during his media availability earlier the week.
“Provided his ankle is OK, pick Waddle,” said Brandt. “I think Waddle is really, really a good player. They’ve failed picking a wide receiver in the last four or five years and they have this draft pick they took two years ago (J.J. Arcega-Whiteside) that was going to be so good and he hasn’t turned how to be much of anything and that’s hurt them. They have a retooling job.”
According to Jeremiah, Waddle is better than Reagor.
“Anything you might’ve liked about Jalen Reagor, Jaylen Waddle does all those things infinitely better,” he said. “So, to me, at least you put them out there you hope Reagor grows and continues to grow and now you have a track team when you have those two guys out there because they can both fly. That would be the way I go, but again, I like Devonta Smith, he’s ranked right behind him. I have Waddle 5, Smith 6.”
Jeremiah, of course, won’t be in the draft room with Roseman, VP of player personnel Andy Weidl, owner Jeffrey Lurie, and others.
And that is the reason he believes the Eagles will likely take a cornerback.
“It comes down to what they want to do (if Waddle, Smith, and/or Patrick Surtain II are still available at 12),” Jeremiah said, agreeing with the oddsmakers. “I would say if I’m guessing what they would do in that situation, I would say it would be hard for them to go receiver in back-to-back years. I guess they would go corner.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven and 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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