Eagles Could Break From Tradition Again In First Round Of NFL Draft

The Eagles broke from tradition in last year’s draft and selected a cornerback. It had been 22 years since they took one in the first round, and look how that turned out. Quinyon Mitchell, taken, ironically, 22nd overall, was everything they could have hoped for and more in locking down his side of the field.

It’s time to draft again, and it all starts on Thursday night in Green Bay. If the Eagles stay put and make their pick at No. 32, it could also mean another break from tradition.

By then, many of the top defensive players on their draft board could be long gone. So, with the final selection of the round being closer to an early second-round pick, why not break from tradition again and grab a tight end?

There’s one who NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah called “rock solid.” That is Mason Taylor from LSU.

The Eagles haven't taken a tight end in the first round since selecting Keith Jackson 13th overall in 1988 out of Oklahoma. They took Mitchell last year, and the last corner they took was Lito Sheppard in 2002 out of Florida.

“Mason Taylor to me is an emerging player in that everybody is comfortable with him,” said Jeremiah. “He's a safe player. …The kid has been around football his whole life.

“He's one of those guys when you are talking to teams, if you got wiped out, who would be your guy? If we get wiped out, we would just take Mason Taylor. He's going to start the next eight, ten years. Just a steady, solid player. I think he goes in the back half at one. At worst, he goes early two.”

There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the contract situation with Dallas Goedert. It makes sense to bring him back for one more year if the two parties can agree on a deal, and that would be similar to what the Eagles did last year with Josh Sweat, who came back on a one-year, $10 million contract, outplayed it and landed a huge deal with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency.

Whether he does or doesn't return doesn't exclude the possibility that the Eagles will take a tight end at some point over the draft's three days. Perhaps even at 32.

The two tight ends are similar in stature - Taylor is 6-5, 251; Goedert is 6-5, 256. But Taylor comes from football royalty, with two members enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

His father, Jason Taylor, was a pass-rushing demon with 139.5 sacks in a 15-year NFL career, 14 of which were spent with the Dolphins.

His uncle, Zach Thomas, was a tackling machine at linebacker with 1,734 tackles, 20.5 sacks, and 16 forced fumbles in 13 NFL season, 12 of which were spent with the Dolphins.

“A lot of people say, ‘let him have his own shine,’ but I enjoy it,” Taylor said about his father potentially overshadowing him. “He’s family at the end of the day, so him being my role model and that leader in my life, of course, me wanting to be like him and set my own way, that will happen eventually. I’m not frustrated about it. That’s my dad. I love him and my mom and my family.”

The Eagles’ culture, fostered from the very top by owner Jeffrey Lurie, is all about family, which only enhances the fit.

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