EAGLES NFL DRAFT PREVIEW: The Edge Rushers
It’s not the best year to be looking for an edge rusher unless you have the No. 2 overall pick where the latest Ohio State standout, Chase Young, is expected to go to the Washington Redskins.
If you take positional value out of the equation, Young is far and away the best overall prospect in the 2020 draft class and offers a more complete projection than Nick Bosa, who took the league by storm as a rookie last season (ironically as the second overall pick from you guessed it, Ohio State) and helped the San Francisco 49ers reach the Super Bowl.
After Young, the drop is pretty steep to Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa, a prospect who’s likely coming off the board in the early twenties as a base type of end who may have been a star in a different era as a two-way player but lacks the athleticism and bend to be an elite rusher for the modern game.
From there the value of the position (the current thought in the NFL is there are two ways to win - get the quarterback or get to the quarterback) could push others up the board as well, players like Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos, LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson and Alabama’s Terrell Lewis.
The Eagles don’t have an immediate need for an edge player with Brandon Graham still playing at a high level and former first-round pick Derek Barnett opposite him as a player who has disappointed some but is more than credible.
Graham, however, is 32 and as good as he’s been, has never been known as a finisher when it comes to dropping the QB. Barnett has yet to develop into the double-digit sack guy the Eagles envisioned on draft night in 2017 and has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons.
The third man in the rotation from last season, Vinny Curry, remains a free agent and the Eagles would probably prefer Josh Sweat taking the next step in his career with Philadelphia native and 2019 fourth-round pick Shareef Miller, who basically red-shirted his rooke season, bumping up to No. 4.
There are situational types as well with Joe Ostman returning from a torn ACL and trade-deadline pickup Genard Avery in a better position to contribute, at least in theory.
Before Ostman was injured in the preseason last year Jim Schwartz was working on a package for him because of his ability to get to the passer, including some joker looks as a standup rusher inside in the NASCAR package. Daeshon Hall, who tore his ACL on the final play of the regular season, also is back.
On the trade market, Jacksonville standout Yannick Ngakoue has been using his social media presence to drive a potential trade to the Eagles. He’s the Jaguars’ franchise player, though, and any compensation in a deal for a 25-year-old proven commodity would be steep for a Philadelphia team that needs younger bodies in the draft and already had to give up two picks for star cornerback Darius Slay.
Ngakoue is the kind of difference-maker that could change views, however, and certainly slot in ahead of Barnett.
As far as the draft, the Eagles already have plenty of competent bodies. What they arguably need is the game-changer and that’s just not available outside of Young.
Philadelphia has kicked the tires on top-10 prospects at the position in Utah’s Bradley Anae and Lewis so if they begin to slip anything is possible because the Eagles believe in building up front on both sides of the ball above all else.
As far as value selections, Baylor’s James Lynch, South Carolina’s D.J. Wonnum and Austin Edwards of Ferris State are names you should remember.
BUILDING THE PERFECT EDGE RUSHER
Pass rusher - Chase Young, Ohio State - To a man every NFL personnel man SI.com talked to for this series described Young as a more complete rusher than Nick Bosa and that’s a scary thought for the Eagles if he lands in Washington as expected.
Run defense - A.J. Epenesa, Iowa - Epenesa in the old school-base left end 4-3 teams would crave before the spread-and-shred days. Now he’s just a really solid player who will be downgraded because he’s not an elite pass rusher.
First step - K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU - As far as get off goes, Chaisson is the quickest off the ball. The question will be if he has the functional football strength to handle tackles that are going to be stronger than him.
Hustle - Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State - Gross-Matos can move laterally very well and is always playing the game like it's a five-alarm fire.
Strongest - Nick Coe, Auburn - At 290 pounds with impressive power, Coe would be best-suited as a five-technique to tie up blockers.
EAGLES MAVEN TOP 10:
1. Chase Young, Ohio State
2. A.J. Epenesa, Iowa
3. Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State
4. K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU
5. Jabari Zuniga, Florida
6. Bradlee Anae, Utah
7. Julian Okwara, Notre Dame
8. Terrell Lewis, Alabama
9. Darrell Taylor, Tennessee
10. Curtis Weaver, Boise State
Sleeper - Bryce Sterk, Montana State
Boom or Bust - Julian Okwara, Notre Dame
John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes and on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
