Fate and Circumstance Could Push Eagles Toward George Karlaftis
The Eagles might do a lot of things on April 28 in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Howie Roseman might trade up, he might trade back and the Eagles, GM might even try to trade out to get a future first-round pick.
Perhaps the least likely path of all, however, could be standing still and actually using all three No. 1 picks Philadelphia starts the process with (Nos. 15, 16, and 19).
You can pencil in a ton of possibilities but there's only one scenario you can use a pen and feel very comfortable: the Eagles will come out of the first day of the process with an edge rusher.
The reason for that is the perfect storm of supply and demand, matching up with Philadelphia's valuation of the position.
In other words, the Eagles need an edge rusher, value the position perhaps more than any other not named quarterback, and the 2022 pond is stocked with plenty of potential options on the edge.
Daniel Jeremiah, the former Eagles scout who now serves as the lead draft analyst for the NFL Network, explained the organizational philosophy while discussing the draft with reporters via a nearly two-hour Zoom on Friday.
"When you study Howie and how he operates and how that personnel department operates, you know there's going to be at least one, if not two bigs if they keep all three of those picks," Jeremiah said. "I would imagine you're going to see at least one defensive lineman, maybe two, or maybe it's one defensive line, one offensive line."
You can narrow things down further from there in that defensive tackle is set with Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Milton Williams while the O-Line could be the deepest part of the team right now if All-Pro center Jason Kelce returns for another season as expected.
Defensive end, however, is a question mark with Derek Barnett likely leaving via free agency and Brandon Graham trying to return from a torn Achilles' at the age of 34. Other than Josh Sweat the Eagles have no real certainty at that spot.
The potential 2022 No. 1 overall selection - Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson - is an edge rusher. He and Oregon pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux are almost surely going top five and at worst in the first 10 selections. Jeremiah is also very high on versatile Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker and Florida State star Jermaine Johnson.
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In his latest pre-combine mock draft Jeremiah has all four of those players gone by No. 9 overall, meaning Roseman would have to package two of his picks to go up and get any of those players if that's the preferable target.
The draft is so deep on the edge, however, that the Eagles could bide their time and still get an excellent prospect to build their pass rush around at Nos. 15 or 16.
"We talked about Walker already," said Jeremiah when asked about the Eagles and the edge at No. 15 by SI.com's Eagle Maven. "I think he's going to be long gone by then. I think the guys that you're probably going to be looking at, it's probably going to be like a [George] Karlaftis, [David] Ojabo.
"I think Jermaine Johnson is probably going to be gone by then from Florida State. He's taken off from having a really good season and having a great week of practice down there in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. He's just - he probably moved himself right out of the Eagles' range there."
Karlaftis is an interesting possibility because he reminds so many scouts of another former Purdue pass-rushing star, Ryan Kerrigan.
Provincial Eagles fans who only know of a 33-year-old Kerrigan struggling last season with the Eagles and don't remember the four-time Pro Bowl selection who amassed 95.5 sacks over a decade with Washington likely won't be hyped at that comparison but Roseman would gladly sign up for a decade of Kerrigan-like production by a Purdue doppelganger.
"Karlaftis is a legitimate one. I know it's polarizing I guess," Jeremiah said. "But just about everybody I talk to in the NFL feels like this is a real high-floor player. I wrote down in comp that he reminded me of Kerrigan, and then you find out they're both Purdue guys and him and Kerrigan talk and they've got a good relationship, which would be an interesting connection to the Eagles."
High-floor players are great but when you match up a high-floor prospect with a high ceiling as well you really have something and Jeremiah notes that Karlaftis' work ethic has many around the league checking boxes when it comes to the 6-foot-4, 275-pound potential difference-maker.
"To give you an idea on Karlaftis, when the scouts went in there they said this guy is - they had to kick him out of the facility," Jeremiah said. "He bought an apartment right next to the facility so he could get there all the time and literally he's just a football junkie. He's a big-time power rusher."
Jeremiah also noted the counterintuitive notion that Karlaftis' motor as a player might be held against him by some.
"He plays extremely hard," he said. "I know some people think of that as a knock on somebody when you say he's got a real big motor and plays really hard. It's like you're trying to cover up for something else. But no, this guy has got some quickness. He's got some power. He's just not real loose or bendy at the top, but I think he'll be in that mix about where [the Eagles] are picking."
If you're a big believer in symmetry, Kerrigan was the No. 16 overall selection by Washington in 2011 as a 6-4 All-Big Ten edge rusher for the Boilermakers.
No. 16 in 2022 feels a little too perfect for Karlaftis, but it just might happen.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
