Eagles 30 Visits: Naming Names, Reading Tea Leaves - NFL Draft
Just over half of the Philadelphia Eagles’ top-30 visits have been revealed over the past few weeks so this seems like a good time to try to pick through some of the themes during the information-gathering process for Howie Roseman and Philadelphia.
Of the 16 visits to the NovaCare Complex we know of, eight have been with defensive linemen (50 percent).
That group includes potential top-10 options in Georgia tackle Jalen Carter, his Bulldogs’ teammate, edge rusher Nolan Smith, and Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness. You can also add LSU edge B.J. Ojulari and Clemson tackle Bryan Bresee as potential first-round options as Roseman and his personnel staff enter the process with Nos. 10 and 30 in the first round.
If you’re looking for the best poker-like tell it might be on the interior of the D-line and Day 2 where Philadelphia has welcomed in potential options Gervon Dexter of Florida, Jaquelin Roy of LSU, and Brodric Martin of Western Kentucky via North Alabama.
All three of those prospects project as the so-called gap-and-a-half players that populate the Vic Fangio-style defenses around the league like Philadelphia’s. The goal of that kind of player is paramount in order to play light boxes up front and still handle run support while being able to add a body in coverage in an attempt to limit explosive plays over the top.
It's arguably even more important for the Eagles, who will need big bodies to keep opposing offensive linemen off undersized linebackers Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow.
The Eagles have Jordan Davis but need another body to help with the role with Marlon Tuipolotu coming back from a knee injury and veteran Linval Joseph likely not in the plans unless he’s needed and still available in-season much like the 2022-23 campaign.
From there it’s notable that Roseman and the personnel staff have also been very busy with cornerbacks who have length and speed with that No. 30 area as the focus.
The top corners - Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon haven’t been in the mix to date but Penn State’s Joey Porter, Jr, Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes, Georgia’s Kelee Ringo, and Kansas State’s Julius Brent have.
That means 12 of the 16 visits (75 percent) have been on the defensive side where new defensive coordinator Sean Desai has been tasked with producing after the organization has lost five starters in free agency (tackle Javon Hargrave, linebackers T.J. Edwards, and Kyzier White, and safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Marcus Epps).
The rest of the visits are three offensive linemen: Northwestern’s Peter Skoranski and the Ohio State bookend tackle duo of Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones. That should be no surprise since Roseman’s ethos is to always build on both sides of the football up front first.
The lone outlier brought in has been Texas RB Bijan Robinson, a superstar-level prospect who doesn’t fit the Eagles’ well-known valuation method for a top-10 pick. Cursory interest in Robinson could be the attempt to trade down at No. 10 and gather more draft capital by luring someone up to take the swing at the Longhorns’ prospect.
Here’s a loose feel for the players the Eagles have brought in:
Potential at No. 10
DT Jalen Carter - Georgia
Edge - Nolan Smith - Georgia
OL - Peter Skoranski - Northwestern
CB - Joey Porter, Jr. - Penn State
Edge - Lukas Van Ness - Iowa
RB - Bijan Robinson - Texas
OT - Paris Johnson - Ohio State
-Carter is a no-brainer if he falls to 10 and the Eagles have gotten the green light from up top to keep him on their draft board despite some off-the-field concerns.
-This might seem too rich for Smith or Van Ness but edge rusher is a position where there are always wild differences of opinion. And other than quarterback, it’s the position where if you like someone you don’t wait around.
-Porter would be a risk at No. 10 and it’s hard to imagine him falling to 30 so he would be a more likely option on a trade-down.
Potential No. 30
CB Emmanuel Forbes - Mississippi State
Edge B.J. Ojulari - LSU
CB Kelee Ringo - Georgia
OT - Dawand Jones - Ohio State
DT - Bryan Bresee - Clemson
-You can kind of see Roseman’s thinking. If you get help for the defensive line at No. 10, then there should be a host of options at cornerback and it’s easier to take a Cam Jurgens-like redshirt player behind the aging Darius Slay and James Bradberry at No. 30 or in the early second round.
Day 2
DT Gervon Dexter - Florida
DT Jaquelin Roy - LSU
DT Brodric Martin - North Alabama/Western Kentucky
DB - Julius Brent - Kansas State
-At this point, you can almost guarantee the Eagles will get a gap-and-a-half player on Day 2 of the draft at some point.
Other notes:
-The Eagles have also had virtual visits with Old Dominion tight end Zach Kuntz and Eastern Michigan end Jose Ramirez, potential Day 3 options.
Local visits include Philly native Jaquan Amos, a DB who spent some time at Villanova before finishing up at Ball State, Harvard running back Aidan Borget, who is from South Jersey, and Princeton receiver Andrei Iosivas.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today 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 YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
