Previewing Eagles' Draft: Defensive Tackles
Perhaps the Eagles espoused “building” philosophy this offseason is best highlighted by the defensive tackle position.
In the short term, things look fine with Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox returning and promising second-year player Milton Williams expected to take the next step in his career.
Both Hargrave and Cox, however, are set to become free agents after the 2022 season making the position a sneaky need in the draft later this month.
Cox is back on a reworked deal for $14 million after he had to be released in a bookkeeping trick to void his over-leveraged, complicated prior deal that had been restructured one too many times.
Cox has been one of the best defensive players in franchise history but it’s fair to say his numbers have declined in recent seasons and he's not the player he once was at the height of a career that featured six Pro Bowl berths and four All-Pro nods.
Set to turn 32 during this season, the machinations surrounding Cox's contract were triggered by a guarantee (believed to be $16 to $18 million). Philadelphia wasn't comfortable with that number for Cox and the calculated gamble was made to release the veteran with the intent of eating some dead money and making a market correction on his deal.
From the Eagles' perspective, the idea was to get Cox on a more Jason Kelce-like plan moving forward at a little less money.
The frustration Cox openly showed early in the 2021 season in the shift away from Jim Schwartz's scheme to Jonathan Gannon's was real but it was also corrected by the second half when compromise was reached.
The CliffsNotes version of the overblown disconnect was that Cox had spent years with plenty of success in Schwartz's scheme playing three-technique and being told to disrupt things, a job description that is quite frankly a lot of fun for a DT. In Gannon's more disciplined approach Cox was playing plenty of 3T but also 4I and even five-technique, which took some getting used to.
Without Cox, the Eagles would have been very thin at defensive tackle, with only Hargrave and Williams, a 2021 third-round pick Milton Williams, penciled-in contributors buttressed by unproven developmental projects like Marlon Tuipulotu, Marvin Wilson, and Renell Wren.
The "loss" of Hassan Ridgeway in free agency to San Francisco at the very least opens up the fourth rotational spot on the interior and Ridgeway played 33% of the defensive snaps last season.
For all the talk of how much better Hargrave was than Cox in 2021 due to higher sack numbers, Cox was graded higher by Pro Football Focus and still has a more well-rounded game.
Cox was ranked the 29th best interior defensive lineman while Hargrave was No. 31, mainly due to the latter's struggles supporting the run where Hargrave was near the bottom of the league for DTs (No. 105 of 110).
The struggles were so significant for Hargrave in run support that a team source indicated that Gannon would consider moving him to 3T for the vast majority of his reps and Cox's willingness to accept a more workmanlike role is a big part of that plan.
Gannon would also like a real zero- or one-technique player to do the dirty work and open up things a bit for Cox and Hargrave. The in-house options there would be Tuipulotu and Wren, a 315-pound former fourth-round pick in Cincinnati.
Those paths pale in comparison to Georgia’s Jordan Davis, a potential target in the first round. The other top players at the position include Davis’ teammate – Devonte Wyatt, as well as UConn's Travis Jones as potential first-rounders.
The Eagles think very highly of Davis and Gannon was front and center at Georgia's pro day, along with VP of player personnel Andy Weidl. Philadelphia also brought the big man to the NovaCare Complex for a top-30 visit.
EAGLES DEFENSIVE TACKLE DEPTH CHART:
NT - Javon Hargrave, Marlon Tuipuloto, Renell Wren
UT - Fletcher Cox, Milton Williams, Marvin Wilson
EAGLES TODAY TOP 10:
1. Jordan Davis, Georgia
2. Travis Jones, Connecticut
3. Devonte Wyatt, Georgia
4. Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma
5. Phidarian Mathis, Alabama
6. DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M
7. John Ridgeway, Arkansas
8. Neil Farrell, LSU
9. Kalia Davis, Central Florida
10. Matthew Butler, Tennessee
Sleeper - Eric Johnson, Missouri State
Boom or Bust - Travis Jones, Connecticut
BUILDING THE DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Pass rushing - DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M - An undersized three-technique, some have projected Leal to play outside but he’s best as an undersized disruptor inside.
Run support - Jordan Davis, Georgia - A beast of a man with the athletic profile of a unicorn, Davis should be a Vita Vea-type difference-maker with more of a pass-rush ceiling.
First step - Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma - Winfrey is probably your best bet if you want someone to push the pocket quickly.
Strength - Thomas Booker, Stanford - A nice blend of intelligence and power, some have even projected Booker as switching sides to play the offensive line.
Eagles Potential Picks:
Day 1 - Jordan Davis as a trade-up and Travis Jones as a trade-down
Some would like to shy away from Davis because of the rotational knock on nose tackles and the fact they generally don’t help that much when games are being won or lost in the fourth quarter when you need to rush the passer.
That, however, assumes Davis is just a run-plugger and not a generational talent from a traits and measurables perspective. The Eagles are clearly interested but may have to make a targeted move up to land him.
Outside of Davis, the next logical NT-type is Travis Jones of UConn but No. 18 may be a little too rich for him, and depending on how the board falls, the Eagles may feel comfortable dropping back a bit.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman told SI.com’s Eagles Today that the dropoff of the so-called Tier 1 players for the Eagles and the league as a whole is at about 20.
“I think that there's consistency in terms of the players that we see going probably in the top 20,” Roseman said. “Now, a couple of those could change, but I don't think it's so drastically different, in terms of the players that are going to go in the top 20.
“I think where it will start to change is after that. I think you're going to see a lot of different boards. Some guys that are going between 21 and maybe 51, where we pick in the second round, and you'll see a lot of variables that go into those picks.”
If Jones is in that Eagles’ top 20, his presence might also generate value.
Day 2 - Perrion Winfrey, Phidarian Mathis
Winfrey is graded by most as the No. 4 DT and there would be value if he falls to No. 51 but there’s also a little redundancy as his skill set may be a little too close to what Cox and Hargrave provide. At some point, you just need to take good players, however.
Mathis might be a better fit for what the Eagles need in the third round as a big man who is a run-stuffer.
Day 3 - Kalia Davis; Otito Ogbonnia, UCLA; Noah Elliss. Idaho
The theme will again be looking for big bodies on Day 3 if the Eagles can’t get it done earlier in the draft.
Davis is a big three-technique and the most well-rounded while Ogbonnia is the pure two-gapper. Elliss, the son of former Detroit star Luther Elliss and brother of Eagles’ Sam LB Christian Elliss, is 350 pounds with pedigree and upside.
-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 "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
