Rookies at the Roundabout: Slow Start for Eagles' Premium Picks
PHILADELPHIA - After two years of the finished product featuring only five draft picks, Howie Roseman came into the spring of 2020 understanding an aging roster needed turnover and an influx of youth and speed.
By the end of the draft process, the Eagles had selected 10 players and seemed to shift from a philosophy that championed college production under Joe Douglas to a traits-based sentiment with Andy Weidl leading the personnel department.
It's been a mixed back to date and here's our look at the Eagles 2020 draft class at the midway point of the 2020 campaign:
Round 1, No. 21 overall - WR Jalen Reagor. Injuries have hampered Reagor early in the season, first a slightly-torn labrum in his shoulder during training camp slowed him down and then a torn thumb ligament cost the TCU product five games.
So far Regaor has played in three games and managed eight receptions for 155 yards and had his first NFL touchdown against Dallas on Sunday night.
When he has played Reagor has participated in 59 percent of the offensive snaps against the Washington Football Team, 85 % against the LA Rams, and 73 % vs. the Cowboys and it's generally been a struggle with ProFootballFocus.com grading Reagor No. 110 of the 118 receivers who've played enough to be in the mix.
Complicating things is how quickly Justin Jefferson, the No. 22 pick to Minnesota, has caught on. Jefferson, who many had pegged to the Eagles if he fell, has quickly become one of the most productive receivers in the NFL.
By Week 8 Jefferson, who is graded No. 2 overall by PFF, was getting No. 1 WR treatment by Green Bay even though Adam Thielen was also on the field. Meanwhile, other receivers selected after Reagor like Brandon Aiyuk (graded No. 26 by PFF) in San Francisco and Chase Claypool (No. 40) with Pittsburgh have also flourished with the latter scoring four touchdowns in a win over Philadelphia.
The Eagles, however, wanted a certain type of receiver -- one who could stretch the field horizontally as well as vertically -- and that's why Reagor was the call.
It doesn't look great now but the Eagles still believe things will work out down the line,
Round 2, No. 53 overall - QB Jalen Hurts. What seemed like a strange pick at the time looks even worse at the midway point and that has little t do with Hurts.
Because of his premium draft position, the Eagles have pushed Hurts into the game plan in what certainly seems like a square peg in a round hole.
After the virtual offseason Hurts started out as No. 3 behind Carson Wentz and Nate Sudfeld but quickly leapfrogged Sudfeld as the backup by Week 2 and has been in a small package of plays in each game since, a total of 27 in total. Those have, more often than not, signaled zone-read or wildcat runs to the opposing defense. Hurts had thrown it twice and completed both passes for 27 yards.
More so, with Wentz struggling, Doug Pederson is already getting the benching question which Roseman should have been smart enough to understand was looming around the corner the minute adversity struck.
When you consider the players Philadelphia was weighing besides Hurts at No. 53, notably Carolina safety Jeremy Chinn and Baltimore running back J.K. Dobbins, both positions that could have helped the Eagles immediately, this decision only gets stranger.
Round 3, No. 103 overall - LB Davion Taylor. Roseman followed up a luxury pick in Hurts with a project in the wildly athletic but raw Taylor, again defaulting back to the traits-based approach.
Taylor has only played 12 defensive snaps through eight games, 25 percent of the total sixth-round pick Shaun Bradley has played in.
When injuries started to hit the position, first with T.J. Edwards and then Nate Gerry, Jim Schwartz defaulted to former CFL star Alex Singleton rather than play either of his rookies which was the right decision.
Round 4, No. 127 overall - S K'Von Wallace. Wallace really only got significant playing time in one game thus far and sort of settled in as a platoon with Marcus Epps when the Eagles were going through injury issues in the secondary and Jalen Mills was forced to play cornerback at San Francisco and at Pittsburgh.
In that package, Epps was the coverage safety opposite Rodney McLeod and Wallace was the more physical run-support player.
Since veteran Will Parks has returned from his hamstring injury Wallace is now more of a core special-teams player and that's fine at this stage of his career.
Overall Wallace has played 48 defensive snaps and has graded out much better in run support than coverage as Schwartz's use foreshadowed.
Round 4, No. 145 overall - OT Jack Driscoll. Driscoll was thrown into the deep end of the pool in the season opener at Washington when Lane Johnson was a late scratch due to his tightrope ankle surgery.
Driscoll's role had been filling in for Johnson, who is trying to fight through the ankle issue and now an MCL sprain, and he's started two games at right tackle and played significant snaps in two others before suffering his own ankle injury against Baltimore.
Of the 74 OTs graded by ProFootballFocus.com, Driscoll is near the bottom at No. 69 and he's been better in pass protection than as a run blocker.
Long-term Driscoll is shaping up as a very capable backup who can play OT and offensive guard with the letter likely being his best position in the pros despite playing RT at Auburn and here early.
Round 5, No. 168 overall - WR John Hightower. Hightower has played quite a bit (293 offensive snaps) due to injuries and has struggled for the most part (graded No. 115 of 118 by PFF).
The Boise State product is a one-trick pony at this point and has been able to generate separation by running by people but too often Hightower fails to track the football properly and potential big plays are left on the field.
Round 6, No. 196 overall - LB Shaun Bradley. The Temple product has settled in as the extra man in Jim Schwartz's four-linebacker package ahead of fellow rookie Davion Taylor.
That should continue in the short term with Nate Gerry on injured reserve. To date, Bradley has played in 48 defensive snaps and really excelled in his limited run-stopping duties.
Like any modern LB, Bradley will need to develop his coverage skills moving forward but as a sixth-round pick, he's turned into a solid contributor early.
Round 6, No. 200 overall - WR Quez Watkins. The Eagles carpet-bombed speed at WR and Watkins is another player who can run by defenders and do little else. An injury in camp started Watkins on IR for the first four games before he returned to play limited snaps at Pittsburgh and vs. Baltimore. He's been inactive since and this is shaping up as essentially a redshirt season for him.
Round 6, No. 210 overall - OT Prince Tega Wanogho. An athletic project who played left tackle opposite Driscoll at Auburn, Wanogho has started his NFL career on the practice squad and hasn't really been thought of as a potential option despite all the troubles at LT.
With Jason Peters back and Jordan Mailata in reserve, Wanogho will likely spend his entire rookie season on the PS and perhaps a more traditional offseason can help his development.
Round 7, No. 233 overall - DE Casey Toohill. The super athletic and super smart but undersized Stanford product made the opening day 53-man roster but was claimed by the Washington Football Team when the Eagle needed a roster spot and tried to sneak Toohill through waivers.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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