Eagles hint towards not being done at safety: What are the options to improve the position?

There are a lot of needs for the Philadelphia Eagles in this NFlL Draft. Finding a starting safety is one of them.

The Eagles lost Reed Blankenship to the Houston Texans in free agency, having to replace yet another starter on defense. The loss of Blankenship hurt, a player the organization signed as an undrafted free agent and developed -- who became a leader on the defense.

Blankenship wasn't an elite player, yet he's a talent that's hard to replace.

The Eagles tried to fortify the position amidst Blankenship's departure. They brought back Marcus Epps in free agency and restructured Michael Carter's contract, as both are candidates to start opposite Andrew Mukuba.

Cooper DeJean is also an option to play safety in a base package, but Vic Fangio only uses that defense 10% of the time -- if even that much.

Clearly safety is a position the Eagles want to address, even after the draft.

"When we go to camp, we're definitely not full at the safety position and so it's got to fit the value at the time that we're drafting to add that position," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman this week. "Again, the talent acquisition season doesn't end right after the draft.

"We've made a lot of moves throughout the offseason, including May and July and August and September and October, but we'll add players to that position just like other positions."

What direction could the Eagles go in regarding safety?

Round 1 of the draft

Once Caleb Downs is selected in the top 10, the safety position gets interesting. Dillon Thieneman, a hybrid player that can play deep middle and the slot, would be ideal for the Eagles at No. 23.

Will Thieneman get selected earlier than that? There are only two safeties with first-round grades, so there's a good opportunity a team selects him earlier. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is also a Day 1 starter, but No. 23 may be too high to take him. McNeil-Warren is also more of a ball hawk than a tackler, but the Eagles could use more playmakers on the back end.

Day 2 of the draft

There is some value to be had with this safety class, especially once the draft gets later in the second round. Of course, this is where the development stage comes in.

A.J. Haulcy doesn't have the speed, while Keionte Scott is more of a tweener (can play like a linebacker). The Eagles would be better off waiting until the third round and take a flyer on Zakee Wheatley with that early third-round pick.

"I think it depends exactly where you're picking," Roseman said. "I think when you're talking about the first-round picks, you're hoping you're getting a two-contract player that has Pro Bowl potential. So you're looking at it over hopefully 8, 9, 10-year period.

"Then I think as you go through the draft, those expectations change just based on really the research on those picks."

Free agency

The Eagles are likely to address safety in the draft, but Roseman's comments that the team isn't done adding after the draft are intriguing. The free agent cupboard isn't great, but there are some players that could compete for a starting spot in the defense.

Donovan Wilson is the top free agent safety left, but his coverage significantly dropped last season. Wilson allowed a 78.4% completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks last season, the eighth-highest for qualified safeties. He's also 31 years old and better against the run, so perhaps Wilson isn't a fit.

Ashtyn Davis was good with the Jets, but struggled with the Dolphins. Perhaps the Eagles take a one-year flyer on him and have Davis compete with Epps and a draft pick for the starting spot. Hard to underestimate Carter for that job either.

The Eagles may be better off looking for young talent in the draft instead of going the free agency route.

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