Eagles 2017 Draft Class Lost Two More Members During Saturday's Cuts

The final grade for the Eagles draft class of 2017 is all but written now.

Call it a solid D.

Maybe Derek Barnett and Nate Gerry will go on to long careers wearing an Eagles uniform and they can help salvage what is left from the smoldering wreck.

Maybe then the grade will grow to a C, though there is still a chance that both washout after this year and the grade dips to an unspeakable F.

Maybe the final two remnants of the class that were cut on Saturday – cornerbacks Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas – will be brought back to the practice squad and experience a career resurrection and the grade might move up a notch.

As it is, it can be nothing other than a D.

It’s not an F because first-rounder Derek Barnett has contributed 14.5 sacks in three years and fifth-rounder Nate Gerry is a starting linebacker now, but even he was cut his rookie season before being brought to the practice squad.

“It’s disappointing,” said GM Howie Roseman when asked by SI.com EagleMaven about the 2017 class on Saturday evening. “I take all that personally. I think that you want more guys from your draft class to be successful. I think unfortunately we had to learn from that draft class, and we’ve gone over some of those guys and what happened there.”

Here is a closer look at the six who didn’t make it:

SECOND ROUND, No. 43

CB Sidney Jones. The Eagles took a chance on drafting Jones, who had torn his Achilles about six weeks prior to the draft. It never worked out, as Jones constantly battled injury and inconsistency.

Who the Eagles could have had: Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, No. 62 to the Steelers. Smith-Schuster has 2,895 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns.

“When we make these decisions we try to make sure we’re not making decisions just based on where guys were picked,” said Roseman. “I think one of the things I learned from some of the great general managers in this league, they understand when it’s kind of time to move on and I’m not just talking about that in regards to Sidney or any of the draft picks we let go today (on Saturday).

“We’re going to be aggressive and take some chances and then if we’re wrong when we do those things we have to learn from it and figure out why they didn’t work.”

THIRD ROUND, No. 99

CB Rasul Douglas. Douglas showed flashes of hat he could be, but his lack of speed caught up to him.

Who the Eagles could have had: Safety Eddie Jackson, No. 112 to the Bears. Jackson has started all 46 games he has played in Chicago and has 10 interceptions.

FOURTH ROUND, No. 118

WR Mack Hollins. Solid special teamer but mostly invisible on offense.

Who the Eagles could have had: OL Julien Davenport, No. 130 to the Texans. He has started 27 games in Houston.

FOURTH ROUND, No. 132

RB Donnel Pumphrey. This was a class loaded with running backs, and, yes, the Eagles were beaten to the punch in their desire to grab Dalvin Cook, who went two spots ahead of Jones at No. 41, but Pumphrey never proved worthy of any kind of consolation prize. He never played an NFL down.

Who the Eagles could have had: RB Jamaal Williams, No. 134 to the Packers. Williams has developed into a running and receiving threat with eight rushing touchdowns and seven receiving touchdowns.

FIFTH ROUND, No. 166

WR Shelton Gibson. He caught six passes in 20 games over two seasons.

Who the Eagles could have had: RB Aaron Jones, No. 182 to the Packers. He had 16 rushing touchdowns last year and already owns 28 TDs in his career.

SIXTH ROUND, No. 214

DT Elijah Qualls. Played in just six games as a rookie and was gone the following year.

Who the Eagles could have had: Anyone else.

“Did we force some things, did we do some things that were kind of contrary to our plan going in because we missed out some things, those are all the questions we ask,” said Roseman. “We don’t just sit there and just say, ‘Hey, these guys didn’t do a good job, we’re just washing over it,’ but I do think when we look back at the last few years draft classes overall, they’re pretty good.

“We have a lot of guys playing for us, we have done a good job our free agency and I think overall our scouting staff, our personnel staff, our front office staff, I’m proud of them and the job that we’ve done overall but that doesn’t mean we haven’t made mistakes and can’t do a better job.”

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