Ronnie Perkins to Eagles? PFF's Mock Draft has it Happening

Many draft prospects have been chronicled here at SI.com Eagle Maven over the past couple of weeks, with many more to come from now until the 2021 NFL Draft begins on April 29 and runs through May 1.

Now, it’s time to look at one mock draft, and that is a three-rounder put together by Mike Renner, the lead draft analyst for Pro Football Focus.

PFF has the Eagles taking tight end Kyle Pitts with the sixth overall pick.

“Positional value be damned — you won’t find another Pitts in this draft or any other draft any time soon,” Renner wrote. “The Eagles can find a receiver later or even use Pitts as such if they want. The Florida tight end ranked third among all college football players last year in yards per route run against man coverage.”

3-rounds of mock drafting without a single bad pick

They said it couldn’t be done https://t.co/XcjxnnjRKb
— Mike Renner (@mikerenner_) March 22, 2021

In the second round, Renner leads toward defense with the Eagles using the 37th overall pick to select defensive end Ronnie Perkins from the University of Oklahoma.

Given the strong relationship between general manager Howie Roseman and Sooners coach Lincoln Riley, taking a player from Oklahoma makes sense, and there are several players from Norman that will be drafted.

It makes sense, too, that the Eagles will take a pass rusher since Derek Barnett is in the final year of his rookie contract and Brandon Graham, despite having another year added to his contract in a recent restructure is approaching will be 33 on April 3.

Perkins and two teammates – WR Tejan Bridges and RB Rhamondre Stevenson - were suspended prior to the Peach Bowl in 2019 for a failed drug test. The suspension spilled into last season when he missed the Sooners’ first five games.

Still, Perkins, a bit undersized at 6-3, 247, was productive with 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. In 2019, before his suspension, he had six sacks and 13.5 TFLs.

“I really don't feel like I had to defend my character really, you know,” said Perkins during his pro bowl availability when asked how much NFL teams are asking about the suspension. “That's just stuff that comes with making bad decisions like that. So, if you are going to make that bad decision you got to be prepared for what comes with it.

"And explaining myself and explaining my character, that is what is gonna come with making a bad decision like that. I’m not really worried about missing half the season affecting my draft status. Like I said, you know, I got to talk to teams, got to tell them the situation and how everything played out. It's all up to the team at the end of the day. It's all up to that team and how they feel about the situation.”

With the Eagles’ two third-round picks, PFF has them taking WR Dyami Brown from the University of North Carolina at No. 70 and, with the Colts’ pick at No. 84 acquired in the Carson Wentz trade, CB Robert Rochell of Central Arkansas.

NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote this overview of Brown: “Feast or famine deep-ball specialist with build-up speed that surprises cornerbacks who are tardy to open and run with him. Brown is a little thin but has good length and excellent ball-tracking talent with the ability to follow the flight over his shoulder and bring it in for the score.”

Brown, who is 6-0, 195, was productive with the Tar Heels, going over 1,000 yards receiving in his final two years with 51 catches and 12 touchdowns two years ago and 55 receptions and eight TDs last season.

Rochell, who is 5-11, 195, broke out in 2019 with 44 tackles, five interceptions, and 13 pass deflections in 13 games and was named first-team All-American.

Last year, with Central Arkansas’ putting together a schedule despite talk of moving the season to spring due to the pandemic, Rochell’s production dipped a bit with three deflections in seven games, two of which came against North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.

During his career, however, Rochell had 10 picks and 38 pass deflections.

Ian Cummings of the profootballnetwork.com called Rochell a wild card in the draft, an FCS product that “has definite room for polish, but his athletic upside is through the roof. That may inflate his value, especially in a cornerback class that isn’t incredibly deep.”

His draft range, per Cummings, is “all over the place. He could go as late as Round 6, but his rare athletic upside gives him a ceiling in the Day 2 range.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.