Philadelphia Eagles' Top-30 Visits Signaling Howie Roseman's Draft Plans?

The Philadelphia Eagles have taken a look at quite a few offensive linemen with their top-30 visits.

PHILADELPHIA - When it comes to the upcoming NFL Draft and the Philadelphia Eagles, interest in particular players is always relevant. It often goes unfulfilled, however, because there are 31 other organizations in the process whose actions cannot be controlled.

That uncertainty makes themes a better tool for handicapping what might happen later this month.

Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma offensive lineman Tyler Guyton (OL31) during the 2024 NFL Combine.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

To date, 18 of the Eagles’ top-30 visits have been reported and the scorecard reads six offensive linemen – tackles Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma), Travis Glover (Georgia State), and Brandon Coleman (TCU), as well as interior options Cooper Beebe (Kansas State), Christian Mahogany (Boston College) and Zak Zinter (Michigan) – and three prospects each at edge: Laiatu Latu (UCLA), Marshawn Kneeland (Western Michigan) and Chop Robinson (Penn State), linebacker: Edgerrin Cooper (Texas A&M), Jaylan Ford (Texas), and Trevin Wallace (Kentucky), and cornerback: Cooper DeJean (Iowa), Andru Phillips (Kentucky), and Decamerion Richardson (Mississippi State).

Two receivers: Brenden Rice (Southern Cal) and Ainias Smith (Texas A&M), and defensive tackle Khristian Boyd (Northern Iowa) wrap up the known visitors.

“Something is missing in the evaluation,” a former AFC scout told Eagles Today when asked why teams bring in prospects for one final kick of the tires. “And that can range from major question marks to run-of-the-mill information. The other thing I would say is it’s not always a positive. You could rule someone out just as easily as cementing real interest.”

There are recent examples of each side of that latter sentiment in Philadelphia.

The Eagles brought in the embattled Jalen Carter for a top-30 visit last year and the Georgia product then ultimately canceled any further visits set up with teams outside of the top 10. The whispers around the league were that Philadelphia was the floor for the talented defensive tackle, who was in the conversation to go No. 1 overall until a tragic drag-racing incident put Carter in some legal trouble and set off red flags for many.

Ultimately, GM Howie Roseman got what he needed from Carter and couldn’t wait on draft night, making a targeted trade up to secure the big man, who finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, at No. 9 overall.

Back in 2018, however, the Eagles had some interest in LSU running back Derrius Guice and invited him to South Philadelphia.

Rumors of a shouting match with Roseman and/or then-running backs coach Duce Staley were unfounded but a team source at the time was not shy in describing the visit as a poor one, so much so that Philadelphia stopped considering Guice, who ended up going No. 59 overall to Washington and was out of the NFL by the 2020 season.

The Eagles are certainly interested in the majority of the players they’ve invited to the NovaCare Complex while one or two may have eliminated themselves from consideration.

The bigger takeaway, however, should be the positions where the homework is being done.

“You may want Guyton or Latu at 22 but someone might beat you to the punch,” the scout said. “If you’re looking at a bunch of O-Linemen though, that’s a pretty good indication that’s been the subject of a lot of conversations in the organization.”