The combine begins next week, free agency is three weeks away and the draft is in two months. What’s on your mind? Let’s go to the mailbag:
Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
There’s a lot of discussion about trading for Russell Wilson. What do you think represents a fair trade for both teams? How much would you pay for him? What would be overpaying? — @makarov_
Like most deals, a “fair trade” depends on one’s side of the negotiation. I’ll tackle that part of your question and address this from back to front.
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If you’re getting five years of a healthy, high-performing Russell Wilson — the player who has missed only three games in 10 seasons, has had eight seasons with double-digit victories and averages 3,706 passing yards, 29.2 touchdowns, 8.7 interceptions and 469 rushing yards per season — then it’s hard to overpay. He can change a franchise.
How much would I pay? I’d offer two first-round picks and a conditional pick next year — a third-rounder that becomes a second-rounder if he hits a certain playing time threshold. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah offered the discussion of three first-round picks and next year’s second-round pick.
As far as a fair price? That depends on who else is involved. If there’s a bidding war, Seattle has the leverage. But the idea of two first-round picks and a pick next year means the Eagles would still have a first-round pick and second-round pick this season, and it would give them the chance to try to get next year’s pick back. Remember: In this scenario, Jalen Hurts could be attractive to a quarterback-needy team.
Of course, this is all speculative and hypothetical. If the Seahawks aren’t willing to trade Wilson, then the point is moot. And the Eagles are comfortable keeping Hurts as their starting quarterback, so that could affect whether they’re willing to surrender valuable assets.
But my opinion is if Wilson is available, the Eagles should be aggressive.
What do the Eagles do at safety? Does Rodney McLeod return along with a free agent, or do they go two new safeties? And what is the solution at DE? — @RodRodjoe
Safety should be a priority in free agency. That doesn’t necessarily mean landing Jessie Bates or Marcus Williams, who are the top two options. But this is a deep safety class, with nine in Sheil Kapadia’s list of the top 75 free agents. Justin Reid and Jordan Whitehead are sensible options.
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I can see McLeod returning on a one-year deal in a No. 2/No. 3 role, splitting with Marcus Epps or K’Von Wallace. The Eagles can also address the position in the draft. If a free-agent signee, McLeod, Epps, Wallace and a draft pick are the five safeties, that’s a fine outcome — as long as the free agent is a difference-maker.
At defensive end, make it a draft priority. It’s a strong edge rusher class. The Eagles have three first-round picks. They need young talent. Need and value should match there. David Ojabo, Travon Walker, Jermaine Johnson and George Karlaftis are players to watch in the first round.
What team can you see moving up to the Eagles’ pick at 16 (ahead of the Saints at 18) to get a QB, and what would the trade look like? — @lgansky13
Much depends on what happens with veteran quarterbacks in March. But looking now, there are a few quarterback-needy teams in the back half of the first round.
You can make a case for Pittsburgh (No. 20), Tampa Bay (No. 27) and Detroit (No. 32) as teams who could be compelled to move up if they like a quarterback. Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay seem like strong candidates for veteran options.
It’s also worth looking early in the second round, if a team from the top half of the draft doesn’t want to invest their top pick in a quarterback. In that case, Detroit (No. 34), Houston (No. 37), Denver (No. 40), Washington (No. 42) and Atlanta (No. 43) could all be pegged as possible trade-up candidates.
The price depends on the marketplace, of course, and how far back the Eagles are moving.
In 2008, Baltimore moved up from No. 26 overall to No. 18 overall for Joe Flacco and gave up a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick. In 2007, the Browns traded a second-round pick and their first-round pick the following year to move up from No. 36 to No. 22 to take Brady Quinn.
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My guess is the Eagles will be aggressive trying to add 2023 draft inventory. I can see them asking for a 2023 second-round pick instead of a 2022 third-round pick if they were moving back in the first round. If they’re moving from the first round to the second round, they’ll push for a 2023 first-round pick as part of the deal.
Who do you think are the best fits in the draft and free agency for WR2? — @EoSNick
I would go the free-agency route to address this need. This is similar to 2017, when the Eagles could benefit from an established wide receiver considering the amount of young players they have on the roster. And I’m bullish on DeVonta Smith, so it’s reasonable to consider how that receiver complements Smith’s skill set. The ideal fit would be a big-bodied “X” receiver who can play opposite Smith. I’d keep Quez Watkins in the slot.
The best fit would be the Chargers’ Mike Williams, who has a background with the Eagles’ coaching staff, but my guess is the Eagles will be priced out of that market. Allen Robinson would make sense in the Alshon Jeffery situation from 2017, when the Bears’ No. 1 receiver signed a one-year deal to reset his value. I’d be intrigued by Jacksonville’s DJ Chark, who broke his ankle last season but had 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019 and is only 25.
In the draft, Arkansas’ Treylon Burks and USC’s Drake London are two receivers to watch in the first round. George Pickens and Justyn Ross could be fits after the first round if the medical reports aren’t a concern. (There are more, of course.) But I wouldn’t go into the draft looking to plug a need. This should be addressed in free agency.
Is it wise resource allocation to spent a first-round pick on a WR in three consecutive drafts? — @_CaseyYoung
The short answer is it’s not. But that’s not the correct answer. One must accept sunk costs. The Eagles can’t bypass the right player simply because they took Jalen Reagor in 2020. If Burks or London or Jameson Williams is their top option at No. 19, they should take him regardless of how they spent their past first-rounders. However, they cannot force a wide receiver in the first round to fill a need simply because Reagor hasn’t worked out.
Draft for value. That’s the approach I would take. Break ties by looking at positions and resource allocation. But don’t bypass the best possible pick because of past picks. Otherwise, Arizona wouldn’t have Kyler Murray at quarterback.
What does this RB group look like next year after Miles and Gainwell? Any free agent worth going after (between the tackles type runners)? — @SaxNStrikeouts
I’d expect the Eagles to draft a running back to be part of that mix, and potentially even grow into a starter if Miles Sanders is not re-signed in 2023. The Eagles like Boston Scott, who is a restricted free agent, although any RFA tender is expensive. I can see the Eagles trying to re-sign Scott for less than what it would cost to tender him. So those are three or four running backs.
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I wouldn’t sign a running back unless he’s going to be one of the top two. If the Eagles stick with Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell atop the depth chart, it would make sense for that third running back to be a draft pick. They can also bring Jordan Howard back on a low-risk deal to compete for a spot.
Is Haason Reddick a good free-agent play? Seems like the kind of move the early 2000s Eagles would make with Joe Banner (target FA dollars at a premium position where we lack incoming talent). — @VJZ_3
You don’t have to convince me on Haason Reddick, who has 22.5 sacks during the past two seasons, went to Temple and grew up across the bridge in Camden. But he’s going to be expensive, and if you sign him, you need to have a clear plan for him.
He’s not a traditional defensive end. He would be the hybrid strong-side linebacker in the Eagles’ defense who can line up on the edge on passing downs. That’s a major upgrade over Genard Avery. But will the Eagles pay for that role, and will they have a plan to feature Reddick? Also, will the Panthers let him get away? He’s a Matt Rhule favorite.
With the loss of Ian Cunningham and Brandon Brown, do you think Howie would be too insecure to hire Mike Mayock, Rick Spielman or Thomas Dimitroff for a front-office role? — @thewillisfactor
I disagree with the premise of the question. During Howie Roseman’s time as general manager, he’s repeatedly added veteran voices/former GMs to the front office in advisory roles. As an example, former Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell is on the staff now. Tom Donahoe was the top executive in Buffalo and Pittsburgh. The Eagles have had Phil Savage and John Dorsey in the past. I don’t think Roseman has an issue bringing established executives into the front office.
However, I’m not sure that’s the path for roles that were filled by Ian Cunningham and Brandon Brown. My guess is the Eagles look to hire or promote ascending executives into director jobs. And frankly, I’m not certain if an established general manager like those you mentioned would be interested in the openings the Eagles have. They’d be better matches for vice president jobs.
The Eagles have 10 draft picks. You can take only one player from each conference (independent schools count as one conference). What would your draft board look like? — @Tater_Murray
Fascinating question. And round doesn’t matter, I’m assuming? So I’m assembling my best 10-player class based on conferences, and we’re only talking FBS conferences? If Independent counts as a conference, which one are we leaving out? So I don’t offend any Sun Belt or Conference-USA readers, let’s make this an 11-player class. (Perhaps you wanted a mock draft with one player from a conference, but I’ll save my mock drafts for separate stories.)
I’m going to change the question and add the condition that I must draft one player from each of these positions: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, LB, DB, two defensive wild cards and one other wild card. This will ensure that I’m not just taking the top player from Dane Brugler’s list, and I have a sampling of players. How’s this look?
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American: Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati (No. 41 on Brugler’s Top 100)
ACC: Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State (No. 2)
Big Ten: Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan (No. 1)
Big 12: Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State (No. 59)
Conference USA: Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA (No. 73)
Independents: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame (No. 5)
MAC: Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan (No. 29)
Mountain West: Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State (No. 60)
Pac-12: Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah (No. 7)
SEC: Travon Walker, DL, Georgia (No. 6)
Sun Belt: Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama (No. 47)
I spent far too much time coming up with different combinations here. You could make CB Ahmad Gardner (No. 10) the AAC representative and switch Malik Willis (No. 32) to the Independents representative. I’d probably want a better wide receiver — maybe go with Drake London (No. 16) as the Pac-12 representative, switch the LB to Chad Muma (No. 46) in the Mountain West and the TE to Isaiah Likely (No. 71) in the Sun Belt? And I want a better cornerback, but Woolen was my favorite Conference USA player.
Also, I debated which Georgia defensive lineman to go with for the SEC. I like Walker’s versatility, but that could have been Jordan Davis or Devonte Wyatt. Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.
(Photo of Russell Wilson: Eric Hartline / USA Today)