Should the Eagles use all 3 of their first-round draft picks, or will there be a trade?

With the football season officially finished and the scouting combine fewer than 10 days away, let’s go through some of the biggest questions you have about the Eagles draft and the offseason as a whole.

If you’d like to submit questions for future mailbags, send them to me on Twitter (@EJSmith94) or shoot me an email ([email protected]).

Now let’s get into the questions:

Thanks for the question, Art.

I’d rank them as follows:

C. The Eagles trade at least one of their first-round picks for a first-rounder in next year’s draft.

Reason: There’s plenty of logic in trading back with one of these picks to get more draft capital for next offseason. It kicks the can down the road another year for Jalen Hurts without sacrificing too much. If Hurts takes strides as a passer, the team has two high picks to continue building around him. If he struggles, an extra first-rounder next year gives the team an outside chance of getting into the top 5 of the 2023 draft for a quarterback.

It’s important to remember, having the ammunition to trade up only matters if there’s multiple top-tier quarterback prospects. If a quarterback-needy team gets the first pick with a clear-cut franchise quarterback prospect like the Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence or the Bengals with Joe Burrow, the Eagles’ draft assets will be a moot point. Still, next year’s class is expected to have a few high-level guys, so trading for a future one this year seems like a high likelihood. If the Eagles go that route, a trade like the one the 49ers made for Trey Lance, going from No. 12 to No. 3 in exchange for two future firsts and a third-rounder, is the framework.

D. Other

The “other” category here is mostly allowing for the possibility that the Eagles pursue one of the quarterbacks that may be available on the trade market, particularly Russell Wilson. There are plenty of caveats and uncertainties here; Wilson hasn’t formally requested a trade and if he does there’s no guarantee that the Eagles will even be on his list of preferred destinations. If those two things happen, though, there’d be mutual interest. Wilson is coming off a down year marred by a dislocated finger, but the 33-year-old has the track record of being an elite quarterback, which the Eagles obviously covet.

» READ MORE: The Matthew Stafford trade could be a blueprint for the Eagles this offseason

B. The Eagles trade up.

Howie Roseman’s traded up in the first round three times in the last six years with mixed results. He moved up two spots for DeVonta Smith last year, traded up three spots for Andre Dillard in 2019, and, of course, orchestrated two separate deals to secure the second pick in 2016 for Carson Wentz.

It’s possible Roseman moves up if a specific player is within reach, but a big trade up the draft board for a team with so many needs feels unwise.

A. The Eagles go chalk and make picks at 15, 16, and 19.

Apologies to all you mock draft readers, but it feels pretty unlikely that the Eagles just draft three players at 15, 16, and 19 without any movement. Roseman’s talked about the flexibility the three picks afford the team, and I expect him to use that flexibility.

Great question, Jon. I think the reason most sites stay away from multi-year draft compensation charts is because different teams value those picks differently. There’s also the inherent uncertainty about where the pick falls, which I think the main factor at play. If you’re being conservative, you’d assess the value of the 32nd pick to any future first because it very well could be the 32nd in that draft, but what if you’re dealing with a middling team that values its first-round pick much higher than that?

That said, I think any of their first-rounders this year could net a future first. I’m not sure I agree with the notion that they’d get a first-rounder from a team just by moving back 10 or so spots, but a future first and an early-mid-round pick for the 16th pick sounds about right.

I have not. Roseman and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni spent some time watching Kenny Pickett, Sam Howell, and Carson Strong throw on the first day of Senior Bowl practices but that seemed to be the extent of their due diligence during practice. Off the field, I didn’t get the impression that the Eagles spent significant time interviewing quarterbacks while in Mobile, but you never know with the QB Factory.

From Larry C., via email:

Not a fan of me projecting Washington corner Trent McDuffie and his 5-foot-11 stature to the Eagles in my mock draft, huh? Fair enough.

If you’re insistent on taller corners, you should be hoping Cincinnati’s Ahmad Gardner falls, but it’s unlikely. Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr. (6-0, 195) is a little bigger than McDuffie, but he doesn’t play like it. Tackling was a bit of an issue for him in Clemson, whereas McDuffie is commended for his physical play.

A sleeper for you: Coby Bryant, the other Cincinnati cornerback prospect. He’s a Day-2 prospect, at 6-1 he fits the mold as a bigger corner, and he had a nice week at the Senior Bowl.

Thanks for the question, Brendan.

If you asked me for a formal prediction, I would say the safest bet is them drafting an edge rusher in the first round. It’s a clear area of need, it’s a deep class with a handful of first-round prospects, and it’s a position the Eagles value highly.

The next highest likelihood to me is that they’ll trade at least one of them, whether it’s for future picks or a veteran player. After that, targeting a high-upside defensive player makes the most sense. The Eagles badly need difference makers on that side of the ball. Whether that’s a linebacker, a safety, or a corner, remains to be seen.

From commenter bigleftist:

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s thoughts on how players fit into his scheme will definitely be taken into account as the front office puts together a draft board. How much is the real question, and I’d imagine a decent amount.

It’s not his job to watch every down that prospects have played, but it does make sense for him to give feedback on how he views positional value in his scheme and what he thinks the biggest needs are. Don’t expect him to be making picks on his own, but the defensive prospects the Eagles value the most will likely all have Gannon’s stamp of approval.

From commentor bigbobster:

Similar question to the one above, and the answer is similar. I think Stoutland’s track record of working with and evaluating college offensive linemen gives him some real influence the Eagles’ offensive line prospect grades.

He was on the field in Mobile watching the offensive linemen up close on the first day of practice by himself for a while. Roseman and Sirianni eventually joined him. He knows better than most what to look for in these settings, and his opinion is definitely taken into account.