Five potential Eagles draft picks to watch in the Senior Bowl | Early Birds

Good morning, Eagles fans. Since the last time we spoke, Nick Sirianni has touched down in Philadelphia and has gotten to work filling out his staff and presumably making the rounds with player introductions. As of Tuesday night, we still weren’t sure when Sirianni would have his introductory press conference, but it will likely be at some point this week.

In the meantime, we’ll talk about this week’s big event: the Senior Bowl.

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1. DeVonta Smith. The Alabama receiver, widely considered the best player in Mobile, Ala., is the most obvious player to keep an eye on this week. The Eagles still have a need at the position, he’s coming off a Heisman Trophy-winning season, and he is one of the best wideouts in the draft class, if not the best. Smith didn’t hit the scale during Tuesday’s height- and weight-gathering session, likely because of his slight frame. It shouldn’t matter too much, though. The tape speaks for itself. Smith might be undersized, listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds last year at Alabama, but it’s never stopped him from being one of the most dynamic athletes in the Southeastern Conference. He had 117 catches for 1,856 yards and 24 total touchdowns this past season. I’d say he’s doing just fine. Smith isn’t going to take part in any on-field activities because of a finger injury, but he’ll have plenty of opportunities to meet with teams, including the Eagles. He’s played against enough elite competition the last two seasons to dispel any need to see him against this week’s cast of cornerbacks.

2. Carlos Basham. The Wake Forest defensive end’s stock was a little scattered entering this week. He’s not in Daniel Jeremiah’s Top 50 rankings, but Pro Football Focus has him as the 28th-best player in the draft. You’ll see him in the first round of some mock drafts and in the second or third in others, but a solid showing against Senior Bowl competition could cement his position in the Top 50 and possibly put him on the Eagles’ radar with their 38th pick, if he’s still there. Basham played only six games this past season and had five sacks, but he had 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 2019. At 6-5, 285 pounds, he’s considered a power-rushing, 4-3 defensive end who can serve as an interior rusher on obvious passing downs. The knock on him is a lack of production this past season combined with a concern about his ability to turn the edge against more athletic tackles, but this week can go a long way toward quieting those criticisms.

3. Demetric Felton is an intriguing mid-to-late-round running back out of UCLA. “Running back” might be a bit of a limiting term for Felton, who was a wide receiver at the start of his college career and played both positions each of the last two seasons. The 5-10, 200-pound Swiss army knife had 132 carries for 668 yards on the ground and 22 catches for 159 yards this past season to go along with eight total touchdowns. Felton made some waves Tuesday by running routes with the receivers during the first practice session of the week. Felton could be exactly what Sirianni and the rest of the Colts transplants on his coaching staff ordered. The Indianapolis offense featured Nyheim Hines in each of the last three seasons. Hines, a former N.C. State wideout, carved out a role as a pass-catching running back who created favorable matchups on passing downs. There’s a chance the Eagles’ new staff views Miles Sanders as an adequate receiving back, but Felton’s versatility could give Sirianni some familiar personnel.

4. Payton Turner is another edge rusher with the chance to significantly boost his draft stock with a solid week. The 6-5, 270-pound edge rusher out of Houston is one of the quickest risers up draft boards after a dominant, albeit short five-game season with five sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. If Turner can back up his impressive production during the season by holding his own against superior competition, it would likely land him around the early second round, where the Eagles could take him. His measurements taken Tuesday will help him, too, showcasing his prototypical size. For reference, the Eagles’ Josh Sweat is 6-5, 251 pounds.

5. Hamsah Nasirildeen. The Florida State safety is another second-round possibility depending on how these coming practices and Saturday’s game go. Nasirildeen is considered a multi-positional defensive back who can fit in just about any defense, although he played only two games this past season because he was still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in 2019. Proving he’s all the way back from the injury will go a long way for his draft stock, but it would make sense for the Eagles to continue seeking out versatile safeties, especially with Rodney McLeod recovering from his own ACL tear that could sideline him the beginning of next season. New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon figures to employ more two-high-safety looks than the Eagles have run the past few years, but Nasirildeen is versatile enough to find his way onto the field regardless of scheme.

Will the Eagles ever be a run first team? — from GMoney (@Panda3_JG) on Twitter

Thanks for the question. If Sirianni’s offense resembles the one the Colts ran as much as we expect, don’t be surprised to see the Eagles become a bit of a run-first operation next season. The Colts ran the ball 44% of the time this past season, the 10th-highest ratio in the league. It might not seem like a run-first scheme based on the percentages, but it would still be a noticeable change from the Eagles’ approach under Doug Pederson, who called runs just 38% of the time this past season, 25th in the league.