The path to the 2023 NFL draft started in Mobile and continues in Indianapolis with the start of the NFL Scouting Combine. General managers, head coaches, and scouts will be looking at the 319 prospects looking to improve their draft stock.
Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni both met with the media on Tuesday, while the organization also announced several staff hires.
With the festivities underway and workouts set to begin, here are seven Eagles-related storylines to watch at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Can Philadelphia get an elite player at No. 10 overall?
Philadelphia has six total selections, including Nos. 10 and 30 in Round 1.
Will the Eagles look to swap picks and secure more assets, or could a potential star defensive tackle or star cornerback grasp the Birds attention in the top ten?
There are four elit quarterback prospects along with Alabama DE Will Anderson Jr., Texas Tech DE Tyree Wilson, Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski, Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon, and Texas RB Bijan Robinson in that top group as well along with Myles Murphy.
Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is not at the podium and is not expected to conduct media interviews at NFL scouting combine due to legal reasons after arrest warrants for reckless driving and racing issued against him @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/PjpteGt2af
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 1, 2023
The one wild card to watch will be Georgia DT Jalen Carter who could slip in the draft after having criminal charges brought up stemming from a car crash that killed a teammate and a recruiting staff member.
Can Philadelphia be tempted to draft Bijan Robinson
The running back position has been devalued and you normally wouldn’t make this move unless you had a championship roster, in a championship window, and two first-round picks.
“Bijan is Saquon [Barkley], in my opinion,” McShay says. “And not just physically. Also character-wise, the way he lights up a room. His ability to force missed tackles, and then also pass protect, and catch out of the backfield, and then he walks into a room and steals the show and it’s like, What else do you want? Saquon was the exact same way, and now that he’s healthy, you see it.”
“If you say the most polarizing and intriguing player is Richardson, I would say the most consistently graded player, the most consistent evaluation of the entire draft is Bijan,” says Jeremiah. “As a player, I think he carries less risk than anybody. He’s my fourth player; I think he’s elite. I think everybody you talk to shares the exact same opinion, and then when the conversation shifts to Where do you think he’s going to go? … nobody has any idea.”
Rebuilding teams should never take a running back in the top 10, but with an extra draft pick and the potential to lose two players at the position, now is as good as any time for the Eagles. Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, who’s drawn Alvin Kamara comparisons, is also a player to watch.
"The Philadelphia Eagles won't do it but I'd love to see them take Bijan Robinson with the 10th pick" ~ @MoveTheSticks #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/jHiC6tQpe0
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 28, 2023
Edge rusher is the draft’s best and deepest position
Will Anderson, Tyree Wilson, Myles Murphy, and Lukas Van Ness are the headliners, but there are 10+ pass rushers on most top 50 draft boards.
“There’ll be good ones there in the second round,” says Daniel Jeremiah. “I mean, we’ll see if Felix Anudike-Uzomah from Kansas State, if he gets to the second round, but he’s a really good player. He’s been a good player for two years. Him and [Iowa State’s] Will McDonald, two guys from the Big 12, actually, I really like that should be there.”
Jalen Hurts contract
Hurts is eligible to sign a contract extension this offseason and Roseman has said that the team would like to keep him “long term.”
With Philadelphia looking to avoid having Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert reset the market, the expectation is that deal will get done within the next few weeks if not days.
Howie Roseman will look to secure a deal with Hurts while keeping the cap space to build around him.
In the mood for a safety
Philadelphia has two safeties that are free agents, and one player on the roster entering his second year after seeing time as an undrafted free agent.
The draft is thin at the position, with Alabama’s Brian Branch as the top player on the board, followed by Antonio Johnson of Texas A&M.
After Branch, a few guys like Ji’Ayir Brown (Penn State), Christopher Smith (Georgia), Brandon Joseph (Notre Dame), and Jartavius Martin (Illinois) could be options to watch in rounds 3 and beyond.
Coaching staff rounding into shape
Philadelphia was relatively quiet on the offensive coordinator front but conducted a series of interviews in the last week with candidates for the defensive coordinator position before hiring former Chicago Defensive Coordinator and current Seattle Associate Head Coach/Defensive Assistant Sean Desai.
Brian Johnson was promoted to replace former Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen, now the Colts’ head coach.
The Eagles need to replace Linebackers coach Nick Rallis moved to Arizona to become Gannon’s defensive coordinator. Defensive Quality Control Coach Joe Kasper is now Miami’s safety coach.
On offense, Philadelphia finalized three moves on the coaching staff.
Free agent discussions
The early negotiation period starts in less than two weeks and with the new league year fast approaching, Howie Roseman will use the five days in Indianapolis to start evaluating and prioritizing his 18 pending free agents.
The Eagles have some hard decisions to make with their long list of possible free agents.
“I think we have obviously a large number of free agents that we knew going in. I think when we looked at this team – and we always look at this team, not just this year but over a period of time – we knew we needed to get additional picks. That’s one of the reasons that we made the trade last year was to make sure we have picks going forward,” Howie Roseman said.
“And even though maybe we don’t have the number of picks this year, we have a bunch of high picks. And then next year, we’re going to have a tremendous amount of picks. We already have two additional picks from two trades that we made. And just by the sheer number of free agents, we’re going to have comp picks next year. Even if we signed a bunch of guys, we are going to have comp picks next year.
“So, I think we go into it with that understanding that it’s going to be impossible to keep every single person on this team. But we’re here to compete.”
