Who is the future in Philly? — 3 round Eagles Mock Draft
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This offseason has already been very eventful for the Eagles. Big extensions, big signings, and there is only one thing left for Howie Roseman. The NFL draft.
The Eagles hold the 22nd pick in the first round and have 8 picks in total. With a lot left to do for the team even though a lot has been done, this draft will be a crucial one for the Eagles to get right.
1st Round, 22nd Pick: Kool-Aid McKinstry
You don’t need me to tell you that the Eagles’ secondary was a disaster last year. Massive down years from Darius Slay and specifically James Bradberry led to one of the if not the worst pass defense in the league down the final stretch of the season.
Kool-Aid can help fix 2 of the biggest problems the Eagles secondary had last year. Which is just plain being good in coverage, and open-field tackling. Kool-Aid excels in many coverages and was the consensus best corner in the nation going into this last season, but has in some people’s minds been overtaken by Cooper DeJean and maybe Nate Wiggins. The reason I have the Eagles picking Kool-Aid is that I both think Cooper DeJean will be off the board, and Kool-Aid will be a better fit in this defense.
Kool-Aid McKinstry does a great job dominating the outside edges of the football field. On outside run plays he establishes his presence, forcing the running back to cut inside and blowing up the play. Additionally, he will have a boatload of great leadership from veterans like Darius Slay, and defensive genius Vic Fangio.
2nd Round, 50th Pick: Edge Adisa Isaac
Once again going defense I think Adisa Isaac would be a great pick for the Eagles. To start the Eagles are kind of lacking an edge rusher after the Haason Reddick trade. Not that the team is lacking talent but rather depth and I think Isaac could provide both.
Last year at Penn State, Isaac tallied 7.5 sacks along with 23 solo tackles and a forced fumble. Defensively he is an absolute game-wrecker. He posted the 7th highest pressure rate in the country (16.8%) in his last year as a Nittany Lion. No doubt to anyone that the talent is there.
Isaac however will most likely take some time to come into his own in the NFL. That’s where the Eagles look like an even better fit. For starters, he wouldn’t be asked to have to be a major contributor to the Eagles pass rush. He will be able to have early struggles and the Eagles will still have a good pass rush. Similar to Kool-Aid he will also be able to learn from veteran Brandon Graham and standout pass rusher Josh Sweat.
The only concern I have is him being a beneficiary to Chop Robinson. Chop Robinson was right alongside Isaac and is going to be one of the highest-selected defensive linemen in this year’s draft. A small part of everyone has to have a concern that these stats may be inflated because of who he was playing with.
2nd Round, Pick 53: LB Edgerrin Cooper
One of the team’s glaring holes is still the linebacker position. Ever since TJ Edwards left in free agency, this has been the case. Edgerrin Cooper should be able to help with that problem. In 2023 he balled out at Texas A&M recording 84 tackles, 17 TFLs, and 8 sacks along with being a first-team all-American.
The biggest glaring strength when you look at his play is his speed. This helps him never really be out of any play due to his uncanny speed for his position. He is a good run defender but may need to bulk up a little bit to have that carry over to the NFL. When he’s not able to simply use his speed he has struggled. This shouldn’t be much of a problem as a handful of coaches get paid the big bucks specifically to have athletes be at the perfect body size and strength to compete. And if you remember, very similar things were said about Devontae Smith.
This draft for the Eagles will hopefully be one where they fill up the holes left in free agency. In my opinion, those holes are all on defense which is why I have them going back-to-back-to-back on that side of the ball. Last year Howie Roseman left the draft making the rest of the league look embarrassed when he was able to get Jalen Carter. You can only imagine what he has in store this year.
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