December 17, 2022
Rob Gray/USA TODAY Sports
BYU's Jaren Hall would make a lot of sense as a backup to Jalen Hurts.
During the college football season each year, as long as you're watching the games, we point out five players each week to keep an eye on who make logical sense for the Eagles in the following year's draft. We are now into college bowl season, in case you were unaware.
Pace originally enrolled at Miami Ohio as a lightly recruited high school prospect. He played well there, earning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year honors in 2021. He transferred to Cincinnati, where he had a monster 2022 season, collecting 119 tackles (18.5 for loss), 8 sacks, 4 PBUs, and a forced fumble, earning AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as being named the first unanimous All-American in Cincinnati history.
A highlight reel:
Pace is an attacking, instinctive linebacker who makes plays in the backfield both in the run game and as a blitzer. He played in the middle of the Bearcat defense, but in the Eagles' defense he might make more sense as a SAM who can put his pass rushing chops to use and attack up the field.
Because of his diminutive size, Pace will probably be a Day 2 guy.
Torrence is a massive, body-moving beast who some believe is the best guard prospect in the country. Below is his game against Utah this season. He's the RG, No. 54. As you'll see throughout the course of this video, it's just win after win after win for Torrence, but I actually snorted at the 1:09 mark, when he executed a good reach block on a defender, and then basically just threw him into another defender chasing in backside pursuit. Like, whenever he is picked, that's the play they're going to show on ESPN's and NFL Network's draft coverage:
Torrence's fit with the Eagles is fairly simple. He'd plug right in at RG if Isaac Seumalo leaves in free agency. Using a first-round pick (the Eagles' own pick, not the Saints pick, to be clear) on a guard-only prospect would be rather unsexy, but if we know anything about this front office, they build through the trenches.
One of the lesser-known quarterback prospects in this upcoming draft is Hall, who has 51 TDs vs. 11 INTs for BYU the last two seasons. But he can play. He can dial up good velocity, and as you'll see in the below video he can feather throws in with impressive touch. He can also throw on the run and make plays with his legs.
The downside is that Hall will be 25 years of age when he is drafted in April. Teams looking for "the answer" at quarterback will be turned off by that, but for the Eagles' purposes, Hall makes a ton of sense for a team in need of a backup, who oh by the way has some similar traits as Jalen Hurts.
Note: Hall won't actually play in this game, as he is out with an injury.
Freeland is a super long offensive tackle prospect at 6'8, who moves well for a player with his kind of height. He is regarded as a good athlete with upside at tackle if he can refine some of nuances in his game. A quick look:
#6 in our 60in60 Blake Freeland pic.twitter.com/D0gJVecVP8
— Hans Olsen (@975Hans) August 26, 2022
Freeland has experience both at LT and RT at BYU, which makes him a swing tackle possibility for the Eagles in the short term, and an eventual replacement for Lane Johnson long term. For the Eagles' purposes, he's probably an ideal Day 2 guy.
We haven't often profiled wide receivers this year because the Eagles are set there for the first time in, like, ever? But, I'm sort of out of players who I can identify as great fits for the Eagles' needs on a day in which there are only six college games, and Rice is fun, so whatever, here he is. Contested catch guy with some speed.
He'll probably go Day 2, which means he probably won't be an Eagle. Decent chance he's a Giant or Cowboy, though.
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