November 30, 2024
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 Philadelphia Eagles in the following year's NFL Draft.
Graham is a top 10 prospect on most draft analysts' big boards, and the Eagles aren't going to be picking in the top 10, so they aren't likely to have a shot at drafting Graham, but he's such a good fit that we'll profile him anyway since he would make sense as a trade-up candidate should he slip for some reason.
Graham is simply a well-rounded three-down interior lineman who is great against the run and who can also affect the passing game. He has a unique blend of power and quickness, and the versatility to line up at the nose or as a 3-tech. Here's a fun highlight reel if you have 11 minutes to kill:
Graham could fall because he only has 9 career sacks in three seasons at Michigan, and he isn't exactly a statuesque figure to look at. The Eagles haven't been scared off in the past by first-round interior linemen with underwhelming stats.
(Also, they took a Graham from Michigan who wore 55 once upon a time and that worked out OK.)
Kennard ranks fifth in the nation with 11.5 sacks. He has good length, burst, closing speed, and watch his twitchy inside counters in the clips below:
Kyle Kennard is a joy to watch pic.twitter.com/a1RDgaS4t3
— Benjamin Hodge (@benjaminwhodge) November 25, 2024
I think he's a Day 2 guy. The Eagles will have some obvious needs on the edge this offseason.
Stowers was a high school quarterback who moved to tight end in college. He originally enrolled at Texas A&M, transferred to New Mexico, and then Vanderbilt. In 2024, he has 44 catches for 568 yards (12.9 YPC) and 4 TDs. He has some YAC ability:
Power 4 TEs -
— Jed Drenning (@TheSignalCaller) November 20, 2024
Most Missed Tackles Forced:
1) 16 by Ty Warren, Penn State
2) 14 by Brant Kuithe, Utah
3-Tie) 13 by Eli Stowers, Vandy
3-Tie) 13 by Kole Taylor, WVU pic.twitter.com/cG5a9qw8zB
Stowers is probably more of a big receiver at this point and will have to put on some weight and become a better blocker to be a viable tight end in the NFL, but he has some athletic traits to work with.
Higgins only played two seasons at Iowa State after transferring from Eastern Kentucky. His career stats at ISU:
| Jayden Higgins | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2023 | 53 | 983 | 18.5 | 6 |
| 2024 | 77 | 1015 | 13.2 | 8 |
Higgins is averaging 15.4 yards per catch over his career, despite not having great long speed. He's a good route runner, and can win contested catches down the field.
Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins is a big bodied wideout who thrives in downfield, contested situations but came away especially impressed w/his tracking and short-area route running. Deceptive route runner who is smooth for his size. Senior Bowl invitee too. pic.twitter.com/UrFO3O3uJz
— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) November 27, 2024
He's effective both on the outside and out of the slot, which makes him a more versatile receiver than some of the Eagles depth guys.
Oregon State played their final game on Friday. They finished 5-7, so they're not going to a bowl game, but I wanted to profile Gray anyway because he is a guard-tackle versatile lineman who has been a starter for Oregon State since 2020 (45 total starts). He played his first four seasons at LT, but asked to move inside, where he knew he'd be a better fit in the pros. He played LG in 2024, and also worked at center in practice.
Here he is catching a lateral for a TD:
Anyone remember when Joshua Gray caught that TD pass last year against the team from San Diego? #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/zW8zaVVDJv
— Josh Hill (@Johill_13) September 7, 2024
The Eagles are always on the lookout for versatile offensive linemen, and Gray could be a Day 3 guy who theoretically can play all five spots.
MORE: 5 things to watch in Eagles-Ravens
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