During our weekly Eagles chat, there were a lot of questions that I couldn't get to in time as well as some recent unanswered email, so let's do a chat overflow mailbag post.
Question from Nalyd: How can you be so sure that the Eagles ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT select a running back at 14? Common sense would lead one to come to this conclusion. But all of this chatter about Fournette, Cook, and McCaffrey is really starting to freak me out.
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From an analytical perspective, back in February, I wrote 1800+ words on the topic, giving the pros and cons of drafting Dalvin Cook (or any of the other backs) in round one. I tried to make it as balanced as possible and look at it from both sides, but ultimately, the cons far outweighed the pros.
From an "inside info" perspective, while I wouldn't say I've heard directly that the Eagles are not drafting a running back in the first round, I have heard other things from credible people that wouldn't require a lot of dot-connecting to come to that conclusion.
Is it a 100 percent certainty the Eagles won't draft a running back in the first round? No, I wouldn't report that definitively. But if you're among the group that is desperately hoping for a stud running back in round one, I wouldn't get your hopes up.
Question from NotMarkT: The reports that Daniel revised his contract before being released makes you wonder if the Eagles had an offer for a late pick that gave them some extra leverage – either re-do the contract, or we’re sending you to Krapistan. Any hints that was the case?
If the Eagles had an offer on the table, they would have saved $6 million if they traded him, with only $2 million in dead money. By releasing him, they saved just $1 million in 2017, with $7 million in dead money, some of which they may gain back in 2018.
If they had an offer, they would have taken literally anything to save that $6 million.
Question from Pragmatic: When does the schedule come out? I have plans to make.
Me too. Last year, it was April 14th, if that’s any indication. They usually do it on a Thursday night, if I recall, so if I were to guess, they’ll probably release it April 13th this year.
Question from EagleSteve: Deshaun Watson at 14 if he’s there? We have Wentz but Watson’s a winner. Can’t have too many.
No.
Question from Eagles Green: If Mitchell Trubisky gets past the Cardinals at 13 do the Eagles take him?
EaglesSteve and Eagles Green, are you the same person just trolling me?
Question from Wine Glass: What’s the absolute earliest you see them taking a quarterback?
Last year at the Owners Meetings, Jeffrey Lurie said he wanted to get back to the days when the Eagles drafted a quarterback at some point every year (or close to every year), which makes sense, for the following reason:
Interestingly, it was reported that the Eagles have a private workout set up with Pitt’s Nathan Peterman.
I would guess they’re working out other quarterbacks as well, either for actual interest, or just for due diligence purposes. Personally, I don’t love this quarterback class, and think they should pass this year. But if there is someone they like, then anyone in round 4 or later would make sense.
Question from Lstone: If the Eagles go “best player available” like they should at 14 and don’t get a corner, does that force them to get one in round two?
No, I don’t think so. I think that no matter what, you should probably buckle in for bad cornerback play this year, whether that’s with a first-round pick, second-round pick, thir-round pick, some sort of acquisition via trade, etc. If you sit tight at your pick and there’s a clearly better player at another position, you have to take that other player.
Now, if you need to be a “needs hunter,” I think that approach is fine. By “needs hunter,” I mean that if a player at a clear need area like CB or DE is the best player available but you’re not on the clock, then maybe you try to trade up for him.
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