Eagles 2020 Offseason

[Squire]

We’re sitting pretty good on 2020 draft picks right now.
1 First
1 Second
2 Thirds
3 Fourths
2 Fifths
1 Sixth

[Purduke]

Nick Foles traded to Chicago for 4th round comp pick.

[phillychuck]

Fantasy get-the-band-back-together trade. Our 4th round pick and Alshon (to help with Foles' salary) to the Bears for Nick. Yeah, I know...

[bkeich]

Or Alshon for nothing. We would do that right now

[xogfog]

The Eagles reportedly are close to completing a trade for Lions Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay, which if completed would include a three year extension. He is 29 and has been in the Pro Bowl the last three seasons. Would be a huge get if they land him, hopefully not giving up too much.

[phillychuck]

He reportedly is very unhappy in Detroit (and vocal about it on Twitter) and therefore his price is somewhat reduced. Speculation is a 3rd or a 4th considering the acquiring team will need to pay him, too.

[bkeich]

On paper he would be a good deal, but one has to be afraid just because our history of signing / trading for CBs in that age range is so bad. Every time we try it is a bust (Asante Samuel is about the only exception I can think of).

That pointless fear aside, it frees up draft capital to fix other issues.

[Squire]

Slay deal done. 3rd (their own at 85) and 5th (their own at 166)

[nycphils]

Ranked in the 80s among CBs by PFF - grades out around same range as Jalen Mills.

[phillychuck]

His advanced stats are good, though. QB rating when targeted was 72.1 and 81.6, both better than any CB we've had in a while. He missed a few tackles last season, but was well above average in that stat in 2018. Made the pro bowl each of the last three years, and also made all-pro in 2017. PFF has stated it sometimes has a hard time with individual defensive back ratings because it has to guess who was responsible for what in coverage.

[Florida_Sunshine]

OK, that reduces a dire need for our draft capital. Things are coming into focus now.

This somewhat relates to Malcolm Jenkins. Did the Eagles view CB as more important than Safety?

Or, did Malcolm really just want out?

He chose not to test free agency and immediately committed to NOLA.

[phillychuck]

Eagles did not see Jenkins, who is still a good-but-not-great player, as worth what the Saints paid for him. It's that straightforward, I think.

With what they paid for Slay they could have signed Byron Jones for only a bit more (and saved two draft picks). I wonder if the Eagles were higher on Slay than most analysts were, and lower on Jones? I wonder if they will be trying to trade Sydney Jones or Rasul Douglas for draft picks to recover the two picks they lost?

[xogfog]

I don't think it was about money, I think it was about years. Jenkins has a lot of miles on his tires.

[nycphils]

I think the choice to go with Slay instead of Hopkins tells you either (or both) of the following:

1. Eagles believe they have more options in the draft at WR than at CB to get someone who contributes significantly this year; and
2. Eagles value CB higher than WR

[bkeich]

And in all honesty I think we started in better shape at WR. We have Jackson, we may be stuck with Jeffries and (although I think he is useless) we still have Arcega-Whiteside. At CB we have a few very suspect players (before today) in Jones, etc. no one you really want as your starter in game 1.

WR is also, generally easier to get. It is the one position that teams do sometimes trade for mid season and can often incorporate them, it is much harder on defense to add a starter completely new to a system.

[phillychuck]

At CB I'm pretty confident in LeBlanc and Maddox, and OK with Douglas and Jones as returnees. Slay should push all of them into their proper roles.

[allentown]

I think it means the Eagles badly messed up in not making a large enough offer to sign one of the two top-rated FA CBs. So, Roseman gives up a 3 and a 5 for the privilege of making Slay the highest paid CB. This, along with the high price paid for a rotational DT seems like we are choosing poorly and squandering our cap and draft resources.

[phillychuck]

Allentown, there are a decent number of analysts who like Slay better than either of the others. I suspect the Eagles loved the two guys they signed. And Hargrave isn't a rotational DT any more than any non-superstar DT rotates in and out. Even Cox gets 10-15 snaps off per game. Hargrave is clearly the starter.

[flyers19rw]

PC is correct. I live inside the Lions broadcast area. As a result, on Pox I am stuck with Detroit games so I’ve seen a lot of Lions games. Their defense was really weak; especially the pass rush. As a result the DBs has to cover WRs longer than anyone could expect to have positive results. Slay did well. He should be a good add. Better than any 3rd rounder would do. The additional pick is a loss but affordable with the comp picks that they have. Now the Birds can focus on WR in the draft.

[xogfog]

Eagles Remaining Needs

WR - Highest priority. Assume Jeffery is gone, and Jackson, Arcega-Whiteside and Ward are back. Need 2-3 via draft and FA.
QB - Wentz and Sudfeld are here, need one more, a third if you think Sudfeld is the # 2 or someone like Flacco if you thinkn Sudfeld is # 3
RB - Sanders and Scott are here, need 1-2 more, Clement could be back, probably draft one in the later rounds.
TE - Need a third TE behind Ertz and Goedert, likely Perkins, but could look to upgrade.
OL - Could use T depth, with Peters and Vaitai gone, position is thin, not sure how confident they are in Mailata, they look okay at G.
DE - They need an edge rusher to rotate in with Graham and Barnett
LB - They need LB help for sure with Bradham and Grugier-Hill gone, weak FA class and Eagles don't typically draft LB high, but they seem to devalue the position so will they go with just Gerry, Edwards and Singleton?
S - They need a 3rd safety behind McLeod and Mills, Ford is fine as a 4th
CB - Not as big a need since the Slay signing, but probably should still draft one in the first 3 picks.