NFL Mock Draft Monday: Seven rounds of speculation
· Yahoo Sports
I respect the 7-round NFL mock draft. It is completely unrealistic, but so what. Today let us celebrate those with the courage and time to make 257 selections, of which maybe 25 will be correct.
Matt Miller, ESPN
23 – EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Miami
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54 – WR Antonio Williams, Clemson
68 – TE Max Klare, Ohio State
98 – OT Dametrious Crownover, Texas A&M
114 – QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
137 – C Jake Slaughter, Florida
153 – S Michael Taaffe, Texas
178 – DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati
197 – CB Ceyair Wright, Nebraska
Matt Miller has gotten some deserved criticism in recent years for phoning it in. He’s had big boards with players who weren’t in the draft, and his Substack is run by his brother.
This mock has a phoned in feel, as if Miller just went down the list of immediate needs and gave the Eagles a player at whatever was at the top.
But it also doesn’t feel wrong. The Eagles do need an EDGE. They will need a WR when AJ Brown is finally traded. They do need a TE to eventually replace Dallas Goedert. They do need an OT prospect. They very well may take a shot on a QB later in the draft. Drafting a center makes sense. They do need another safety. Dontay Corleone is a lesser version of the once highly thought of prospect who fell that the Eagles like to take a chance on, and that might be the only time 340 lb “Dontay Corleone” and “lesser” were in the same sentence. A CB with some size makes sense.
Josh Edwards, CBS
23- EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson
54- TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
68- S Zakee Wheatley, Penn State
98- OT Dametrious Crownover, Texas A&M
114- WR Skyler Bell, UConn
137- DT Zxavian Harris, Ole Miss
153- DT Albert Regis, Texas A&M
178- TE John Michael Gyllenborg, Wyoming
197- CB Charles Demmings, Stephen F. Austin
Edwards and Miller both took an EDGE in the 1st, a TE on day 2, Crownover at 98, and a CB at 197. Is someone copying someone’s homework?
Two tight ends and two defensive tackles feels like overkill. The first four picks are familiar faces though. Parker fits the “top prospect who went down a notch” profile the Eagles have not been afraid to take a chance on. Stowers has only really played TE for three years and in all of them was a major part of two program turnarounds. Wheatley is a big rangy safety that any team could use. Crownover is bigger than Lane Johnson and yet smaller than the non-projected 1st round OT the Eagles have met with.
Shane Hallam, Draft Sharks
23 – OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
54 – EDGE R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma
68 – TE Sam Roush, Stanford
87 – WR Germie Bernard, Alabama
98 – WR Deion Burks, Oklahoma
123 – CB Julian Neal, Arkansas
137 – S Michael Taafffe, Texas
151 – C Parker Brailsford, Alabama
161 – OT Alex Harkey, Oregon
179 – OT Aamil Wagner, Notre Dame
One reason why seven round mocks are unrealistic is because people don’t bother with trades, but there will always be trades. Shane Hallam mocked a bunch of trades, and I salute you for that Shane.
The mock itself though… eh. 54 is too high for the undersized and one dimensional R Mason Thomas. Meanwhile, 87 is too low for Germie Bernard. Deion Burks is slot only so he doesn’t make much sense for the Eagles. Roush is a guy that is turning some heads late in the process, which is understandable because he played on some terrible teams with terrible QB play and so didn’t get much of a chance to showcase.
Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
23 – S Emmanuel Warren-McNeil, Toledo
54 – iOL Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon
68 – WR Antonio Williams, Clemson
98 – TE Jack Endries, Texas
114 – DT Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati
137 – EDGE Mikail Kamara, Indiana
153 – OT Drew Shelton, Penn State
178 – G Jaeden Roberts, Alabama
197 – DT Tyler Onyedim, Texas A&M
There’s accuracy and then there’s authenticity. You’re never going to have an accurate seven round mock draft, it’s hard enough having an accurate one round mock. But you can try to stay true to what a team does. This hits several notes for an Eagles draft.
-They’re certainly not afraid to draft a Toledo DB in the 1st, and as we have pointed out before they have brought in other Rockets defenders, so Toledo players are definitely on their radar.
-Pregnon and Roberts are both big interior linemen, which the Eagles love, and are older OL, which the Eagles tend to draft.
-As mentioned earlier, Corlene fits the “falling” prospect profile, which Williams, who was getting 1st round projections to start the season; and Kamara, who was getting day two projections to start last season, also do.
-Loading on up line prospects in the later rounds is very much in line with the Eagles drafting, since 2021 they’ve taken 5 OL and 6 DL in the 5th round or later.
Well done.