2023 Eagles Mock Draft – 3.0

The draft is just a few days away. Here is my final Eagles only mock draft. This is not what I want to happen, but rather just a possible scenario based on my knowledge of the Eagles and tape study of the prospects.

I didn’t put any trades in here. We know Howie Roseman will make deals during the draft, but I don’t want to put together some highly favorable scenario for the heck of it. I might do that in my draft preview later in the week, but no trades for now.

Here are links to the previous mock drafts.

1.0

2.0

Now onto the final attempt.

1st round – DT Jalen Carter
1st round – DL Adetomiwa Adebawore
2nd round – SAF Jordan Battle
3rd round – OG Anthony Bradford
7th round – OT Jake Witt
7th round – WR Antoine Green 

Let’s talk about the individual players.

1st – DT Jalen Carter – Georgia – 6-3, 314

We’ve talked a lot about Carter, both on the field (good) and off the field (not so good). If there were no character issues, the Bears wouldn’t have traded the top pick and Carter would be headed to the Windy City. But there are issues and Carter isn’t likely to go in the Top 5. There is a lot of speculation about him going to other teams in the Top 10. The problem is that those teams all need a lot of help. The Lions and Seahawks both went 9-8, but they have a lot of holes to fill. I just don’t know if any other team can afford to take the risk on Carter.

The Eagles can take that risk because of the quality of the roster. They also have Big Dom and you can bet he’ll do a ton of digging to find out anything and everything about Carter. It also helps that the Eagles have veteran leaders like Cox, Graham, Kelce and Johnson. Those guys can help Carter stay focused and show him how to succeed in the NFL, on and off the field.

pulling clips for my Will Levis breakdown video and my eyes ended up just watching Jalen Carter (#88) manhandle Kentucky linemen in the first half pic.twitter.com/ZqBKA1YrS9

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) April 18, 2023

Carter’s ability to 2-gap and play the run at a high level while also being able to rush the passer makes him a special prospect worth taking a chance on. There is risk with this pick, but the reward could be a Fletcher Cox type of player in the middle of the defense. Those guys are hard to find. As long as Big Dom clears him, Carter is worth the risk.

1st – DL Adetomiwa Adebawore – Northwestern – 6-2, 284

Howie has talked about unique talents and players with “tools in their body”. Adebawore has tools. He ran 4.49 at the Combine, which is beyond freaky for his size. He has long arms and big hands. He did 27 reps, which shows strength. He had a VJ of 37.5 inches and that shows explosion. This dude is a special athlete.

The game tape isn’t consistently special and that’s why we’re talking about him at this point and not higher. He played DE and DT. He had 17.5 TFLs, 9.5 sacks and 4 FF over the past two seasons. Watch the Ohio State game and you’ll see Adebawore at his best.

I thought Northwestern's Adetomiwa Adebawore had some positive plays in a variety of alignments against Ohio State pic.twitter.com/Okv9ppdHS2

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) March 19, 2023

Adebawore also had a strong showing at the Senior Bowl. He was in full attack mode and gave blockers fits all week long. The Eagles drafted Milton Williams a couple of years ago and he had a similar build and skill set. Adebawore is a more talented version of Williams and would give the team a versatile piece to play at various DL spots. He’s not a finished product right now, but has tremendous potential and would offer good depth as he develops.

2nd round – SAF Jordan Battle – Georgia – 6-1, 209

Safety is a wide open position right now. Reed Blankenship and Terrell Edmunds are the projected starters. Justin Evans will battle for a spot. K’Von Wallace is in the mix. The Eagles still need a key player to build around for the future. Battle can be that guy.

Battle started for three years at Alabama. He can play deep or in the box. He’s big and physical. He ran 4.55 at the Combine, showing the speed you want for a safety. Battle picked off 6 passes so he can be a playmaker. The Eagles want that.

Jordan Battle reads the QB & route development so well. I was shocked at how often Hendon Hooker moved to his 2&3 reads when Battle had the first read covered. (Made me appreciate Hooker a bit more)
Here, he reads the route & QB & flashes his closing burst to break up the pass. pic.twitter.com/TvaNhZbuG1

— BOLTS Draft Talk (@BoltsDraftTalk) April 23, 2023

I think Battle would be a good fit for Sean Desai’s system. He’s got the skill to play deep, but also the size and toughness to come downhill and play the run. This might be the spot where I’d want to move back, but it would also be nice to add a talented safety like Battle.

3rd round – OG Anthony Bradford – LSU – 6-4, 332

Outstanding athlete who is also big, strong and physical. Think of Landon Dickerson, but with a little more speed and agility. Bradford only started 17 games at LSU. 12 of them came at RG and 5 at LT. The Eagles like versatile athletes and Bradford certainly fits that description.

Bradford is a mauler in the run game. He could be the RG of the future and open a lot of holes for Jalen Hurts and Bijan Robinson (I kid, I kid). Bradford does need work in pass pro, but he’s got the tools to do a good job of that. His feet are good enough LSU put him at LT. He’s strong enough to anchor well. He needs to clean some things up technique wise. I think Jeff Stoutland might be able to help in that area.

https://twitter.com/ConnorJRogers/status/1646507278017740801

Cam Jurgens is penciled in as the RG for now. Sua Opeta is the top backup OG. The Eagles need depth on the inside, as well as someone to develo for the future. Bradford would make a lot of sense. If you watched the Combine, you saw Stoutland connect with Bradford. The Eagles have shown some interest in him as well.

7th round – OT Jake Witt – Northern Michigan – 6-7, 302

Back in 2018 the Eagles gambled on upside and landed Jordan Mailata, who had no football experience. This time around they’ll go after a gifted athlete who has a little bit of football experience. Witt preferred basketball and focused on that sport. In college he realized football was his best option and made that his focus. He played RT and LT, but only has minimal experience at both.

https://twitter.com/_MLFootball/status/1648110409902178308

Lane Johnson will be the RT for the next couple of years. The Eagles can take a chance on Witt and see if he develops into an NFL player. Jeff Stoutland is a great coach and Witt would be a really talented prospect for him to work with. Witt had a great showing at his Pro Day. He is a gifted athlete with a big frame. He could develop into a starting OT. That’s the kind of player worth investing a late pick on. The Eagles have shown interest in Witt so we know he’s on their radar.

7th round – WR Antoine Green – UNC – 6-2, 199

The Eagles have elite starters in AJ and DeVonta. Things are wide open after that. Quez Watkins is coming off a disappointing season. Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman talked about having complete confidence in Watkins, but they need to bring in some competition. The team signed Olamide Zaccheaus for depth. They still need to bring in more competition.

Green is a big, athletic receiver. He ran 4.47, which shows good speed. He had a 3-cone time of 6.99, which shows good agility. Last year Green was 43-798-7. He can make plays without being a volume receiver. That’s exactly what the Eagles need. There just aren’t going to be a ton of passes going around so you need guys who can deliver in that setting.

https://twitter.com/tarheelupdate/status/1586516253514301440

I’m surprised Green hasn’t generated more buzz. He’s got the athleticism and talent to play in the NFL.

*****

So let’s talk about what didn’t happen.

No RB.

No CB.

These are two of the deepest positions in the draft. Howie spoke the other day about how the team will have to do well with UDFAs this year, as they did last year. These are two positions where the Eagles could find good UDFA players.

If Howie does move down and get extra picks, I’m sure RB and CB would be on the list to take. The Eagles have shown interest in guys at both spots.

I didn’t have the Eagles take an edge rusher or a LB.

The LB class isn’t strong. Maybe there will be someone the Eagles love and take. It’s also hard to know what they are looking for. Is Nakobe Dean the MLB or WLB?

The Eagles have 3 good edge rushers in Reddick, Sweat and BG. They have Derek Barnett coming back. That isn’t a need. It is a spot where they could take someone if they love the player and want to add him for the future. Not a need, though.

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