Yes, they should take the best player on the board.
Yes, if a stud defensive player falls to them at No. 15 or No. 18, they should consider it.
But as the 2022 NFL Draft quickly approaches, one thing is clear — the Eagles need to prioritize offense, and specifically receiver, with their two first-round picks.
Although the offseason is not yet over, the Eagles have made some improvements on the defensive side of the ball, adding Haason Reddick and Kyzir White to their defense. Both Reddick and White should be upgrades at key spots of need for the team.
On offense, meanwhile, the team has swung-and-missed on some key pieces. They didn’t land Calvin Ridley in a trade (for obvious reasons). They missed out on Allen Robinson and Christian Kirk in free agency. They didn’t land Tyreek Hill when he was available.
Now, four months into the offseason, they have done essentially nothing to help them improve in the area they need to take the biggest leap in next season — throwing the ball.
Unless they will be making a change at quarterback, which seems unlikely at this point, the Eagles best chance at making a big leap forward as a passing offense is finding difference makers at receiver. With free agency basically over their best chance at finding those players is in the 2022 NFL Draft.
While the draft board could break a number of different ways, and that is especially true this year, it looks like when the Eagles go on the clock in the first round the best players available will be at receiver. Their is almost certainly going to be an early run on edge rushers in the top 10. The best two cornerbacks on the board, Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr., likely won’t make it to No. 15 either. There should be at least one, if not two, quarterbacks taken.
As a result it looks like the the top receivers in this year’s draft will fall down the draft board. It’s possible none go inside the top 10, which should leave plenty of talented receivers on the board for the Eagles at No. 15 and 18. At least one of the receivers available will end up being special. It is likely multiple receivers taken in the first round will make an impact next year.
It is going to be the Eagles job to find the difference maker — and if they have to take receivers at both No. 15 and 18 to increase their chances of finding one, then that is what they should do.
For more discussion and debate on whether the Eagles should prioritize offense or defense in the first round, check out the latest Go Birds! Pod below: