The Eagles made one selection last night — Washington State offensive tackle Andrew Dillard — but in reality top personnel executive Howie Roseman likely made hundreds of decisions in the 1st round of the draft.
Roseman had to decide whether-or-not to trade up early on. He then had to debate whether to wait for a player he was targeting — Dillard — would make it No. 25. He likely fielded plenty of calls from other teams trying to move up into the Eagles' original spot at No. 25.
How did Roseman do?
Here is a report card for the Eagles' 1st round of the 2019 NFL Draft:
Not Trading Up for Defensive Linemen: Perhaps the most shocking part of last night was Roseman sitting by and not getting in on what is likely going to go down as a historic draft class along the defensive line. Roseman saw 13 defensive linemen go off the board on Thursday night, the most since 2010. Roseman tried to get in on the action, attempting to pull off a trade up the board with Christian Wilkins on his mind, per a source. The trade never came to be, however, leaving Roseman without a new, elite prospect along the defensive line. Dillard could turn into a player that spends the 10-plus years blocking some of those elite defensive line prospects. Still, it feels like there is a better chance the Eagles end up regretting they didn't get one of the elite defensive line prospects.
Grade: C
EAGLES: BEST PLAYERS STILL AVAILABLE
Andre Dillard, The Prospect: There is a lot to like about Dillard as an offensive line prospect. He is an elite athlete for the position, comparable to the Eagles' current right tackle, Lane Johnson. Dillard is incredibly quick for a player his size, running his 40-yard dash in 4.96 seconds. To put that in perspective, Lane Johnson can his 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds. Dillard had a quicker 20-yard shuffle — 4.4 seconds to 4.52 for Johnson — and just his three-cone drill was just 0.13 seconds slower.
Dillard is more than just an athletic project, however. Dillard has plenty of experience pass blocking, spending 2,391 snaps in college protecting the quarterback, and only allowing 49 total pressures. So Dillard comes to the NFL well ahead of the curve as a pass blocker.
The issue is Dillard has very little experience run blocking. He has time to develop, but using a first-round pick on a player that has so little experience in such a large part of the game is concerning. The Eagles should be confident that offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland can coach him up and have him ready when it is his time to take the field, but his lack of experience as a run blocking is not ideal.
Grade: B+
Andre Dillard, The Value: Perceived value is obviously key in the NFL Draft. If the Giants would have taken quarterback Daniel Jones at No. 17 instead of No. 6, it would have been viewed differently. For the Eagles, Dillard seems to be good value at No. 25 overall. The fact that offensive tackle Tytus Howard went right after Dillard shows that the Eagles were correct in reading the board and needed to jump up to get Dillard. Roseman said the Eagles viewed Dillard as a top-10 player in the draft. Getting him at No. 22, even if they had to trade up to do it, is good value.
Grade: A
Passing on Hollywood Brown: The Eagles were rumored to be very interested in Oklahoma receiver Hollywood Brown heading into Thursday night. Well, they had the chance to get him when they moved up to No. 22 overall and decided to pass. The decision, although not the exciting one, was the right one. Brown would have helped immediately, but in the long run he would not have given the Eagles the same kind of value or impact a player like Dillard will if he turns into the talent the teams believes he can. The Eagles always need to make protecting quarterback Carson Wentz a priority. Passing on Brown for Dillard was the right call.
Grade: A
Passing on Montez Sweat: When the Eagles moved up to No. 22 overall, it seemed obvious that they were doing so for a defensive lineman — and it was likely going to be Mississippi State defensive tackle Montez Sweat. Sweat seems to check off all the boxes for the Eagles. Elite prospect at a key position? Check. Fills an immediate need for help along the defensive line? Check. Fills a long-term need at a critical position? Check. The Eagles' pass rush has been one of the main reasons they have been so successful over the last few seasons. The pick of Dillard makes sense for a lot of the reasons Sweat would have — building along the lines. The difference is Sweat could have helped right away, whereas in an ideal world, Dillard doesn't take a single snap next season.
Grade: D+
Giants: The Eagles had to be thrilled when they were sitting in the draft room at the NovaCare Complex and heard the news that the Giants were taking quarterback Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall. Perhaps Jones will turn into a franchise quarterback. More than likely, however, the Giants reached for a player they could have gotten at No. 17, after passing on plenty of quarterback prospects in last year's draft that were considered better than Jones. There is something to be said for just taking Jones and not risking losing him, but part of overseeing a draft is making the most of each pick. For the second year in a row, general manager Dave Gettleman appears to have botched an elite asset at the top of the draft. The Giants' last two picks — DeAndre Baker and Dexter Lawrence — are both very solid prospects. They should help the Giants' defense, which is badly in need of help after watching all of their top talent leave this offseason. The potential of Baker and Lawrence, however, doesn't make up for the disaster of Jones at the top.
Grade: D
Washington: Unlike the Giants, Washington did an excellent job on Thursday night. You can debate if Dwayne Haskins is going to be a franchise quarterback, but he was good value at No. 15 overall, and the fact the team didn't have to trade up to get him worked out perfectly for Washington. Then, later on the draft, Washington grabbed Sweat, who was considered one of the best players in the draft and viewed as an elite pass-rushing prospect. With Sweat and Haskins, Washington added two players — and got good value on each — that they can build their team around on each side of the ball.
Grade: B
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
