Eagles draft debate: Should the Birds beef up the defensive line or grab a corner at No. 10?

Nolan Smith, Calijah Kancey, Devon Witherspoon, and Joey Porter Jr. are four players that have been linked with the Eagles in the first round.

Could the Eagles target Calijah Kancey in the first round as a potential Javon Hargrave replacement?Read moreKeith Srakocic / AP

by EJ Smith and Devin Jackson

Published Mar. 9, 2023, 11:17 a.m. ET

Fresh off a trip to the NFL scouting combine, Eagles beat reporter EJ Smith and draft analyst Devin Jackson have a clearer picture of what is to come over the next six weeks leading up to the NFL draft.

The annual crop of risers coming off the athletic testing in Indianapolis includes a handful of defensive linemen, edge rushers, and Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. With Jalen Hurts already in the fold, the Eagles, picking No. 10 overall and again at No. 31 in the first round, will be pulling for as many quarterbacks to go ahead of them as possible.

Here’s EJ and Devin’s best guesses on what the Eagles will do with their two first-round picks.

EJ Smith: What’s up, Devin? It was a little later than I expected thanks to the Eagles playoff run, but it feels good to finally dive into the draft.

Let’s start with the question most people seem to be asking: Which draft prospects have helped their stock enough for the Eagles to consider at No. 10 overall?

Devin Jackson: What’s up EJ! The first player that comes to mind as a stock riser is Georgia edge Nolan Smith. He came in a little light at 238 pounds, but he blew up the combine, running a 4.39 second-40 hard dash and jumping 41.5-inches. His tape is up there with some of the other top guys in this class, including Tyree Wilson, Myles Murphy, and Lukas Van Ness, and he’s an excellent run defender with quick-twitch athleticism to get after the passer. He certainly should be in play at 10.

Another player that helped himself was Pittsburgh defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who tested off the charts, although at 6′1, 281 pounds with just 30 5/8-inch arms, he’s a bit of an outlier. While his quick first step and pass rush upside are alluring, do you have any worries about how he might fit on run downs with the Eagles?

Smith: I was hoping you’d bring these guys up. Both feel like Eagles players for obvious reasons. Smith reminds me a lot of Haason Reddick, and Next Gen Stats list him as the player he’s most comparable to in terms of size and athleticism.

I spent a long time thinking about Kancey while doing my mock draft earlier this week. I asked some draft guys about him yesterday and got mixed reviews. Some could see him creeping up that high while others were shocked I was talking about him at 10 instead of closer to 30. The Aaron Donald comparisons are inevitable, if not a bit unfair based on his college production (seven sacks last season) and arm length. But he’s the type of high-variance player the Eagles haven’t been afraid of taking in the past. He won’t fit on every team, but I do think he fits into the Eagles front quite well.

Assuming Javon Hargrave signs elsewhere, which feels likely, the Eagles are going to need to add some juice to maintain their interior pass rush. Fletcher Cox is also a free agent and could move on after 12 years with the team. Those possible departures would have the Eagles rebuilding their interior front around nose tackle Jordan Davis and would leave them looking for athletic rushers to play in the 4i-technique on the inside shoulder of opposing tackles. It’s hard to understate how perfect Kancey would be in that role. He’d take on the situational pass-rushing role occupied by Hargrave last year and I think he could make an early impact doing so. It’s also fun to imagine where he’d fit into new defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s scheme. Desai has a track record of exotic fronts on passing downs. I could see him getting creative with a guy like Kancey.

What are your thoughts on Kancey?

Jackson: When it comes to the evaluation aspect of his game, I think Kancey has one of the best first steps of any defensive lineman in this draft. Compared to players people are projecting to go ahead of him (Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, Baylor’s Siaki Ika), Kancey produced at a high level. With alluring twitchy traits and the ability to split through guards and centers using his deadly swim, he disrupts plays so quickly that he often tackles both the running back and quarterback. Kancey is a great athlete, who dominates despite his size at getting to the quarterback from several alignments across the defensive line by using his quick hands to swipe down offensive linemen.

Where I have worries, is how he sometimes can be moved off the ball in double-team situations, getting displaced, and thus unable to keep linebackers clean at the second level. His defensive anchor in one-on-one run situations isn’t the best, as he often has to try and win with speed, versus stacking and shedding offensive linemen head up. If he is schemed to where he can split gaps and just use his natural speed and explosiveness to gash running lanes, I’m all in, but if you’re asking him to be a stout run defender, I think that’s where things get dicey with his evaluation.

I like his skill set, but I think I like him more at pick 30 versus No. 10 overall, although there’s a chance you could miss out on him altogether if you pass on him early.

Smith: I think 10 is too early for Kancey. The upside for him to be an impact player is obvious, but being such a high-variance prospect who won’t appeal to every team, the value is rich that early in the draft. You’re betting on an outlier in terms of size hitting. Chasing the next Aaron Donald is an exercise in futility; guys like him only come around once in a generation and the overwhelming majority of players who look like him will struggle significantly in the league because they aren’t able to overcome their size disadvantages.

As exciting as Kancey is, there are some rock-solid cornerback prospects like Devon Witherspoon (Illinois) and Christian Gonzalez (Oregon) in the Eagles’ range. There’s Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski and Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr., who could be immediate starters as well. Any of them would be very good value picks here.

The Eagles’ prioritization of trench players and the glaring need they might be facing at defensive tackle is enough for me to think it’s possible, but I think, at the very least, one of the top corners would outrank Kancey at No. 10.

This brings me to my next question. What do you think about the corners at the top of the draft?

Jackson: When it comes to these corners EJ, there are probably 10 or 11 guys who have the skill sets to become future starters in the NFL. The combine showcased just how deep the position is, with players like Gonzalez and Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. headlining a loaded group. While Witherspoon did not test because of injury, he is still among the top guys.

I think it comes down to preference with these corners. If you want someone with fluid, ‘oily’ hips, the ability to fit both zone and man schemes, and probably the best ball skills of the top three guys, Gonzalez is your guy. Although I have him ranked No. 3 behind Witherspoon and Porter, I think Gonzalez is the best pure coverage corner, as he possesses excellent athleticism to compete at the catch point. His lack of physicality at the catch point and when attacking ball carriers in the open field worries me though.

Witherspoon, who is my No. 2 corner, is a dog. Although not the biggest, he plays angry, is active in the running game, and is competitive at the catch point. He loves to get hands-on at the line of scrimmage, and even made plays in zone coverage when asked, especially in Cover 2 when closing on short routes and undercutting corner routes. I want to see just how good of an athlete he is, but the tape is awesome. He can be a bit grabby at the catch point, which led to penalties, specifically in the Purdue game, but that’s something that can be coached up.

Porter Jr. is another player, like Kancey, that not everyone is going to love. His lack of interceptions (one) over his career seems to be a big talking point, but not many dudes with his size (6-2 1/2, with 34-inch arms) can move like he does and get his hand on passes as often. While he is a work in progress with his press technique, specifically his footwork, he can both punish receivers at the line of scrimmage and has the speed to run with receivers downfield, traits the NFL is valuing more and more. If he could be less grabby on passes in the air, and locate the football better, we might be talking about a sure-fire top 10 pick.

Ultimately, I love the fit of Witherspoon and Porter, simply because I think Gonzalez is off the board by the time the Eagles pick at 10.

Smith: I mostly agree with you here, although I have Witherspoon ahead of Porter Jr. I love the edge he plays with and feel like he’s an ideal fit with the Eagles.

Looking over the recent draft history of cornerbacks, I think it’s quietly become a premium position. With so much talent at receiver, it’s hard to survive on defense without at least one quality cover corner these days. If you look at the best cornerbacks in the NFL, almost all of them were drafted in the first half of the first round, too.

It’s a position that’s hard to translate, so I think it’s important to get guys with the rare combination of intangibles and elite physical traits, which I think all three of these guys have. That’s why I went with Witherspoon in my first mock draft and it’s why I think the Eagles will go with one of the top guys even though, as you said, it’s a deep class with potential starters in each of the first few rounds.