Cook was in Philly this week

[CbEagle]

There will be 3 of the top 4 ribs going from 25 till midway through the 2nd. Get the RB then not iin the first.

[CbEagle]

No one, what's left are scraps. Draft 2 in first 4 rds

[Pete]

I don't believe

OL is a need as well. IMO.

there are any tackles worth drafting early, especially when considering all the other team needs.

Guard and center are currently stacked positions. I'd wait until 2018 to draft Lane's replacement (assuming he moves to LT in 2018) until then. I'm not opposed to adding depth at any OL position late in the draft of UDFA.

[Snakebitten]

OL is a need as well. IMO.

They aren't drafting an offensive lineman in the first three or four rounds unless they acquire more picks. They don't have that luxury this year. The needs go: CB, RB, DE, WR, rinse and repeat.

[IronEagle]

there are any tackles worth drafting early, especially when considering all the other team needs.

Guard and center are currently stacked positions. I'd wait until 2018 to draft Lane's replacement (assuming he moves to LT in 2018) until then. I'm not opposed to adding depth at any OL position late in the draft of UDFA.

Agreed. But I think it wouldn't be out of line to take an OL 4th round or later.

BPA

[The Duck]

I would have to say the defenses carried two of those teams. You can find the 'next Joseph Addai' in the later rounds.

It's not a coincidence that great, championship defenses often have great running backs. Lynch and Lewis were perfect compliments to Baltimore and Seattle's defenses.

[Snakebitten]

Do you realize how far this team is away from putting together a championship defense? It's not going to help when you draft a running back in the first round.

Here's the Top 10 RBs last year and their draft round:
Elliott (1)
Howard (5)
Murray (3)
Ajayi (5)
Bell (2)
McCoy (2)
Johnson (3)
Blount (Undrafted)
Freeman (4)
Miller (4)

Also, some could argue a good defense can make a good running back.

[Pete]

Mmmmmmm

There will be 3 of the top 4 ribs going from 25 till midway through the 2nd. Get the RB then not iin the first.

ribs.

I think you can get a strong RB after mid-2nd. Fournette, Cook, Kamara are the guys who will be gone. Mixon is a wildcard. Let's see who they either bring in for a visit or send to pro days from the next tier of guys like Hunt, Galman, McNichols, and Conner.

[The Duck]

No one, what's left are scraps. Draft 2 in first 4 rds

Have to get at least two CBs in the first four rounds. And I wouldn't wait until the back end of the 4th to get one either.

Really, a trade back or two is the wisest thing at this point. Otherwise, you're going to be plugging holes with UDFAs.

[The Duck]

Do you realize how far this team is away from putting together a championship defense? It's not going to help when you draft a running back in the first round.

Here's the Top 10 RBs last year and their draft round:
Elliott (1)
Howard (5)
Murray (3)
Ajayi (5)
Bell (2)
McCoy (2)
Johnson (3)
Blount (Undrafted)
Freeman (4)
Miller (4)

Also, some could argue a good defense can make a good running back.

We're not really disagreeing all that much here. I know exactly what the defense needs. A DE, a DT, an OLB, 2 CBs (at least), and another Safety. Five of eleven starters need to be found/upgraded.

I also know that there is no running back on the roster. Sproles is a 33 year gadget. Smallwood is a dime a dozen fifth-round, straight-line runner with no moves, no vision, and adequate speed. The rest are camp fodder. I don't want our franchise QB dropping back 50 times a game burning out his arm and being driven into the ground because they couldn't find anyone to run the ball. We tried the late-round back thing last year. We got a guy who couldn't carry James Joseph's or Heath Sherman's cleats (I'm really not a Smallwood fan). I understand a lot of successful backs are drafted outside of the first, including the top three Eagles backs of my lifetime. I'm just not in love with the second tier guys in this draft. I like Mack, Gallman and McNichols, and not much else as a potential feature back. Hunt, Connor and Perine look like they can be good complimentary backs. Foreman has too many holes in his game and is a terrible fit. Kamara's short resume scares me. Given their investment in Wentz, preserving him, starting right now, should be a priority.

I'm not arguing against drafting defense in the first. It depends on the player. If Foster is there, yeah, you take him without hesitation. If Solomon Thomas falls to 14, you run to the podium. If it's one of the best of the rest of the CBs or DEs, I trade back. Maybe way back. If I can parlay #14 into two or three extra 2nds because Cook or Fournette or someone else slips and some team can't live without them, I'd do it in a heartbeat and target Mixon with one of the acquired picks, then go heavy defense the rest of the way (WR and OL are also needs).

[art vandelay]

everyone knows RB has been de-valued and that you can get one in the later rounds. that, along with the proliferation of the two-back system, has been going on for quite a while. i also think it's a big stretch to say the pats went RBBC last year. blount had nearly 300 carries, while i think lewis and white combined for like 100. ATL did implement a two-back system very effectively.

ideally, this team hits on a DE in round 1, and an RB in round 2-3. but i won't be upset if they decide an RB is the BPA. i'm not big on evaluating the draft based on team history, but when was the last time this team drafted a good RB late? mccoy was drafted in the 2nd round in 09. he was the last good back they drafted. this team has, however, missed on plenty of DL.

i also don't think it's true that "good" teams don't draft RB. i don't know how anyone could think ezekiel elliott, who also scored 3 times as many TDs as jordan howard, was the pick a bad team makes. dallas put themselves in a position to draft RB, just as the vikes had with AP. SB winning organizations have done it too since the devaluation of the position started. i don't necessary want RB in rd 1, but i wouldn't dismiss the notion just based on conventional wisdom.

[IronEagle]

everyone knows RB has been de-valued and that you can get one in the later rounds. that, along with the proliferation of the two-back system, has been going on for quite a while. i also think it's a big stretch to say the pats went RBBC last year. blount had nearly 300 carries, while i think lewis and white combined for like 100. ATL did implement a two-back system very effectively.

ideally, this team hits on a DE in round 1, and an RB in round 2-3. but i won't be upset if they decide an RB is the BPA. i'm not big on evaluating the draft based on team history, but when was the last time this team drafted a good RB late? mccoy was drafted in the 2nd round in 09. he was the last good back they drafted. this team has, however, missed on plenty of DL.

i also don't think it's true that "good" teams don't draft RB. i don't know how anyone could think ezekiel elliott, who also scored 3 times as many TDs as jordan howard, was the pick a bad team makes. dallas put themselves in a position to draft RB, just as the vikes had with AP. SB winning organizations have done it too since the devaluation of the position started. i don't necessary want RB in rd 1, but i wouldn't dismiss the notion just based on conventional wisdom.

Thing is when you have needs like this team has, you can't go wrong by selecting Best Player Available. Fill holes. This team has a lot of holes.

Only position i see that you couldn't draft is QB.

[Snakebitten]

They had to lean on Blount because Lewis was out most of the season. New England gave him a lot less carries per game his previous years. Replacing Blount with Rex Burkhead is a good example of how they value the position. They are clearly a RBBC team. They will be again this year.

You can be a good team and draft a RB...just not with the 14th pick. Elliott is a product of his environment. I'm not saying he's not good. I'm saying the good teams wouldn't have drafted him #4. Now, that's hard to prove since the Patriots had only one pick that high in the last two decades. They also don't need high picks because they know how to get compensatory picks to increase their odds. Another smart thing good teams do.

Smallwood is most likely a part time turd. They need to find the next McCoy, Westbrook, Lewis, or Staley in the second or third round. If they can't, then I'll be on board with them targeting a Saquon Barkley next year.

[CbEagle]

We lost half of our starting dline, starting olb, and 2 starting corners. That is why I think defense first pick and if Lattimore, Barnett, or Foster drop to 14 grab 'em. Now I would love to pick a rb and really make this offense top notch but the d needs players

[art vandelay]

Yeah, we're never gonna agree on this. Not sure if Blount averaging a career-high, or Lewis averaging fewer carries than the previous year makes NE RBBC. They put the right value on RB, as they do all positions, but they weren't RBBC last year.

As far as Zeke goes, let's assume he is the product of his environment. To me the environment of a 13-3 team that puts its rookie RB in a position to be an MVP candidate is that of a good team. A team that drafts Jalen Ramsey in that spot, then Derrick Henry in round two, is a team that not only hits on 100% of its picks, but also knows who will be available in the following round. If we can just ignore the second round pick and say a good team goes Jalen Ramsey at 4, I'd like to know what's up with Jacksonville.

This is all probably going to be irrelevant because I doubt the Eagles will go RB at 14. However, all these teams are aware that RBs can be had later, and the NFL is a pretty risk-averse environment. If they decide RB is the right pick, I'll just think they really like the guy. They're aware of all the risks, probably more so than some guys sitting at home.