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Why the Eagles aren't drafting a RB in the 1st round
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Mark Eckel | For NJ Advance Media By Mark Eckel | For NJ Advance Media
on March 22, 2017 at 6:00 AM, updated March 22, 2017 at 7:36 AM
History suggests it isn't going to happen.
The last time the Eagles selected a running back in the first round of the NFL Draft was 1986 when then rookie head coach Buddy Ryan selected Keith Byars, out of Ohio State, with the ninth overall pick.
That was a really long time ago.
And 31 years later I'm not buying into Florida State's Dalvin Cook or Standford's Christian McCaffery being the Eagles selection with the 14th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Yes, LSU's Leonard Fournette intrigues me and the fact the Eagles brought him in for a visit when there is very little chance he lasts until 14 also makes me wonder, but no, the Eagles are not taking a running back in the first round.
Here's why.
Nick Foles vs. Chase Daniel
The Eagles will have a new/old backup quarterback in 2017. Did they make the right move in replacing Chase Daniel with Nick Foles? And the team likes Wendell Smallwood more than you do.
The organization through the years has done very well with running backs taken after the first round. In the Super Bowl era, the Eagles best backs were, and your preference depends on the order, Brian Westbrook (3rd round, 2002), LeSean McCoy (2nd round, 2009), Wilbert Montgomery (6th round, 1977) and Duce Staley (3rd round, 1997).
So if they just look through their media guide they can see that it's not necessary to spend a first-round pick on a running back.
And this year that might be more true than ever.
While the above mentioned backs -- Fournette, McCaffery and Cook -- are the top three backs in the draft and will likely be taken in the first round, there are some good ones who will last until the second, third and even fourth rounds.
A back the Eagles definitely like is Pitt's James Connor, a bruiser who Eagles fans will love in a hurry and who should be there in the fourth round, maybe even with the Eagles' second fourth-round pick.
Finally, and this might be the most important reason the Eagles aren't taking one of the top three backs, the team really likes what it saw from 2016 fifth-round pick Wendell Smallwood.
It was a small sample, mainly because he missed the final three games of the season, but when given the opportunity Smallwood produced.
He was good (79 yards rushing) in the team's 34-3 dismantling of the Steelers, the AFC finalist. And he was even better (70 yards, 5.4 yards per carry) in the team's 24-15 win over the Falcons, the NFC Champions.
So in the Eagles' two best wins, Smallwood produced. He deserves the chance to see what he can do with more of a workload in 2017. And I think he's going to get it.
shares
Why the Eagles aren't drafting a RB in the 1st round
Print Email
Mark Eckel | For NJ Advance Media By Mark Eckel | For NJ Advance Media
on March 22, 2017 at 6:00 AM, updated March 22, 2017 at 7:36 AM
History suggests it isn't going to happen.
The last time the Eagles selected a running back in the first round of the NFL Draft was 1986 when then rookie head coach Buddy Ryan selected Keith Byars, out of Ohio State, with the ninth overall pick.
That was a really long time ago.
And 31 years later I'm not buying into Florida State's Dalvin Cook or Standford's Christian McCaffery being the Eagles selection with the 14th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Yes, LSU's Leonard Fournette intrigues me and the fact the Eagles brought him in for a visit when there is very little chance he lasts until 14 also makes me wonder, but no, the Eagles are not taking a running back in the first round.
Here's why.
Nick Foles vs. Chase Daniel
The Eagles will have a new/old backup quarterback in 2017. Did they make the right move in replacing Chase Daniel with Nick Foles? And the team likes Wendell Smallwood more than you do.
The organization through the years has done very well with running backs taken after the first round. In the Super Bowl era, the Eagles best backs were, and your preference depends on the order, Brian Westbrook (3rd round, 2002), LeSean McCoy (2nd round, 2009), Wilbert Montgomery (6th round, 1977) and Duce Staley (3rd round, 1997).
So if they just look through their media guide they can see that it's not necessary to spend a first-round pick on a running back.
And this year that might be more true than ever.
While the above mentioned backs -- Fournette, McCaffery and Cook -- are the top three backs in the draft and will likely be taken in the first round, there are some good ones who will last until the second, third and even fourth rounds.
A back the Eagles definitely like is Pitt's James Connor, a bruiser who Eagles fans will love in a hurry and who should be there in the fourth round, maybe even with the Eagles' second fourth-round pick.
Finally, and this might be the most important reason the Eagles aren't taking one of the top three backs, the team really likes what it saw from 2016 fifth-round pick Wendell Smallwood.
It was a small sample, mainly because he missed the final three games of the season, but when given the opportunity Smallwood produced.
He was good (79 yards rushing) in the team's 34-3 dismantling of the Steelers, the AFC finalist. And he was even better (70 yards, 5.4 yards per carry) in the team's 24-15 win over the Falcons, the NFC Champions.
So in the Eagles' two best wins, Smallwood produced. He deserves the chance to see what he can do with more of a workload in 2017. And I think he's going to get it.
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