A late NFL Draft day trade with a division rival, who would have seen that coming? The Philadelphia Eagles trade their 12th overall pick and a third-rounder (70 overall) for the Dallas Cowboys’ 10th overall selection. It was a small move, and the Birds went up to grab Heisman-winning Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Eagles Trade Ahead of Giants to Draft DeVonta Smith
The Eagles effectively only jumped the New York Giants to get Smith, meaning they must’ve had a decent suspicion that the Giants were planning to take him. Considering the Giants moved down right after to select a different WR in Kadarius Toney, that seems to have been fairly accurate.
Philadelphia has spent a lot of draft capital on wide receiver recently (J.J. Arcega Whiteside in the second in 2019 and Jalen Reagor in the first in 2020) without much success. Smith is their biggest commitment, but he’s also the most talented. He put together arguably the greatest wide receiver season in college football history in the toughest conference. Smith totaled 1,800 yards and 24 touchdowns, which is pretty much more production than the entire 2020 Eagles WR room.
Eagles Trade Details
Losing a third-round pick to jump two spots isn’t amazing, but the Eagles did have two third-rounders. In addition, if they truly believed the Giants were planning to take Smith, which seems likely, then it’s not a problem to secure your guy. The other potential targets for the Eagles (either of the top two cornerbacks or Jaylen Waddle) were gone as well. It was either Smith or a trade back, and they chose Smith.
For Dallas, they were never going to take a wide receiver or quarterback with their current roster, and they grabbed an extra third-round pick to select the guy they were probably always going to take in Micah Parsons. Mission accomplished.
Rest of the Eagles Draft
Wide receiver is taken care of, so now it’s time to address the defense. The second cornerback slot is a major need, and it’s a fairly deep CB draft. Linebacker, along with defensive tackle and defensive end, are also in need of depth. The positions are strong, but there is little behind the starters. Five cornerbacks ended up going in the first round, but Asante Samuel Jr. is still around, as are Kelvin Joseph and Tyson Campbell. For linebacker, as predicted, Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah fell into the second round and would be a nice pickup.
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