The 2017 NFL Draft was loaded with superstars ranging in all positions. This draft class included offensive superstars such as Christian Mcafferey, George Kittle, and Chris Godwin; but, also includes defensive pro-bowlers in Jamal Adams, Myles Garrett, and Tre’Davious White.

This re-draft will include all draft day trades. Plus, not all selections were based on skill: it depends on replicability at the position. For example, if this re-draft was purely based on skill, then close to half of the top ten picks would have been a runningback.

Now that the perameters have been set, let us re-draft:

1: Cleveland Browns: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech

After being benched behind Alex Smith in his rookie season, Patrick Mahomes has played two star seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs. In this timespan, Mahomes has won the NFL’s MVP award, and most recently a Super Bowl victory, to name a few of Mahomes’ many achievements. The Chiefs made what will eventually be considered as the best move in their franchise’s history by trading to the 10th pick for Mahomes, nabbing the best player in the NFL. However, in this re-draft, the Browns decide to pick Mahomes instead of star defensive end Myles Garrett.

2: Chicago Bears: Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M

While Garrett’s season was cut short due to his incident involving Mason Rudolph in a regular season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, let that not undercut Garrett’s talent. Garrett was more than well-deserving of the first-overall pick, but having the generational talent in Mahomes forces Garrett to move down a spot. The only reason I do not have Deshaun Watson landing here is because I think the Bears stick with Mike Glennon after signing him to a ridiculously large deal that offseason.

3: San Fransisco 49ers: George Kittle, TE, Iowa

While we all like to think of the Niners defense as formidable, it was not thanks to the likes of Soloman Thomas. But, that does not mean the Niners did this draft wrong, as they selected George Kittle in the fifth round. In this redraft, the Niners decide to select Kittle with their first round pick, and wait until the later rounds before even considering Thomas. Kittle has been an unstoppable force ever since being drafted into the league. At this point in time, the Niners have many holes, including quarterback, but they wait to get a quarterback until trading for Jimmy Garropolo. Kittle provides their team a dynamic blocker as well as a receiving threat that will scare defenses for weeks to come.

4: Jacksonville Jaguars: Christian Mccaffrey, HB, Stanford

The Jaguars initially selected Leanard Fournette at this spot. While I think this was a great fit, I believe that the Jaguars could have gone with a better running back. With uncertainty with Blake Bortles at quarterback, Mccaffrey will be playing in a nearly identical situation to the one he is currently in with the Panthers. Overall, CMC is a much better fit with this squad then Fournette is.

5: Tennessee Titans: T.J. Watt, EDGE, Wisconsin

Watt has improved in every season he has played, and has become a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with the Steelers. The Titans went with Corey Davis with this pick, which proved to be bust-worthy, especially now that they have a run-dominated offense with Derrick Henry. The Titans in this redraft go with defense, deciding between Jamal Adams and Watt. They eventually go with Watt, showing that they are confident in their safety group that is lead by Kevin Byard.

6: New York Jets: Jamal Adams, S, LSU

It is not often that in a redraft, a team goes with the same guy they went with in the actual draft. Even though there is uncertainty in his future with the Jets this offseason, the smart move is to keep their pick with Adams going at 6.

7: Los Angeles Chargers: Chris Godwin, WR, Penn State

While this may seem as a surprise to many, I think that the Chargers picking Godwin would be perfect. They initially went with Mike Williams, who they had hoped would provide Philip Rivers with a solid WR2 option. This would have spread the field more, allowing their star WR Keenan Allen and TE Hunter Henry to have more open space, creating more big plays. Williams has been a good pick, posting solid numbers when healthy. But, in comparison to Godwin’s breakout season, Williams stands no match. Chargers stick with a wideout here.

8: Carolina Panthers: Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama

Ever since the departure of Josh Norman and the rest of the core 15-1 Panther squad, the defense has been lacking in overall talent in exception to newly retired LB Luke Kuechly. This class features many great cornerbacks, including Tre’Davious White, and Marshon Lattimore. But, I am going with Humphrey. Since 2017, Humphrey has been hawking every pass thrown to him down, breaking up 47 passes, ranking fourth since he was drafted into the league.

9: Cincinnati Bengals: Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU

Like I mentioned in the previous selection, this class is loaded with studs at cornerback. The Bengals in the actual draft went with John Ross, going for a speedy wideout to be opposite to AJ Green. Ross has been plagued with injuries, making him not worthy of this selection. The Bengals secondary has been abysmal at best, so they take Pro-Bowl cornerback White at this pick. However, this Bengals team is still far from where they have to be, and even with the selection of White, I would still see the Bengals winding up with the first pick in tomorrow’s draft.

10: Kansas City Chiefs: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

Those that are reading this, I know you are confused. The Chiefs trading to this pick for the fundamental purpose of drafting Patrick Mahomes. That is true. But, they still believe that they have their guy in Watson. While Watson might not be at the same level as Mahomes, Watson would play perfect to this speedy team. Andy Reid would style a playbook that would revolve lots of play-action, screens to both running backs and wide receivers, and QB runs, similar to the current Chiefs playbook. In my mind, this would be a no-brainer trade the Chiefs make to pick Watson.

1- Wide Receiver 

Ever since DeSean Jackson went down in Week 2 of 2019, the Eagles have desperately needed an upgrade at the WR position. The Eagles cannot continue to waste the prime of Carson Wentz’s career while they make the safe moves. Howie Roseman needs to make a splash and get a big name playmaker in the draft for Carson Wentz. My ideal draft target is Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb. 

2- Linebacker 

The Eagles have long undervalued the WR position ever since the end of the Chip Kelly era. Whereas Kelly constantly looked to improve and built a strong core, Howie Roseman and Jim Schwartz do not value the position as much as they should. For example, they passed on future stud Mack Wilson for a 3rd string QB who ended up being cut. If the Eagles do not want to move in the draft, they can stay at 21 and pick up one of Patrick Queen or Kenneth Murray. 

3- Center 

It’s no secret that the Eagles Offensive Line is stacked with pro bowl and all pro caliber talent. What’s also no secret is the line is getting increasingly old. The right move is to make a priority of building up the stockpile of young talent for the line. Jason Kelce has contemplated retirement for years. A suitable replacement needs to be found, and ideally this will be done in the 2nd or 3rd round of the draft, depending if these picks are given up to trade up. 

4- Safety 

With the Eagles cutting pro bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins, a huge void was left at the back side of the secondary. And it is essential the gap is filled. Our other starting safety, Rodney McLeod, is also getting old. We need a young safety who can be a star. I think some perfect options for the 2nd or later rounds are Grant Delpit and Antoine Winfield Jr. Depending on if they fall. 

5- Edge Rusher 

Brandon Graham is our main pro bowl edge rusher. Surprise surprise, he’s also getting up there in age. A later round option we should be taking is drafting an edge rusher, a diamond in the rough, that is suitable to take over eventually. It’s likely we miss on this pick, but if we hit someone like the Raiders did with Maxx Crosby, it’s game over. 

The Eagles were able to acquire Slay from the Lions with a 2020 3rd round and 5th round draft choice. The general consensus, especially among Lions fans, is that this was a steal of a trade for Philadelphia. The Lions were probably looking for a bigger return while also being able to get Slay out of Detroit as safe as possible. This led to Howie Roseman offering less than expected for Slay. It was a good move from the Eagles standpoint.

As part of the trade, The Eagles are extending Darius Slay to a 3 year 50 million dollar deal with 30 million guaranteed. This will last Slay until he’s around 31 or 32 years old. This deal makes Slay the highest paid cornerback in the league, breaking the record just set by Byron Jones days ago. A great deal for Slay and a reasonable one for Philly.

The Eagles should not get comfortable though, there are some concerns. My biggest one is the system the Eagles defense runs by. We are primarily a zone coverage team. Meaning corners play yards off of the receiver. A big reason our secondary is so terrible. Star corners like Nnamdi Asomugha and Byron Maxwell were ruined by this system, Slay becoming like them is certainly a concern. Another concern is Slay’s age. He is 29 years old and aging. On an Eagles team that needs youth, his age is a concern for the future, but overall he’s a good fix for a big problem for the next 3 years.

A QB who Wentz is often compared to is Texans QB Deshaun Watson. Watson is considered a different tier than Wentz by uninformed and ignorant NFL fans despite having similar and slightly worse stats in 2019 than Carson Wentz.

Carson Wentz finished the 2019 season with 27 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 16 games. Deshaun Watson finished the year with 26 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. Let’s now compare the kinds of supporting casts these two QBs had. For most of the year, Carson Wentz had to deal with an aging Alshon Jeffery, a horrible Nelson Agholor, and practice squad receivers. With this he still managed to throw for slightly over 4000 yards. The first QB in NFL history to throw for 4000 yards with no wide receiver with over 500 yards receiving. That is unprecedented. And to also manage to throw 27 touchdowns with those same wideouts is absolutely unbelievable. Now let’s see what Deshaun Watson had. His top weapons were one of the top receivers in the league in Deandre Hopkins, an excellent deep threat in Will Fuller, and other solid pieces such as a thousand yard rusher in Carlos Hyde. How can you have these weapons and not outperform somebody with the worst in the league and be considered better? It’s not discrediting Deshaun Watson, he has excellent talent, but we have to call out ignorance when we see it. Carson Wentz should not be shoved aside because of injury history in the elite QBs conversation. Statistically he matches and sometimes outperforms the so-called elite QBs, and he has earned respect because of that.

Offensive Coordinator:

Candidates: Jim Caldwell, Kevin O’Connell

With the firing of Mike Groh, the Eagles will need to make a quality hire. In my opinion, the best hire would be Jim Caldwell. He has experience as a leader and was a quality coach with the Lions.

Cornerback:

Candidates: Byron Jones, Chris Harris Jr., James Bradberry

The Eagles cornerback group has been burnt on and off in 2019. We’ll need to bring in multiple quality starters to get the defense up to par. The top candidate is Byron Jones because of his age and ability to develop. Other candidates like Chris Harris have experience and have played at high levels for a while. Anything is an upgrade. Our only mistake would be going for a corner high in the draft.

Wide Receiver:

Candidates: Amari Cooper, AJ Green, Robby Anderson

Rookies: Henry Ruggs, Tee Higgins

The Eagles receiving group was absolutely decimated in 2019 by injuries. I’d imagine mostly because of the awful medical staff and age of the players. The Eagles need youth at the receiver position and actual talent. This is a position we need to go for high in the draft. The free agent class of receivers is strong, implying major extensions aren’t signed by Amari Cooper or AJ Green.

Linebacker:

Candidates: Joe Schobert, Nick Kwiatkoski, Blake Martinez, Danny Trevathan

The Eagles defense has undervalued the linebacker position for a while now, and it needs to be addressed. The free agent class is nothing special but is strong. A breakout player for the Browns, Joe Schobert would be an excellent addition to the team. Blake Martinez is another high quality option to solidify the linebacking core.

Safety:

Candidates: Justin Simmons, HaHa Clinton-Dix

The Eagles should look to add another high quality safety this offseason. In my opinion, our current duo isn’t getting the job done. The best candidate is pro bowl snub Justin Simmons. He’s a great player that would instantly improve the defense.

This has been the positions of need for the Eagles over the offseason and possible players to fill the position.

Carson Wentz: B

Carson Wentz kept his team in the game but was not the main thing that kept the offense going. His leadership alone gets him a high grade for this game. He also reached 4000 yards on the season today, making him the first Eagle ever to throw for 4000 yards, as well as the first player in history to throw for 4000 yards with no receiver eclipsing 500 yards.

Boston Scott: A

Boston Scott had yet another amazing performance against the Giants this week. He totaled 54 rushing yards with 84 receiving yards. He scored 3 touchdowns on the ground as well. This was good enough to put the game out of reach for the Giants and earn Scott NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Greg Ward: B-

Fan favorite receiver Greg Ward didn’t have a huge impact on the game. Typically we see bigger performances out of him, but he wasn’t bad. He did his job and didn’t drop the ball.

Offensive Line: C-

Nobody could expect the offensive line to perform well today. The right side of the line was out for most of the game and Jason Kelce had a bad game at center. While they were able to hold up with the injuries, they weren’t overly impressive.

Cre’von LeBlanc: A+

LeBlanc had a fantastic game at corner. He made several big plays for the team to seal the win. He deserves more playing time and the coaching staff needs to give him that to earn my respect.

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Carson Wentz: A

The Eagles’ undisputed franchise quarterback showed up big against the Cowboys, and settled both the Wentz vs Foles and Wentz vs Dak debates. He threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown against a Cowboy defense that is still fairly decent. This was without his top 3 wide receivers and his all pro right tackle. He also lost his all pro tight end for a quarter.

Miles Sanders: B+

This is the 6th straight week that Jordan Howard has missed the game. Miles Sanders has really stepped up in his absence. He had over 150 scrimmage yards in the game and rushed for a touchdown. He still, however, has issues running up the middle and had several depressing runs.

Greg Ward Jr: B

Greg Ward did not have a huge impact on the game, but he wasn’t a liability either. He got open and was able to catch the ball, something Eagles receivers rarely do. He’s turning out to be a good weapon in the absence of the top 3 Eagles receivers.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside: C+

JJ was finally able to have a decent game against the Cowboys on Sunday. He’s been a liability all year and has dropped several crucial passes. This week he did none of that and had two great catches on the opening drive of the game. However, he didn’t see many touches and thus, can’t earn a higher grade.

Dallas Goedert: A+

Dallas Goedert was simply amazing last night. He hauled in a career high 9 receptions for over 90 yards and a touchdown. He was the safety blanket for Wentz that Zach Ertz usually is. Goedert was a huge contributor to the win against the Cowboys and should look to build on this career game.

Defensive Line: D

Yet another time, the Eagles defensive line fails to get a good amount of pressure on opposing QBs. What’s puzzling is the Cowboys have a good offensive line, yet they get less pressure against terrible ones. Consistent mediocrity of this pro bowl defensive line unit is cause for the Defensive Line Coach to be fired come this off-season.

Sidney Jones: A

Sidney Jones came up clutch at CB last night. He broke up a game-tying touchdown pass to Michael Gallup to secure a win for the Eagles. I do not have confidence in Jones for the long run, but he had a good game.

Doug Pederson: C-

Head Coach Doug Pederson coached his team very well this game. The players genuinely wanted to win, and Pederson deserves credit for motivating them. That being said, he called an absolutely awful game. He wasted drive after drive with horrible calls, such as dropping back on 4th&1 when Wentz is 100% perfect on 4th down QB sneaks. Also tried to run Miles Sanders up the middle on a 3rd&1, which Sanders is awful at doing. Bad play calling but good coaching describes Pederson last night.

#Eagles

Miles Sanders

RB Miles Sanders will need to have a more productive game if we’re going to have a chance. He has had real trouble breaking tackles and hitting holes in his rookie year. With Jordan Howard out again, he will have to really have a good game. The run game depends on Miles Sanders being productive on the ground.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside

WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside needs to get open and make big catches in order for the Eagles to pull through. He’s had difficulty getting open and being able to lock up games for the Eagles. With all three of the Eagles’ top receivers out, JJ has to step up and be productive. Carson Wentz needs reliable targets.

Greg Ward

WR Greg Ward also needs to be getting open more and making plays. Again, the Eagles’ wide receiver group is banged up and arguably worse than that of 2016, he needs to be giving Wentz someone to throw to. He had an okay game against the Dolphins and Giants, but he needs to be emerging as a legitimate threat.

Offensive Line

Carson Wentz is among the top 10 most sacked QBs in the league. In order to win against a strong Redskins pass rush, the Eagles offensive line needs to step up and protect their franchise guy. Wentz had hardly enough time to make plays last week at the Giants, that needs to change. Wentz is the only consistent performer in this offense and needs guys who want to protect him.

Ronald Darby

CB Ronald Darby has had an awful year. He was burned against the Giants on Monday and he was getting burned earlier this year. He constantly gives up big plays. His injury this week concerns me even more. He suffered a hip flexor this week but will be active. Realistically he will have his worst performance to date. And since the Eagles coaching staff is dumb and doesn’t know how to switch out underperforming players, Darby needs to make this performance a good one.

#Eagles

The Eagles quarterback had a mediocre performance against the Giants for a majority of the game. Especially in the first half, the Eagles offense was abysmal. Obviously not all his fault, but he had to step up. He did. In the 4th quarter and overtime he lit the game up with his practice squad players and TEs, ultimately to win the game.

RB Boston Scott: A+

Boston Scott has spent a significant amount of time on NFL practice squads and has never had a good performance in the NFL. Towards the end of the game, he stepped up with over 100 yards and a touchdown. The Giants couldn’t stop him.

TE Zach Ertz: A+

Zach Ertz found ways to get open constantly towards the end of the game. Wentz hit him when the team needed it most. Without Zach Ertz, Carson Wentz has no notable targets to throw to, which would cause a loss. Ertz caught two touchdowns in this game. The first TE to catch a touchdown in the 4th quarter and overtime in the same game in NFL history.

WR Alshon Jeffery: D+

Alshon Jeffery did not make any major impact in the game when the Eagles needed to score points. His carelessness also resulted in a season-ending injury. The Eagles’ receiving core is in shambles. Alshon needed a big game for the Eagles to impress and he failed to get open.

CB Ronald Darby: F

After an absolutely horrible game against the Dolphins, Ronald Darby continued to play poorly. After getting Moss’d by Devante Parker last week, he blew several coverages to WR Darius Slayton. He gave up 2 long touchdown passes. The Eagles should look to limit Darby’s role for the season.

#Eagles

Quarterback: B

QB Carson Wentz has had a decent season so far, but hasn’t been able to get anything done with injuries at the receiver position.

Runningback: A-

RBs Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders have been excellent on the ground and in the air respectively, but Doug Pederson has had a hard time using each back correctly

Wide Receiver: D

The Eagles were expected to have one of the league’s top receiving corps this season, but with Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor severely underachieving and Desean Jackson getting hurt, the receiver position has become one of the worst in the league.

Tight End: A+

Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are the best tight end duo in the NFL and arguably the best since Gronk and Aaron Hernandez. The Eagles are good at the position for the future.

Left tackle: B+

Jason Peters is still performing at a pro bowl level, but he will retire soon and rookie Andre Dillard will be starting. Dillard has been average to below average at the left side so far.

Left Guard: F

Isaac Seumalo is simply terrible. He is young but he has been really bad in all of his seasons except last year. Left guard is a position of need and the Eagles should look to start Jason Peters there next year if he doesn’t retire.

Center: B+

Jason Kelce has had a down year at center and is nearing retirement. Long term we have no answer yet. He’s still a top center in the league.

Right Guard: A+

Brandon Brooks has been the best offensive lineman in football this season and just got paid. He’s been phenomenal.

Right Tackle: A-

Lane Johnson is one of the best right tackles in football and just inked a 4 year extension. We have long term consistency at the ride side.

Defensive End: B+

Brandon Graham has been great this season, racking up 8+ sacks. Derek Barnett has gotten a few and Josh Sweat is having a good year.

Defensive Tackle: A-

Fletcher Cox is a stud at DT no matter how quiet he may be doing it. Timmy Jernigan is decent but not very good. When Malik Jackson returns next year the grade will go up.

Linebacker: C-

Linebacker is one of the Eagles’ worst positions. The group is inexperienced and overall isn’t very good apart from Nigel Bradham.

Cornerback: D-

The Eagles corners have been bad all year apart from two games. Big plays everywhere you look and getting burnt consistently. Not trading for a corner or addressing it in the draft as a huge mistake. Look for the Eagles to possibly draft one this year or sign a veteran in free agency.

Safety: C+

Malcolm Jenkins is aging and it shows, and Rodney McLeod has been terrible. Safety is a big need for the rebuild.

Kicker: A

Jake Elliott has been one of the NFL’s best kickers this year and signed an extension. Good position for the Eagles.

Punter: A

Cameron Johnston is consistently good and has a great punt yard average. Look for the Eagles to possibly extend him in the future.

#Eagles