With this year’s draft coming to a close, let’s take a look at the final picks of day three.
Round 5, pick 168: WR John Hightower, Boise State
All of a sudden, the Eagles wide recieving corps went from one of the slowest groups in the NFL to one of the fastest. John Hightower out of Boise State may not be a day one starter, but he brings some more speed to this offense.
With how deep this draft was at the wideout position, Hightower was bound to drop, but snagging him in the fifth round is an absolute steal. He finished his collegiate career with 82 catches for 1,447 yards and 14 touchdowns in two season at Boise. Including an average of 17.6 yards per catch, proving he’s a really solid deep threat.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he makes the final roster, it all depends on how the competition in training camp plays out between him and Greg Ward.
Trade: Eagles receive WR Marquise Goodwin and pick No. 210, 49ers receive pick No. 190
Again, more speed with this move. Marquise Goodwin was buried on the Niners depth chart last season, leading to pretty poor output in 2019. In his most productive year in 2017, Goodwin totaled 56 catches for 962 yards and two touchdowns. He also averaged just over 17 YPC in 2017.
He’ll be 30 heading into next season, which isn’t ideal, but he still possesses game breaking speed which will surely help the Eagles offense and provide some solid depth behind DeSean Jackson if he goes down again.
Fans were on Howie’s case for neglecting to add receivers this offseason, but after adding four during the draft, I don’t think anyone can blame him for not addressing the need now.
Round 6, pick 196: LB Shaun Bradley, Temple
With the selection of Shaun Bradley, the Eagles have now added two linebackers in this year’s draft. A team captain in 2019, Bradley totaled 86 tackles with eight of them coming for a loss.
He’s a bit undersized standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing in at 230 pounds, but he possesses solid speed to make up for it, evidenced with his 4.51 40 time at the combine.
I wouldn’t expect much out of Bradley in year one, especially since the team already drafted Davion Taylor in round three, but taking a flier on a Mike backer in the sixth round is never a bad idea.
Round 6, pick 200: WR Quez Watkins, Southern Miss.
With this pick, the Eagles have now added four receivers in this draft, including the trade for Goodwin on day three. Quez Watkins out of Southern Mississippi is another deep threat, following the trend of all the wideouts the team has acquired during the draft.
He averaged 18.4 YPC in his final year in college, along with totaling 64 receptions for 1,178 yards and six touchdowns. He’ll more than likely find himself on the practice squad during his rookie campaign, but he’ll be the first guy called up once someone gets injured.
He plays the ball well and has solid size standing at 6-foot and weighing 180 pounds. A solid prospect for a sixth round pick.
Round 6, pick 210: OT Prince Tega Wanogho, Auburn
Prince Tega Wanogho is the second offensive tackle selected by the Eagles on day three. With this selection, I think it’s safe to assume the team is ready to move on from the Jordan Mailata experiment.
Tega Wanogho has a background in basketball and it shows in his game. He’s an athletic tackle and this athleticism shines in pass protection. This athletic ability also pops off the screen when he pulls.
He’s still a bit raw and inexperienced, but some scouts had him graded as high as a third round prospect. He does have some injury concerns after having offseason knee surgery, but given the fact that he won’t be asked to play right away, this shouldn’t be a huge deal.
The team got great value with this selection, which seems to be a trend on day three for the Birds.
Round 7, pick 233: OLB Casey Toohill, Stanford
With their final pick of this year’s draft, the Eagles selected outside linebacker Casey Toohill out of Stanford. Although, he’ll probably be a pure defensive end in Philly.
He’s a big body, standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 247 pounds. He also possesses great athleticism for the position. According to NFL’s NextGen stats, Toohill was the third most athletic backer in this year’s draft, just behind Isaiah Simmons and Willie Gay.
At the combine, he put on a show. Toohill posted a 39 inch vertical jump to go along with a 4.21 20-yard-shuttle. He played as an EDGE rusher at Stanford, with his most productive season coming in 2019 where he totaled 52 tackles, eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
Again, Howie found great value in the seventh round with this selection.