The Philadelphia Eagles draft was headlined by a trade up in the first round, but these three later picks are sleepers who could become stars.
The Philadelphia Eagles moved down from No. 6 to No. 12 overall in the 2021 draft via a trade with the Miami Dolphins a month before the proceedings. Then, with their eye on not letting wide receiver DeVonta Smith get to the divisional rival Giants at No. 11, they moved up to No. 10 to get the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
Philadelphia made it two Alabama players in as many picks in the second round when they took center Landon Dickerson No. 37 overall. The selection of Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Milton Williams in the third round created a tense-looking scene in the draft room.
But overall, the Eagles seemed to do pretty well in the 2021. After the first two picks the focus rightfully shifted toward defense with six of their final seven picks on that side of the ball.
Opportunity may knock for some Eagles’ draft picks in 2021. These three, in particular, are sleepers who could become stars.
3 draft sleepers who could become stars for the Eagles
3
JaCoby Stevens
S, LSU-6th Round, Pick 224
Stevens went to LSU as a wide receiver, but he switch sides of the ball and became a three-year starter at safety for Ed Orgeron. He was miscast as a deep safety last season, but he still tallied 63 total tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks. In 2019, he had 92 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and five sacks for the national champions.
Most people see Stevens as a safety/linebacker hybrid-tweener who’ll fit better playing closer to the line of scrimmage at the next level. Next Gen Stats disagrees to some degree, with data suggesting Stevens is plenty athletic enough to play safety.
Stevens looks like a late-round version of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the Notre Dame prospect who got first-round buzz before going to the Browns in the second round. The Eagles need playmakers on defense, and they found one for the secondary in the sixth round.