Daxton Hill Makes Plenty of Sense for Eagles

Philadelphia went to the Super Bowl twice this century with a strong safety tandem, and they have work to do to make that happen

If the Eagles have eyes on being a serious threat for the Super Bowl in 2023, they will need a strong safety pairing.

The starting safeties on the 2004 team that went to the Super Bowl were Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis. Both were picked in the second round, with Dawkins coming as the 61st player taken overall in 1996 and Lewis as the 58th overall selection in the 2002 draft.

The Eagles went a different route at the position in 2017 after starting safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod arrived as free agents in previous off-seasons.

As this offseason rolls along and the 2022 NFL Draft approaches, their depth chart still needs some attention.

They could still potentially land free agent Tyrann Mathieu, and he would be a terrific signing for the versatility he would bring to Jonathan Gannon’s defense. The price figures to be steep, perhaps too steep for the Eagles.

They have found out throughout the offseason that safeties carry high price tags, too expensive for what’s in their wallet at the moment.

This leads to the three-day draft later this month.

There will be value on the second day, with Penn State’s Jaquan Brisker, Baylor’s Jalen Pitre, Cincinnati’s Bryan Cook, Maryland’s Nick Cross, and Illinois’ Kerby Joseph considered plums in the second and third rounds.

Whether they will be good enough to push the Eagles into Super Bowl conversation next year remains to be seen, because it is next year when those talks could become more serious than they are this year and will depend largely on the development of quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Why not go with one of the best safeties then?

Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton will likely be gone by pick 15, but Michigan safety Daxton Hill will be there and probably at 18, too., when the EWagles get another bite at the draft apple.

Sure, Roseman could try to trade back a few spots and get Hill there, but it would be a risk. Or maybe he trades back and takes a late first-round swing at Georgia’s Lewis Cine, who is climbing draft boards the closer April 28's first-round gets.

Hill, though, is “getting overlooked,” said ESPN’s Todd McShay.

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NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has the 6-foot, 192-pound Hill, who ran a 4.38 at the Combine, ranked No. 23 on his top 50 board of prospects.

Taking him at 18 would not be a reach, especially when he has the same versatility Mathieu could deliver and Jenkins did. Except Hill is a whole lot younger at age 21 and most definitely cheaper over the next five years than anyone else who pops up on the market in that span.

Safety is certainly a need for the Eagles, perhaps even a top-three need.

Currently, they have Anthony Harris, who is returning on a second one-year deal, and Marcus Epps, a former sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2019.

The Eagles have to ask themselves: Is this a Super Bowl safety tandem?

If they’re being honest, the answer is no.

By next season, Harris, who turns 31 in October, probably won’t be around. He was steady in his first season in town but is on a one-year deal for a reason.

Epps just recently turned 26 and has shown plenty of value participating in a career-high 45 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last year and 54 percent of the special team snaps. He was seventh on the team with 56 tackles while adding five passes defended and one interception. He was third in special teams tackles with six.

If he shows more growth with an increase in defensive snaps, he could be a key piece on the backend of the defense beyond 2022.

Right now, it’s a position that’s simply not good enough, but the Eagles can remedy that by taking a safety in this year’s draft, and, if so, why not make it one of the best available?

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.