McMullen's Eagles-Only Mock 2.0

With the first wave of free agency in the rear-view mirror, it's time to take another snapshot look at the draft for the Eagles

The Eagles haven't won over many fans to date with their offseason machinations but the most important part of the Howie Roseman-coined talent acquisition season still looms and Philadelphia has three first-round picks to work with in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The biggest sea change for Philadelphia has been at edge rusher where the Eagles made their one splash in free agency by bringing Haason Reddick home to the Deleware Vally and also re-signed the less-than-popular Derek Barnett on a cost-effective deal after a strong market never developed for the 2017 No. 14 overall selection.

Mix in David Ojabo's torn Achilles' at Michigan's pro day and the Eagles may not even get a chance at one of the five remaining top-tier pass rushers at No. 15 so what looked a fait accompli a month ago - the Eagles taking an edge rusher - is now anything but.

Here's how we see things shaping up right now and you guessed it, there will be some unpopular decision-making:

Round 1, No. 15 - CB Trent McDuffie, Washington - Pairing McDuffie outside with Darius Slay while Avonte Maddox handles the slot could give Jonathan Gannon one of the best CB trios in the entire NFL. The belief here is that "Sauce" Gardner will be gone by No. 15 and McDuffie is a cleaner prospect than LSU's Derek Stingley, Jr.

Round 1, No. 16 - DT Travis Jones, UConn - The Eagles are very interested in adding a nose tackle who can move from zero- to one-technique and open up things for the rest of the defensive line to be a little more multiple.

Georgia's Jordan Davis will likely be long gone and Jones is No. 2 for that role and someone the Eagles have taken a keen interest in since the Senior Bowl.

Round 1, No. 19 - QB Sam Howell, North Carolina - The preference would be to fall back a little bit and take Howell toward the end of the first round but you want the fifth-year option for QBs so the demarcation line is No. 32.

We will leave the horse-trading for Howie Roseman at this early stage but the belief here is that the Eagles want the player so we will use No. 19 as a placeholder and add an extra dart to throw at the board at the game's most important position.

While most are focused on Kenny Pickett when it comes to the Roseman binoculars photo from Pitt last year and the fact that the Eagles took him out to dinner after his recent pro day, many forget that the Panthers were facing UNC that day and sources in Carolina have said that the Eagles have shown significant interest in Howell throughout the draft process even if his pop-a-shot game needs some work.

Round 2, No. 51 - WR Christian Watson, North Dakota State - A king-sized 6-foot-4 WR who can run, Watson is exactly what the Eagles need at the X position and Aaron Moorehead recently got a closer look. Some project Watson even higher due to his size/speed ratio but others grade him out as a WR3/WR4 prospect so there is at least a chance he falls to the Eagles here.

We've seen this before out of @ChristianW2017 🔥🔥🔥 #NDSUProDay pic.twitter.com/O6WRjiBcVl

— NDSU Football (@NDSUfootball) March 24, 2022

Round 3, No. 83 - S Jalen Pitre, Baylor - Baylor coach Dave Aranda mentioned that the Eagles have shown interest in Pitre at the Maxwell Football Club banquet and the DB would be a nice addition to bring along as a rotational option with Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps.

Round 4, No. 124 - TE Charlie Kolar, Iowa State - The Eagles sent TE coach Jason Michael out to Ames to get a close look at the 6-foot-6 Kolar, who NFL scouts seem to like a little more than the average draftniks.

Philadelphia wants the ability to toggle between 11 and 12 personnel a little more liberally will add a TE at some point to compete with Jack Stoll and rehabbing developmental prospect Tyree Jackson.

One guy NFL scouts are higher on than media is Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar. TE coaches from Falcons, Eagles, Giants, Saints, Cards, and Titans were at @CycloneFB pro-day today. Looked noticeably different this year from junior tape in terms of bend & fluidity. Nice look here: pic.twitter.com/5dkKX7S2Xb

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) March 22, 2022

Round 5, No. 154 - RB Hassan Haskins, Michigan - The big, physical back to plug into the Jordan Howard role in Nick Sirianni's offense.

Round 5, No. 162 - S Yusef Corker, Kentucky - A very long safety whose raw but offers exciting upside and the Eagles need lottery tickets on the back end after presumably moving along from Rodney McLeod.

Round 5, No. 166 - LB Ellis Brooks, Penn State - An athletic inside linebacker who replaced Micah Parsons in Happy Valley. Brooks works best in his fits between the tackles and coverage could be a concern but worth a flyer this late and Gannon was just out at Penn State taking a look at the Nits defenders.

Round 6, No. 184 - Edge Dominique Robinson, Miami-Ohio - Robinson doesn't have a ton of experience at the position but does have prototypical length and the athleticism of a one-time wideout.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen