Eagles' Linebacker Help Limited in NFL Draft: 'It's Not Great'

The Philadelphia Eagles need to restock the linebacker position, but the draft may not provide the answers: "It's not a great off-the-ball linebacker draft"

PHILADELPHIA – Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. feels like a natural fit for the Philadelphia Eagles, after all, his dad, Jeremiah Trotter, Sr. was a stud linebacker for eight years in Philly after being drafted in the third round in 1998, developing into a three-time Pro Bowler, a one-time first-team All-Pro, and a one-time second-team All-Pro.

History may repeat itself with Trotter, Jr. At least in terms of where he gets drafted, as for the rest, well, the genes are there, but will his father’s accolades eventually match-up as well?

NFL Media’s lead draft analyst, Daniel Jeremiah, believes Trotter, Jr. is a third-round pick when the NFL Draft begins on April 25 in Detroit.

Jeremiah talked with national media during a lengthy Zoom call on Thursday afternoon to preview the NFL Scouting Combine, scheduled to run through the end of February and into early March.

Clemson's Jeremiah Trotter, Jr / USA Today

He dropped this stink bomb along the way: “It's not a great off-the-ball linebacker draft.”

Figures. It’s what the Eagles should be shopping for this offseason. That’s not to say it is completely devoid of players that can help at some point. Like Trotter, Jr. for instance.

Before addressing a question about Trotter, Jr. and is fit with the Eagles, Jeremiah joked: “Does Mike Schmidt's kid have a kid coming to the baseball draft here, too? Can we just solve all the problems in the whole city here?”

Then he turned to Trotter.

“To me, look, he is a good player,” he said. “I don't think he is a first-round pick. I'm curious to see how fast he is going to run. His game is more about instincts, which obviously are very crucial and very important at the linebacker spot. When I watched him, he is a little bit undersized.

“He has really good eyes. He sifts and sorts, and he will fill and be physical. He can thud off blocks, which you don't see a lot of guys take on. I thought the speed and the range was just kind of so-so.”

Jeremiah believes that if Trotter tests well at the Combine, and shows some improved speed, he could climb into the second round, where the Eagles own picks No. 50 and 53. He could very much be a candidate for the Eagles with the expected compensatory pick they will get between the end of the third round and the start of the fourth round.

“If he runs well, yeah, then I think he can really help himself,” said Jeremiah. “I have him more in the third round personally. But, shoot, he goes out there and moves around really well and kind of aces the rest of the tests, I think he can find his way into potentially into the second round.”

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Jeremiah said his favorite linebacker in the draft is Michigan’s Junior Colson, though Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper is his highest-rated player inside his pre-Combine top 50, checking Cooper in at No. 20 overall.

The analyst ranked Colson at No. 45 and North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson at No. 47.

“(Colson) is just real instinctive, plays downhill, can cover tight ends,” said Jeremiah. “He was hurt and beat up a lot this year and played through it at Michigan. Kind of show you the toughness and the leadership that you want there from that position.”

Same thing with Wilson.

“Kind of reminded me of Kiko Alonso coming out of college,” he said. “Wrestling background. Has had some injuries, but really, really instinctive. A ton of speed, a ton of range. Just a really good player.”