Too Much Pedigree Scouting For Eagles?

For the second consecutive year the Eagles looked to the top of recent draft classes for help.

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley. / John McMullen/Eagles Today

PHILADELPHIA - Forget No. 22 overall selection Quinyon Mitchell, the Eagles somehow got the Nos. 2, 5, 11, and 20 picks in the NFL Draft this offseason.

The kicker to that factual statement is that the four others are from the 2018 draft (running back Saquon Barkley at No. 2 overall), 2019 (linebacker Devin White at No. 5 overall), 2020 (offensive tackle Mekhi Becton at No. 11) and 2022 (quarterback Kenny Pickett at No. 20).

This kind of pedigree- or reputation-based evaluation is typically a big hit with most fans and even certain media members because the names are recognizable.

The higher your original selection, the greater the exception when that's coupled with a player brought in to be a contributor.

In those instances, the hype seems to revisit the original draft projections and assume no depreciation. With the 2024 Eagles, Barkley is almost presumed to be a difference-maker in waiting and White has garnered a lot of recent publicity as some kind of steal on the free-agent market, despite generating a one-year deal for $3.5 million that could reach $7.5M with incentives.

The others -- Becton and Pickett -- are more prudent signings for two reasons: they are younger and perhaps the concrete hasn't yet set on their foundations as players, and both are are backups with cost-effective contracts.

To be fair the only one of the four the Eagles have essentially declared will be a big part of any success in 2024 is Barkley.

The others are all lottery ticks and similar to the first-round pedigree selections the team went after last year: QB Marcus Mariota, S Terrell Edmunds, and RB Rashaad Penny.

Mariota was Jalen Hurts' backup last season and is now in Washington while Penny, who is now in Carolina, barely played despite significant hype from many quarters. Edmunds did have a role in the defense to start last season but was traded to Tennessee in the deal that brought Kevin Byard to Philadelphia near the trade deadline. He is now in Jacksonville.

The results will likely be similar this time around although Pickett should stick around multiple years as Hurts' backup due to the time left on his rookie deal. Becton will only get an opportunity to sink or swim if Lane Johnson or Jordan Mailata get hurt on the offense line and should benefit from Jeff Stoutland's coaching while White's resume in Tampa Bay is a strong prosecution argument that a prove-it deal will fall flat.

Barkley is talented and even though he never proved to be the generational player advertised to be coming in with the New York Giants, he had two excellent seasons with the Giants and was very good as late as 2022. He also arrives with 1,500 touches on the odometer and an injury history, most notably his torn ACL in 2020.

With a better cast around him, Barkley should be impactful but the Eagles' top playmakers will remain talented receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Barkley is here to complement them not vice versa.

It's hubris to assume the Eagles' will simply tap into the original expectations of these kind of players.

The good news, at least with the exception of Barkley, is that kind of conceitedness is coming from outside the building. GM Howie Roseman understands the odds of those lottery tickets.

MORE NFL: Eagles Area Scout Moving To The Carolina Panthers