The one thing the Eagles have to do on draft day

I don’t care how many wide receivers the Eagles have drafted lately and I don’t care how many picks they’ve screwed up.

They have to try again.

They've got no choice.

The Eagles do have plenty of other needs, and now that we know they’re going to be picking somewhere in the top 10 — it could wind up being anywhere from No. 3 to No. 10 — we can start to hone in on exactly who they're going to select on April 29.

They could use an edge rusher like Greg Rousseau. They could use a linebacker like Micah Parsons. They could use an offensive tackle like Penei Sewell. Heck, would any of us be that shocked if the Quarterback Factory takes another quarterback? 

But for about the millionth year in a row, the Eagles go into an offseason with two overwhelming needs: Wide receiver and cornerback.

Why prioritize receiver over corner?

First of all, the Eagles already have one proven, capable cornerback on the roster in Darius Slay. Maybe not a superstar, but he played well enough this season that you feel pretty good about CB1 going into 2021. 

And while Patrick Surtain II and Caleb Farley would sure look good in the Eagles' secondary, this is a team that won a Super Bowl with a second-year seventh-round draft pick, a 23-year-old acquired during training camp and a 30-year-old journeyman on his fourth team in four years at corner.

You can find corners. The reality is the Eagles are trying to run a high-powered passing offense without a single high-powered wide receiver.

And with a coach who over the last five years has thrown the football more than all but one other NFL team.

The Eagles have this mish-mash of fast, young receivers who’ve all shown blips of promise here and there but no consistency and no sign that they can be part of a long-term solution.

Jalen Reagor has looked just OK, and he should get better, but is there anybody watching thinking he’s on the brink of stardom? Nope. Maybe that’s not fair, but this is a league where receivers step onto the field as rookies and explode. Six rookie WRs are already over 700 yards with a game left. Reagor missed five games, but even his 38.1 yards per catch mark ranks just 10th among rookie wideouts.

The other guys? Travis Fulgham is the only Eagles WR under 30 who’s had a 70-yard game this year, and he’s averaging 12 yards over his last seven games. Quez Watkins and John Hightower have had a couple moments each. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside hasn’t had any. Greg Ward is a nice slot but nothing more. Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson are old and always hurt and can provide $16 million in valuable cap relief by getting themselves cut.

Is this a receiving corps you’re going to win a Super Bowl with?

Of course not.

We all saw firsthand this year what Davante Adams, DeAndre Hopkins and D.K. Metcalf can mean to a team, to an offense, to a quarterback.

Look at Josh Allen before Stefon Diggs and after Stefon Diggs. Look what Tyreek Hill has meant to Pat Mahomes. And nobody in Philly has to be reminded what Justin Jefferson has done as a rookie.

The Eagles swung and missed on JJAW. They swung on Reagor and maybe hit a bloop double. We’ll see.

They have to keep swinging. 

They need Ja'Marr Chase or Devonta Smith and they need them now.

The Eagles haven’t taken a wide receiver with a top-15 pick in 36 years, and whether Howie Roseman or somebody else is making this pick, the Eagles can’t afford to blow it.

They missed their chance at Terry McLaurin, Metcalf and Jefferson. They’ve missed their chance at everybody.

Now, more than a decade after they drafted Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, there’s a couple can’t-miss receivers just sitting there waiting for them.

This is where you get your elite players. In the top 10.

And the team that throws the football more than just about anybody can’t afford to swing and miss again.

Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast:

Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube