Heading into the 2019 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles seemed like they had a plan in mind, with the team reportedly aiming to select as many good players as possible. However, the team ended up completely reversing its train of thought mid-draft.
Prior to the draft, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke to media and said that the team believed in drafting a high volume of players.
Article Continues Below“We believe in volume,” he said (via Pro Football Talk).
“We’re not cocky enough to feel that you’re going to draft way better than anybody else, and it’s very important to create volume. This draft we’re going to have good volume.”
However, things clearly changed sometime throughout the draft. During the first night, the Eagles traded up in the first round and ended their entire draft only taking five players, good for second-fewest amongst the league. In the first round, the Eagles gave up their fourth and sixth-round pick to move up to the number 22 overall pick to select Andre Dillard.
Instead of trading down to acquire picks like the Seattle Seahawks, the Eagles instead seemed to identify a player they loved and made a move for him. That isn’t exactly the worst thing, but when your plan coming into the draft is to come away with a lot of players, it’s an odd move.
Of course, it’s also possible that Lurie was simply throwing up a smokescreen to trick teams. Still, the Eagles have drafted just 10 players over the last two drafts, which are the fewest of any team in the league. While they’ve been notoriously good at finding talent in the draft, the lack of depth does leave the Eagles in a tough spot if someone were to get injured.