Fantasy Football Daily - Philadelphia Eagles Draft Scenarios with Brandon Lee Gowton | On the Clock! NFL Draft Podcast

Episode Date: April 6, 2023

Fresh off a Super Bowl run, the Philadelphia Eagles are in great shape with two first-round picks, including #10 overall. Brett Whitefield (@BGWhitefield) discusses Eagles draft plans and the state of their roster with Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) of @BleedingGreen. BRETT WHITEFIELD'S 2023 NFL DRAFT PROSPECT GUIDE IS FREE TO READ WITH A NO-CHARGE LOGIN AT FANTASY POINTS. Interested in playing Best Ball in 2023? There's no better place than Underdog Fantasy. Use our code FANTASYPTS to sign up for a new account at Underdog, and not only will you get a 100% deposit match up to $100... but you'll get a Fantasy Points Standard subscription for only $5! https://www.fantasypoints.com/underdog --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fantasy-points-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to the Fantasy Points podcast brought to you by FantasyPoints.com. Top level fantasy football and NFL betting analysis from every perspective and angle. From numbers to the film room with a single goal to help you score more fantasy points. Into another episode of On the Clock, I am your host, Brett Whitefield. And today we are joined by one Brandon Lee Gowton from Bleeding Green Nation. and he is editor-in-chief at Bleeding Green. He is the co-founder of Bleeding or BGN Radio. And he's also the co-host of the SB Nation NFL show.

Brandon, welcome to the show. Brett, thanks for having me. Glad to be here. I'm super glad to have you. We do have some history together, although brief. We've met friends in the business. That's right. We've met in real life.

We've broke bread and had some beer and played some trivia. That's right. I don't think we won. But we did now. I don't remember. And Alex accused me of cheating. Do you remember this? I don't remember that.

There was a question in the trivia. I don't know why I remember this specifically, but deepest freshwater lake in the world. I said Lake Bacall and Russia. And Alex thought I Googled that. He's like, who the hell would know that? But I did. Anyways. So you are, you're an Eagles beat guy.

you have a great pulse of the team. Let's talk Eagles football a little bit here. How did Free Agency shake out for you, in your opinion? And where does the roster kind of stand right now? Yeah, I think the realistic expectation, you know, was that the Eagles just weren't going to be able to retain so many key players that they had on a team that was almost, you know, like littered with Pro Bowlers.

They, you know, again, there's a salary cap and they can't just simply resign everyone. So that was the expectation going in. someone like J. Von Hargrave, who just got a huge contract from the 49ers, couldn't match that. And that's a bummer because J. Von Hargrave's a really good player, same time, you know, getting over 30 there. And it's a matter of, you know, how much you want to really invest in these positions and with the age and everything. So, you know, they lost Javan Hargrave. They lost both starting safeties in Chauncey Garner Johnson, who went to the lines. And Mark Sepps, who went to the Raiders.

They lost T.J. Edwards and Kaiser White, their two starting linebackers. So that was kind of the big theme of free agency in terms of being defined by who they lost. They were able to keep James Radbury. That was big for them. They were able to extend Darius Slay and kind of make sure they could keep him at one point when it looked like he might not be back. And then they added a number of players on these kind of one-year deals,

not a lot of guaranteed money, kind of just trying to fill out the roster and kind of offset some of those losses at those positions that they did lose at. But certainly, you know, no huge splash, exciting moves, because that's just kind of the position they were in. Yeah, for sure. They were going into the Freedency period. I remember talking with my right-hand guy here at Fantasy Points, Chris Wecht, who's an Eagles guy.

And we just looking at their salary cap situation and all of the voided years, how he's done over the years. It just seemed like it was kind of going to catch up a little bit this year. And I was surprised they were able to keep both Slay and Bradbury. I feel like that's a huge dub coming out of what I expect. them to be just an absolute, you know, not a fire sale because they didn't have, they weren't trading these guys, but you know what I mean? Everyone coming in and picking up all these guys.

Keeping those two corners in place, I think is, is tremendously valuable. I think it's the most underrated position on defense is cornerback. It's really hard to get consistent cornerback play year over year. And the Eagles finally did it with these two. So I'm glad they kept them together. It is going to be interesting to see how they address the middle of that defense now, because you have, like you said, you lost two safeties and two linebackers. So those middle second level defenders are, you know, I know they drafted the Georgia

linebacker last year of Nicopi Dean. Where do you see him fitting into the mix? Yeah, the way I kind of talk about him is that, you know, I saw some encouraging signs when he got to play in the preseason, when he got to play in garbage time, limited snaps in 2022. At the same time, I don't think there were a ton of Eagle Sands who were like necessarily torn up about losing T.J. Edwards and Kaiser White, not to say that they thought they stunk, but, you know, just not like irreplaceable players by any means. At the same time, those are the guys

who Nicopi Dean couldn't get on the field over. So I kind of like to frame it like that. And that's not to say, can be Dean is bad, but, you know, there's a lot to prove for him still. And, you know, I think he can step up, but we need to see it. He's smaller. He fell in the draft further than I expected for some kind of reason. Maybe it wasn't a good reason, but there was some kind of reason why he fell. So, you know, we'll see how he does there stepping up. And then the other guy, you know, a linebacker that they added was Nicholas Morrow, who has some starting experience here in the NFL. Don't think it's even necessarily a lock that he makes it through the entire season because that's the Eagles history of kind of signing these bargain bin linebackers. They typically

have not worked out. But you add a guy like that because you need to add simply more competition at the position and kind of lower the floor of that position and go into the draft not just needing to fill holes. So it's just, you know, the bottom line is it's a position that the Eagles clearly feel like they can kind of get away with, you know, spending less resources at because you have to do that at some spots. You can't just, you know, spend all your resources everywhere along the roster. There's limited resources to go around between cap space and draft picks.

So that's how they kind of look in the middle there. Yeah, and I think I always right about that. I think if there's two positions to, or rather three positions to try to save money, it's running back, linebacker, and probably safety. Probably the three, interior offensive line too, but you guys have had such good interior O line play. I've got no problem paying those guys. But when you need to find a Band-Aid, that's a good spot to do it.

So I think it's the correct approach. And if we pivot to the draft a little bit, Brandon, I already mentioned running back. How sick of seeing Bijon Robertson mock to the Eagles are you? Um, you know, it would be fun if it happened. I'm not going to deny like the short term, uh, gratification. The way I've kind of compared it is like, okay, um, what if you got like five pizzas for dinner? Like what if you, you ordered that? Would that be a fun time? Yeah, I think that to me at least that'd be a pretty fun time. Um, is that the most healthy

decision I could make? No, it's not. I should probably, you know, mix some vegetables in there too and, and take care of my body, um, for the long term. Uh, I think it's just not going to happen is the biggest thing just when you look at how the Eagles invest their resources. And to me, the Rashad Penny signing alone kind of proves why the Eagles will not draft Bajan Robinson at number 10 because I think a lot of people out there would agree, especially in the fantasy community, that Rashad Penny, if he stays healthy, which is a huge if, and I think it's almost like he's just not going to stay healthy for all 17 games. There's just no track to suggest that would be the case.

But I think it's conceivable. there's a path to Rashad Penny being one of the most productive players at his position next year because of the environment he's entering in Philadelphia and the talent that he has. And if you have that kind of ceiling with a move for a guy you can only sign for 600K guaranteed, then why are you going to invest the number 10 overall pick into a position like that? This may sound obvious, but I think the Eagles are looking at that number 10 pick as someone they want to have potentially with a ceiling of the next 10 years, someone like a Fletcher Cox, a Brandon Graham, a Jason Kelsey,

someone who can be this foundational piece. And obviously every team would like that, but you're not getting that when you're drafting a running back. That's just not the kind of ceiling that move has. Yeah, I love the way you kind of laid that out or unpacked it, man. That is a great way of describing Bejan. Like, yeah, it's super attractive for the short term. Like, yeah, it's like ordering five pizzas and you get to pick different toppings

and all five of them and kind of sample your favorite pizza flavors. That's I love that. I love that thought. And then Rashad Penny, man, this dude is, he can play. Like the efficiency metrics are off the board or off the charts. And then when you factor in that they probably don't need to use them in like a belcout role, maybe you do protect his health a little bit. Maybe, you know, Gainwell's still there.

And Gainwell can be a productive player as well. Those two can, you know, kind of share the load. Maybe you grab a guy in the fourth round, too, to compete. And now you have three guys and you're kind of insulated from a Rashad Penny injury. I think that is the curve. correct way to go. As good as Bejohn is for this team, I just don't think it makes a ton of sense. Yeah, and I mean, I think everyone also in the fantasy community, if I'm not mistaken, still is not giving up on Trey Sermon. And he's here. He's here in the Philadelphia backfield picture.

I do expect, you know, the combination of Penny Gainwell, as you mentioned, too. He came on in the playoffs. He showed more promise than he ever really had. I think he's going to have some kind of role here, especially as a pass catcher. Boston Scott's a player that they like, not a guy who's going to, you know, dominate touches, but is part of a committee. He's a rotational back. And then we'll see what Sermon can do, not even a guarantee to make the team, but he's in the picture who will compete for a job on the team. And then I think they drafted running back either, you know, second, third, fourth round

or so somewhere in there and add, you know, that guy to the mix. It's just they have such a strong offensive line, arguably the best in the NFL. They have a dynamic running quarterback. I think you have to give credit to Jeff Stadlin, the Eagles offensive line coach slash run game coordinator for how. diverse they are in the run game. It's not just that, you know, they just do so many things. I think it's not just like, oh, we have this one bread and butter and it's our offensive line, our talent. It's, it's everything. It's the scheme. It's the talent. And I just think, again,

you can kind of get more out of less at that position. Absolutely. Let's talk specifically about pick 10, since you brought it up a little bit ago. Have you seen my most recent mock draft 3.0 by chance? I have not because I am I'm so behind in terms of keeping track of mocks. No, you're good, man. So I gave them edge defender from Clemson, Miles Murphy, immediate reaction to that. At number 10? Yeah, number 10. I don't love it.

But you might, I mean, to be fair, you probably know more than me. My sense is that, and I can be wrong, is that the Eagles are going to draft one of three Georgia players at number 10. or, you know, if they trade back or trade up a little bit, which I don't expect they would do in a big way. You know, we're talking about maybe two or three spots either way. I think offensive tackle is a lot more likely than people might think it is. That's a position. You kind of talked about it with the interior line earlier.

Like the way the Eagles view it in 2012, in 2020, those were like two of their worst seasons by far in, you know, really Howie Roseman's tenure. And the common thread with those two seasons is the offensive line, just went to hell in a handbasket. So they will over, they will over, you know, invest resources in the offensive line because they feel like that is a position where it could ruin your whole season. So I just think that's likely to be in play.

So you look at Broderick Jones. I think he's in the mix there. I think you look at Nolan Smith. I think he's a guy who really fits their mentality. Nick Siriani talks about dog culture a lot. And, you know, that's not just a pun with the Georgia theme name. but I think Nolan Smith, the way he plays in his high character, is like a dog. And then I also look at Joan Carter, who I don't think is going to be on the board at 10.

But if he does somehow fall there and he clearly isn't taking visits outside of the top 10 teams, and maybe there's a reason for that, as Daniel Jeremiah kind of put out there, that he believes, you know, at the very least, he thinks the Eagles made a promise to Julian Carter that he won't fall beyond 10. You know, I think it's going to be one of those three guys. why do you have Murphy? I think Murphy's a phenomenal player. I think he's a really good prospect. I wrote specifically in my notes that I see Lucas Van Ness getting mocked to the Eagles a ton.

And I think Murphy's a way better prospect than Van Ness. So sticking with the same. Granted, the mocks I do are what I would do if I was GM of every team, not predictive by any stretch. So I don't claim for them to be predictive. But I just think Murphy kind of fits that Brandon Graham. Like he's long and powerful and he's got a plethora of inside counters.

We've seen Graham win that way for a long time. He bends pretty well for his size. Big dude can stop the run. He could probably play inside a little bit on passing downs. I just phenomenal athlete. I think there's he can already function as a high level player right now. And I think the developmental ceiling for him is exceptional. But for me, like looking at what the Eagles will do,

I figure they're going to go D-Line or O-line. I agree with you there. I think that's how he prioritizes. He realizes the way to win the NFL is O-Line-D-Line. And like you said, when the seasons haven't gone well for them, it's because one of those two things is failing. For them, it's been offensive line. But what's up with Georgia?

Are you implying some type of pipeline connection there? You just think it's coincidental that they like three Georgia players? It's a little bit of both. You know, I clearly last year they took Jordan Davis and the Kobe Dean. So I think that kind of gives them maybe perhaps a bit more of an inside track than other teams to Jalen Carter specifically and maybe being a little bit more willing to take on any kind of risk associated with drafting. Jalen Carter. They also have a really good, you know, head of security kind of guy who's kind of become known for, you know, being really good at kind of like doing their homework and getting the inside scoop and that kind of stuff. So I expect the Eagles to be well informed there.

If they're passing on Jailen Carter, I think that would be a big red flag. And I just think with Nolan Smith, again, the character just matches up so much. And, you know, he's been comped to Hassan Redick a lot. Yeah, that's a lot for him. Yeah, I just feel. And I can just envision. Like, Jaylen, sorry, Nolan Smith and Hassan Redick, just, you know, being these athletic edge rushers, chasing down, especially in today's modern NFL where you're getting quarterbacks, you can move around a lot more, just like chasing quarterbacks down outside of the pocket and making plays and creating havoc, especially after seeing the success the Eagles had last.

here with Hassan Reddick and how he was a beast. So I could envision that. And then again, the offensive tackle thing is just, it's the position, they value. And when you look at their roster, it's kind of like a little bit of a sneaky need in the sense that they lost Andre Dillard, as expected in free agency. If they had a game today and Jordan Milata, their left tackle got hurt, the backup left tackle is either like Jack Districle, who's really more suited to play like guard or right tackle or Brett Toth, who missed all of last year and has kind of been a fringe roster player.

So, you know, the depth there right now isn't great. And you have Lane Johnson who is still playing, I think, like an all pro kind of level. I think you can make the case. He's one of the very best offensive tackles, not just right tackles in the NFL. But he's gone through a lot in terms of playing through injury and everything. And he said back in a talk, like a mental health press conference, or not a press conference, but like session last year that I think he might only play two more seasons. So that would be this year and next year.

So these want to be prepared there because they feel like, you know, offensive line isn't a position where you're going to go out necessarily in trade for a guy or sign someone in free agency to a massive deal or even have a good player to be able to out there in free agency. They feel like they need guys that they can draft and have in-house. Right on. Yeah. I don't disagree with anything you just said. Broderick Jones would be a great fit for them, a great pick. I actually really like that thought. I hadn't considered that myself, probably because 10,

I don't think anyone's really mocking Jones that high typically, but that doesn't matter when you're talking, you know, valuable positions like that. So you can make the argument team that Jones is the highest ceiling tackle in this class. The fact that he'd get to sit too, probably for a year, at least. It's huge because he is kind of a one-hit wonder player, a very good one at that, but that is a little concerning. So I do think developmentally he's a little raw,

and I think getting to sit behind those two studs would be just, you know, enormous for his development. So I like that. The Nolan Smith thing, I mean, I like Nolan as a player. I think I'm a little lower on him the most. He's going to be a top 30 guy for me, but I do worry that, similar to Hassan Reddick, it took Reddick a long time to figure it out. And he's playing his best football now on his third team where

I can see something similar happening with Nolan Smith where he breaks out right at contract time. Like that's when he really figures it all out. And he's not really a guy that's going to win a ton of one-on-ones, is my worry. I think you have to scheme him up quite a bit, similar to Hassan Reddick. I mean, for as good as Hassan Reddick is, he really, really thrives is, you know, kind of an unorthodox pass rush lanes, whether it's stunts, twists or some type of delay or, you know, overloading one side to get him kind of that free runner on a tight end or running back, he that's where he really really thrives so um i do i like the the redundancy of having them

together that's kind of cool because similar to jones learned you know developing behind lane johnson and maelotta you get nolan smith developing behind redick and i think i think that would be a win but um i didn't really thought about smith to them specifically but um let's talk so we mentioned all the holes that they have do you think there's any chance how he prioritizes a tradeback to trying to recoup some more middle, like second, third, fourth round value to start to fill some of those holes. Or do you really think how he's not a hole filler kind of drafter? I forget the exact number of picks, but there's, the Eagles only have six picks in this year's class. And there's like a range, I think, from at one point beyond their third round pick to their

six round pick. It's like, so that's like 120 something. It's a big, it's a big gap between picks there. And to me, there's just no way, you know, he's done allow that to happen. He's going to trade back at some point. It could be, it could be from 10, move back a couple spots, but I could also see him again, especially if someone like Jalen Carter is there, move up a couple spots, and then maybe at that point, you move out of 30. You move out of the first round back into day two, and you pick up another pick there. Eagles do have currently projected, I think, like 12 picks in the 2024 NFL draft because

they lost all those regions, so they're going to be getting at probably like four comp picks at least plus there's always the possibility that someone like Brian Johnson, their new offensive coordinator, gets hired to a head coaching job, and then they would get an extra third round pick next season in addition to one in 2025 as well, with the JC2A change to the draft pick formula for minority hires. So point being, they have a lot of future draft capital that, you know, I don't think they should necessarily be looking to like, you know, be super, aggressive with that to trade back into this year's class because of the way that the NFL kind of seems to devalue feature picks a little bit. But if there's a player they love again at

some point and they need to tap into that, then the option is there for them. I do think, you know, even though they're entering this class with six picks, I think they're going to make more than that or at the very least they're not going to just be like sit and pick one, two, three and then wait till those late picks that they have. Yeah, for, I just checked this out. So after, from pick 90, their next pick is 219 135 selections before making it there's no way that's going to stand yeah no team whether it's howie or any

no GM would right because you just you're going to miss so much potential in there and you're going to want the flexibility to grab a guy that you like that's fallen down a board or whatever so they will almost assuredly be in the mix there but all right let's pivot real quick to let's let's go pick 31 a lot of I've seen a lot of Eagles fans

and even some beats have said that this is the prime spot to trade back from because the infamous fifth year option on the quarterback becomes into play of hinden hooker sitting around or something like that any like what are you thinking for that pick who's a who's a guy you like yeah it depends on you know obviously what they do at 10 but i think you know someone like a duan jones if he's still out there and they didn't take their offensive tackle off the lineman already earlier uh with their first pick i think you know you're looking at something like that at that point could be could make a lot more sense And then two, especially just from a standpoint of, okay, we got our, whoever they take, Eddrusher, John Carter, whoever, who can kind of help contribute now. And then you get that guy later at the end of the first round. It's like, okay, and then this is our kind of developmental piece here. So, you know, I think someone like that could be in play. You know, again, totally depends on how the board shakes out. If Bezon Robinson is there, maybe we're talking about that.

But I'm not counting on that. You know, I don't think the Eagles, really when it comes to any. position here are looking to fill an immediate they're not like we're drafting this player to be a starter um i just don't think that's the case now i think it's possible that whoever they take and let's say maybe i don't know a brian branch falls there um could be in the mix and could earn that starting job certainly can compete for a starting role i'm not ruling that out but they're not taking someone with the hopes of this is going to be a major player for us we're counting on them from day one i just don't think that's how they operate i agree with you there i have in my mind

I had them taking Brian Brisei, Interior DeLyman from Clinton. I think he'd be fantastic to put next to Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox, play the Fletcher Cox role a little bit, get some interior pass rush that they're missing from Javon Hargrave. And he is that developmental type player where I think he's probably got his best football in front of him. And, you know, he doesn't need to play a ton right away. But what do you think of Bresay? Yeah, I think just defensive tackle is a big need.

still because the Eagles like to go heavy there in terms of their rotation. And they brought back Fletcher Cox, but I kind of have a tough time with him. I feel like he just, he's on the downside of his career. He's not quite what he used to be. I know he had good numbers last year, but I really struggled to anecdotally, like remember a lot of like big impact plays that he made. And even if he is great, again, you lost Javon Hargrave. You lost Dominion, too.

You lost the involved Joseph. And it's possible they could bring those guys back in theory. It's also possible those guys retire and never play in the NFL again. The point being, like, they lost a lot of defensive tackle snaps, and they want to go heavy at that spot, and they're going to want to rotate guys. And certainly Jordan Davis is going to be in the equation there. But, you know, I don't think, I don't know if he's ever really going to be,

you know, like a high snap player as much as he's going to play in certain roles and rotate a lot and be effective in shorter sample sizes of playing time. So I definitely think going in the interior, in the first round, whether that is at pick, 10 or so, or it's later in that first round. I definitely think that's a spot you have to address, especially because, you know, Hardgrave was such a impactful player. You're looking to replace some of that. Definitely, which is 100% my thought process with Brisei there.

So what, before we let you go, Brandon, any idea of what they might try to do on day two? I know it's definitely probably contingent on day one, but any gut feeling right now. Yeah, so I think, you know, if we're talking about the positions they won't go, you know, early in day one so much, you know, running back starts to come into play, I think, in day two. I think we could see that at some point. The value is right. Safety, again, another position where I think they could look to add someone there who can, once again, compete to start, not necessarily being a handed as a starting cornerback or starting job from the jump.

And then I just kind of spoiled what I was going to say there. Cornerback is another spot where, as you mentioned, they brought back. James Bradbury and Darius Clay, so you're not looking for an immediate starter, but both of those guys are over 30. And I think you can't just simply count on them, you know, staying healthy for all 17 games and being around necessarily for the long term. And I just think the value of this class in the corner talent available, that could line up with one of those day two picks there that they can get someone that they feel like can be a, you know, a guy off the bench maybe as soon as this season and then a starter down the road.

Yeah, three, three players I'm going to throw out to you that kind of stick out to me as really good fit. That safety, I like Antonio Johnson from Texas A&M. I think he can do, he's kind of a combo. I think he can do a lot of what Choncy was doing for you guys and a lot of what

Marcus Epps does for you guys. I think that'd be a really good fit. And probably a guy who ends up being a starter before the year's over. I like Julius Brent's corner out of Kansas State. I think he's going to thrive in his own heavy scheme. And that's definitely what the Eagles play. He reminds me a little bit of Bradbury and that he's a bigger physical guy, but also has really, really good instincts and zone. And then at running back, I really like Zach Charbonnet.

Yep. I think he'd fit. Like, the scheme Charbonnet came from in college is sort of resembles what the Eagles do. I think he'd be really, really good in the inside zone read option, you know, those types of run concepts. And he's an underrated receiver as well, so he'll give him a little juice there. but just giving them a hammer to go along with Gainwell and Rashad Penny, I think that would be a really, really nice fit there. Sounds good to me, man.

Awesome. Well, Brandon, thank you so much for joining the pod. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. Tell the people one more time where we can find you. On Twitter, you are at Brandon Gouten. That's B-R-A-N-D-O-N-G-W-T-O-N. And then obviously you can check out my work at Bleedinggreennation.com.

And then anywhere you can get a podcast. You can just search Bleeding Green Nation. and that should show up. Heck, yeah. Thanks again, Brandon. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of the Fantasy Points Podcast. Remember to subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite platform. And come join the roster at FantasyPoint.com.