We are a little over a week away from the NFL draft and I am beginning to refine my predictions for what I believe the Eagles will do with their two picks in the first round. While I do not have a direct line to Andy Reid's office or a crystal ball, I am ready to make an educated guess on how the Bird's first round will play out.
All of my previous assumptions have had the Birds keeping their picks at 21st and 28th, but I think this strategy is now in question. I also mentioned that given Andy Reid's past draft history, he loves to draft linemen in the first round. So what is the grand plan? Using both their number one picks they will look to trade up somewhere in the top ten to get offensive tackle Eugene Monroe from Virginia. This plan will be fluid, depending on what happens with the first few picks. St. Louis is projected to pick an OT to replace Orlando Pace and will probably take Jason Smith from Baylor or Andre Smith from Alabama, so the Eagles will then look to trade with Cincinnati at 6 or Jacksonville at 8 to try and get Monroe. If either Smith is still available after the first 5 picks, then whomever is still on the board would also be in the mix.
While there will still some solid offensive linemen on the board when Philly picks at 21, this draft offers a chance to land a franchise type lineman who can anchor the Bird's O line for the next ten to twelve years in much the same way that Tre Thomas and John Runyan have done in the past. There is no way Andy Reid will pass this up if the proper pieces fall into place.
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