Re-Visiting the Eagles 2017 Draft
The 2017 NFL season was a fairytale for the Philadelphia Eagles. They were the #1 seed in the NFC and won the Super Bowl despite an offensive onslaught from Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The franchise’s success in 2017 and over the last three seasons in total has overshadowed what proved to be a nightmare of a draft that year. Let’s take a look at how things have panned out for the Eagles’ eight selections.
Round 1: Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
Outside of being a part of the biggest play in franchise history, Derek Barnett has really accomplished next to nothing in his short career so far. Everyone knows how talented he is, but the production doesn’t come close to matching the pedigree. In college, his 32 sacks in three seasons broke the school record set by Reggie White. In the NFL, he only has 14 in the same amount of time. He’s also missed 13 of a possible 48 games, the majority of his missed time coming in 2018. The Eagles revamped their defensive line with the addition of Javon Hargrave, but if Barnett continues to fall short of expectations, the front four will never be as good as they could be.
Round 2: Sidney Jones, CB, Washington
Arguably the most talented corner in a draft that had Tre’Davious White and Marshon Lattimore, Jones’ stock fell through the floor after a blown Achilles at his school’s pro day. The Eagles picked him up hoping that after a season of rehab, he could turn out to be the steal of the draft. That didn’t happen. Even after his Achilles healed, a litany of soft-tissue injuries kept Jones to just eight total starts over the next two seasons. When he actually saw the field, he spent his time getting torched into submission by various receivers. It took just three seasons for the Eagles to see all that they needed to see, and they cut him just eight days before the 2020 season opener.
Round 3: Rasul Douglas, CB, Virginia
Injuries have never been a problem for Douglas, the Eagles third-round selection in 2017. He’s shown some flashes of brilliance, but his complete lack of speed and quickness has made him useless against most receivers. He’s a great tackler with exceptional ball skills, but speed is something that DBs simply cannot live without in a league full of superhuman athletes. Just like Jones, he was released a little over a week before the 2020 season opener.
Round 4: Mack Hollins, WR, North Carolina
Drafted as a special teams contributor, the Eagles were hopeful that Mack Hollins could grow into a deep threat for Carson Wentz. He even wore number 10, the same as former (and now current) fan-favorite deep threat DeSean Jackson. After recording 226 yards on 14.1 YPC as a rookie, he was set to assume a bigger role in 2018. He ended up missing the entire year with a groin injury. Then, in 2019, when the entire Eagles receiving core was destroyed by injuries, the Eagles needed Hollins to step up. He responded with 10 catches in 12 games and was unceremoniously dumped by the team following a Week 13 loss to the Dolphins.
Round 4: Donnel Pumphrey, Jr., San Diego State
In a draft filled with stud running backs, the Eagles managed to take arguably the worst one. Let’s take a look at who else Philadelphia could’ve gotten:
Leonard Fournette - 2,631 rushing yards in three seasons
Christian McCaffrey - 1,000+ rushing AND receiving yards in 2019
Dalvin Cook - 1,135 rushing yards in 2019
Joe Mixon - 2x 1,100+ yard rusher
Alvin Kamara - 2,408 rushing yards and 243 receptions in three years
Kareem Hunt - 2017 NFL rushing yards leader
James Conner - 1,470 total yards in 2018
Tarik Cohen -1,613 career return yards
Marlon Mack - 1,999 rushing yards in 2018 & 2019
Aaron Jones - career 5.0 YPC, 19 total TD in 2019
Chris Carson - 2,381 rushing yards in 2018 & 2019
Who they got: Donnel Pumphrey, Jr. - 0 career stats
Round 5: Shelton Gibson, WR, West Virginia
The Eagles drafted Gibson as another potential deep threat wide receiver. Throughout his career, he’s averaged an astonishing 19.7 yards per catch… on three total receptions. Gibson has zero starts to his name and just 59 career receiving yards. He is no longer with the team.
Round 5: Nathan Gerry, LB, Nebraska
Gerry, a former college safety, is one of two players in this draft class to still be with the team. Thanks to the Eagles severe lack of linebackers, Gerry is expected to see significant playing time this season. He’s had his moments, but overall he’s just not very good. For a former safety, he gets lost in coverage at an alarming rate. After starting 12 games last season, maybe Gerry can make the leap to a solid, consistent starter.
Round 6: Elijah Qualls, DT, Washington
Playing under a DT that loves to rotate in defensive lineman, Elijah Qualls had a chance to get snaps on this Eagles defense. Qualls ended up staying in Philadelphia for one year, recorded four total tackles, and was released by the team before the 2018 campaign.
Overview:
Eight players drafted, and just two remain on the team. Those two, Gerry and Barnett, have not proved to be very good at what they do. Howie Roseman is given a lot of credit for what he does in the Eagles front office, but he’s also directly responsible for one of the worst drafts in NFL history. Not a single player selected has made an elite impact, and all of the players that were released have yet to make a contribution elsewhere (the jury is out on Jones and Douglas).
For Joe Douglas & Howie Roseman:
https://youtu.be/_0xr0HCN794?t=78
*All stats were taken from Pro Football Reference
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