PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles traded up from No. 15 to No. 13 to take Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis in the first round of the NFL draft.
In the deal with the Houston Texans, the Eagles gave up their pick at No. 15, plus their fourth-round pick at No. 124 and two of their three fifth-round picks at No. 162 and No. 166.
That meant the Eagles didn’t have to give up either their second or two third-round picks.
By making the trade, the Eagles felt they had to get ahead of Baltimore Ravens, whom they felt would take Davis at No. 14.
Davis fits in with the Eagles because both Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave are on the final year of their contracts. He can work into a rotation with Milton Williams, the Eagles’ third-round pick last season.
The Eagles had a chance for safety Kyle Hamilton, who originally was supposed to go in the top 10, but might have dropped after running a 4.59 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Defense was a priority for teams in the early part of the draft. And that potentially hurt the Eagles’ chances for getting one of their top targets at cornerback and defensive end.
The Eagles weren’t helped by the fact that none of the quarterbacks went in the top 10, either.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman might have been interested in trading up for one of the top cornerbacks in LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. or Cincinnati’s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner.
But most likely not at the price it would have cost to get into the top 5.
And once Stingley Jr. went No. 3 to the Jaguars, it became more difficult for the Eagles to trade up if Gardner was in fact their target. And that possibility was eliminated altogether when the Jets took Gardner with the next pick at No. 4.
The Giants then took another possible trade target for the Eagles in Oregon pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux at No. 5.
It was the first time since 1991 that the first five players in the draft were all defensive players.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
