3 Eagles Veterans Fighting for Their Jobs Following NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles appear to be re-tooling around quarterback Jalen Hurts. While first-year head coach Nick Sirianni elected not to publicly commit to Hurts as the starter in 2021 (a baffling decision considering what just happened with Carson Wentz), his status as QB1 appears pretty safe.

But the move to a younger, less experienced QB could easily start something of a youth movement in Philadelphia. The organization made nine picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. That group of younger, cheaper talent will be looking to compete with established vets for big roles this upcoming season.

Here are three Eagles' veterans that could be fighting to keep their role after the NFL Draft.

Eagles News

3. Avonte Maddox, Cornerback

Among the 121 cornerbacks that received a 2020 grade from ProFootballFocus, no one was worse than Avonte Maddox (37.8). Needless to say, that's not what you want. Maddox wasn't exactly elite before 2020 either, finishing with a sub-60.0 grade in both 2018 and 2019. Philadelphia spent a fourth-round pick on a talented CB in Texas Tech's Zech McPhearson and he could push Maddox for a role right away.

2. Isaac Seumalo, Guard

The Eagles drafted center Landon Dickerson near the top of the second round. It was a relatively surprising pick as some believed he would fall because of the ACL tear he suffered in the SEC Championship game. But Philly obviously loved the interior O-Lineman enough to snatch him up early. While he's probably not going to push Jason Kelce for playing time in year one, Dickerson is more than capable of playing guard and could compete with projected starting LG Isaac Seumalo. The biggest caveat here is Dickerson's health. But if he's deemed good to go by training camp, Seumalo could have a tough time hanging onto the starting gig.

1. Javon Hargrave, Defensive Tackle

Philadelphia spent two picks on defensive tackle in the NFL Draft, including third-round selection Milton Williams. Clearly, the Eagles felt it was a position of need, which was a bit of a surprise considering Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave are manning the middle. But Cox will be 31 by season's end, and Hargrave didn't live up to his contract during his first year in Philly. He posted a sub-par 61.2 grade from PFF after back-to-back 80.0-plus grades from 2018-19. Of the two, Hargrave is in much more danger of getting beat out by Williams, as Cox has simply been too good for too long (including 2020) to lose his job anytime soon.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk free for up to $1,000!

Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.