Eagles To Land Another Georgia Star

You can never have too many Bulldogs in the Eagles front office.

According to one recent mock draft, the Georgia-Philadelphia defensive talent pipeline will be open this spring. Here’s one expert’s take on the upcoming draft.

According to ESPN’s Matt Miller’s anticipated draft order, San Francisco will defeat Philadelphia in a replay of last year’s NFC Championship Game, giving the Eagles the 29th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He believes it will be used to select Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter.

Philadelphia hasn’t picked a first-round defensive back since Ben Smith, of Georgia, in 1990. Normally, general manager Howie Roseman prefers to fortify the offensive and defensive lines with early draft picks, but with two starting cornerbacks over the age of 30, adding to the secondary should be a priority this offseason.

Lassiter has only allowed a completion on 41.9% of the passes thrown into his coverage, according to Pro Football Focus, and opposition quarterbacks have a 56.9 passer rating when targeting him. This season, he intercepted eight passes while allowing only seven completions.

Of course, Lassiter is far from an ideal candidate. According to Pro Football Network, his slender, 180-pound build makes him vulnerable against powerful runners and he is occasionally caught peeping into the backfield. He’ll also be one of the draft’s youngest players, at only 20 years old.

Nonetheless, just four teams have allowed more passing yards than Philadelphia this season, and undrafted free agents like Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks aren’t cutting it. The Eagles selected Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo in the fourth round of the NFL last year, so reuniting Lassiter with his former running buddy makes a lot of sense.