The NFL Draft starts Thursday night with the always-anticipated first round. All the scouting and evaluation for NFL teams is done.

The Eagles pick 23rd overall. Their most glaring needs are safety, edge and tight end, but they typically draft for the future and prefer to take the best player on their board at positions they value, so expect offensive line, wide receiver, and defensive back to also be among their priorities, especially on Days 1 and 2.

To best gauge this year's draft class, we asked three different NFL personnel executives to size up the prospects and the overall draft strength. None of the three work for the Eagles. All three specialize in college scouting and each has at least two decades of experience in NFL scouting. 

All three scouts spoke to PhillyVoice under the condition that they would not be identified, so we referred to them in this story as "Scout A," "Scout B," and "Scout C." 

Keeping the Eagles and their draft tendencies in mind, we asked each of the three scouts specific questions about prospects and positions that we would expect the Eagles to have interest in.

Here are our questions and their answers:

What are the strongest positions in the draft?

Scout A: "Probably tight end, because there’s multiple types. There’s Fs and Ys (F refers to "flex" tight ends who line up in the slot, "Y" for in-line tight ends who align next to an offensive tackle), but they all can catch. Just not gonna get a bunch of blocking tight ends, but there is a handful of Ys in the draft. Receiver is [also] deep."

Scout B: "I would say tight end is a good position this year. Not necessarily top, top guys. [Oregon's Kenyon] Sadiq is a really good player. Reminds me a lot of Vernon Davis, but as far as depth and the mid-rounds, the tight end class is gonna be really, really good. Similar to tight end, [also] edge guys. There’s maybe two that have potential to be elite, but overall depth and there's lot of [edge] guys who I think that can come in and play in the league."

Scout C: "I would say edge. Probably not at the top end, but throughout ... with Rueben Bain, [David] Bailey, [Akheem] Mesidor, the Michigan kids [Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham ], the Oklahoma kid [R Mason Thomas]. Safety [is next strongest]. Just the versatility they can do. You’ll have to pick and choose with what you like best. You got some that can play nickel and safety, big nickel."

Who is the best safety prospect not named Caleb Downs?

Scout A: "I would have to Bud Clark, TCU. Rangy, ballhawk, smart, good eyes, can run. He can cover slots, tight ends. I like Bud Clark better than both [Oregon's Dillion Thienemen, Toledo's Emmanuel McNeil-Warren]."

Scout B: "I would say probably Dillon Thienemen. He’s really smart. He’s a good athlete. He's instinctive. He's very competitive, good range, good athlete. He does a lot of high-level stuff at his position. I think he can fit any scheme. I think he can be a high-level starter and impact player for really anyone."

Scout C: "Dillion Thienemen from Oregon. He can do it all, make the splash play, play down low, has a lot of range, explosive... and he's a hell of a gunner. Everyone says he’s like Harrison Smith. I think that’s fair."

Who is the best offensive line prospect?

Scout A: "Ohhhhhh," – long pause – "I'm kind of stuck on [Alabama OT Kadyn] Proctor and [Utah OT Spencer] Fano. Proctor is your left [tackle], Fano is your right. I think if you put [Fano] inside [because of short arms], I don't know if he's ready for the inside yet. Outside he can use athleticism with strength and power; inside he would have to be able to play with better knee bend."

Scout B: "The kid from Miami – [Francis ] Mauigoa. He’s a really good athlete. He’s strong. He has the ability to recover. In addition, he has size. There’s no questions as far as his length. It’s more so instincts and anticipation, that's where he gets into trouble. Spencer Fano is a really good player but the arm length is a concern. I think he can be elite at guard. The kid from Arizona [State, Max Iheanachor] has been a fast riser because he tested well and he's a really good athlete, but he's very inconsistent on the field and technique-wise, and overall play is up and down."

Scout C: "The Miami kid [Mauigoa], to me. I think long term he might be an All-Pro guard, but I still think he can be a good tackle. Not the longest arms, just the steadiest. The guys that are wide [bodied], they don't have to be long [armed] because they’re so hard to get around. Fano is a freak. He's probably the best one of the bunch if you’re looking for that [outside zone-blocking scheme]. But the strength and power of the Miami kid is incredible."

Who is the best wide receiver prospect?

Scout A: "[Carnell] Tate. I think the things he did on tape, it's gonna show up in the league. But you've also seen Jordyn Tyson and KC [Concepcion] do the same stuff that's gonna show up in the league. Either one of those three guys you’re gonna be happy to be your two or three wide receiver, they’re not number ones. They’re number twos that can end up being number one."

Scout B: "I think probably the most talented overall is Jordyn Tyson, who didn't have a great year. He was hurt, the quarterback play was very up and down, which hurt him, obviously. But I think he’s the most talented. I think Carnell Tate is the most safe. But overall talent, I would say Tyson."

Scout C: "I like Tyson over Tate, but that's just me. Just a bigger skill set on the outside. I think Tate is more powerful and stronger, but I think there’s more speed in Tyson, more route running in Tyson. I just worry about the size a little bit [of Texas A&M's KC Concepcion] and the hands, but the speed and punt return is legit. He’s in the 20s for me."

Who is the best tight end prospect not named Kenyon Sadiq?

Scout A: "[Ohio State's Max Klare] is nice. He can play both Y and F. [Vanderbilt's Eli] Stowers is a better athlete but the Ohio State guy [Klare] is a better tight end, if that makes sense. [Stowers] is good but he’s an F; you've got to have a plan for him. I understand the talent just don't know how high you get that talent. I like [Stanford's Sam] Roush. He's probably one of the best blocking tight ends in the draft."

Scout B: "That’s a really good question. [Baylor's Michael] Trigg is talented, but there’s a lot of baggage that comes with him. If you're looking for a Y tight end — they are few and far between. I would say Sam Roush from Stanford. I think Sam is a better blocker than [Klare]."

Scout C: "Honestly, that's tough. It's what do you want? If you want an F, you’re going Stowers. If I had a second-round pick it would be Stowers. If you're looking for a combo [of blocking and receiving], you do Klare – but in the third round."

Who are the two best EDGEs not named David Bailey?

Scout A: "It would be the guy from Miami – [Rueben] Bain – and the guy from A&M, [Cashius] Howell. Bain — I mean, he’s been doing it all his life, right? I don't know why [short arms] are going to change it now. Them dudes [at offensive tackle] in college have long arms, too. [Howell] has explosiveness. He can dip a little more than Bain. He can drop in coverage. He can stop the run, play the edge, and rush the passer. The way it'll fall is probably Bailey, Bain, Howell."

Scout B: "Arvell Reese is right there, he's the best athlete of them all. He's just raw. It’ll be interesting to see what the Jets end up doing. And Rueben Bain would be No. 2. You always want to draw it up with longer arms but he's powerful and uses his hands really well, so he compensates for that lack of arm length with technique and the ability to use his hands."

Scout C: "Reese and Bain. I like Reese as an edge. You have to have a plan, but he's an edge first to me. [Bain] plays with length. He's Brandon Graham, but [heavier]."

Who is the best cornerback prospect?

Scout A: "The dude from LSU [Mansoor Delane]. The dude [Tennessee's Jermod] McCoy [is next],  although you’re going off of ’24 film [because of McCoy's ACL injury].

Scout B: "I would say Delane from LSU, and McCoy is probably the most talented of them all. But he has to play, he didn't play this last year." 

Scout C: "The LSU kid. McCoy is right there, but he's coming off the knee. You could go either way there. The LSU kid is more secure. Mansoor would be No. 1."

Who is the most boom-bust prospect?

Scout A: "[Ohio State LB] Sonny Styles. He's not a real take-on dude, so he's got to be in the right defense for you to get your high reward. He doesn't take on [ball carriers], he's just free. When he has to take on, he struggles. You never really saw that speed. If he's in the right defense, he'll be alright. If he's not, he'll be a bust."

Scout B: "Arvell Reese. He's the most athletic but he's really raw, and the Jets haven’t had a very good track record of developing guys and being successful in that. You could ask a handful of people and there could be several ideas on where you want to play him. Some people would put him at inside 'backer and some would put him on the edge. It just kinda depends. I would put him on the edge as a pass rusher. I would want to see that athletic ability doing that."

Scout C: "The Arizona State tackle [Max Iheanachor]. Just, he's raw, only been playing football since basically coming to college. One year of high school ball and just up and down film. But super talented, the Senior Bowl showed that. The guy is a freak [athlete]."

Who is the best small-school prospect?

Scout A: "I would probably have to say [Georgia State WR] Ted Hurst. He’s raw with a lot of ability but he can actually come and play right now. You just got to have nice packages for him. He has to learn how to run routes, when to slow down, when to pick it up, stuff like that. But he's got all the ability to do it. You can’t put him with a bad coach."

Scout B: "I would say probably say [North Dakota State WR] Bryce Lance. North Dakota State has been great at developing players. Good length, good speed, good athlete. He's a solid overall player."

Scout C: "There’s another Proctor at Southeast Louisiana [Kaleb Proctor, no relation to Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor]. He's a clean tester across the board, has all the numbers you want, production. He really showed up in the LSU game."

Who will go in the first round, but shouldn't?

Scout A: "[Auburn EDGE] Keldric Faulk. He's solid for his size; I just don't know how good of a football player he is. With his athletic ability, he will be [taken Round 1]."

Scout B: "You could draw a line halfway through the first round and say half these guys in an ideal draft aren’t first-rounders. I would say maybe [Alabama QB] Ty Simpson is gonna go in the first round, I think. And he's probably not an elite guy."

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