Focus is now on Eagles draft…

Things have gone well in the trade/free agency department for the 2016 Eagles so far… almost too well… as a sense of complacency may be in danger of setting in.

But make no mistake about it— this is one of those drafts where you better come away with at least two and possibly three starters to emerge by the 2017 season. You cannot and must not blow a number 8 overall pick opportunity and a high order pick in all rounds but the 2nd. That kind of draft position doesn’t roll around that often. You don’t want it to roll around that often, either, because it means you had a losing season in the prior year.

The Eagles now have about $14 million in salary-cap space, according to ESPN’s Roster Management System. That number is closer to $15 million on Spotrac.com. Either way, the Eagles are getting close to a point where they won’t have cap space for much else in the way of free agency. The Eagles have to leave cap space to sign their draft picks. Their rookie pool will likely be close to $6 million. They have a total of nine draft picks, including the eighth pick in the first round.

“Obviously, we’re happy where we are currently today,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “We have three tremendous tight ends on the roster, four that are going to compete for those roster spots there. With the three young wide receivers that we have, we feel like we can be a dynamic offense in the National Football League.”

They added a starting offensive guard, Brandon Brooks, as well as backup QB Chase Daniel to their offense. They signed linebacker Nigel Bradham and defensive backs Leodis McKelvin, Rodney McLeod and Ron Brooks.

What else do they need? A running back to replace DeMarco Murray? Not necessarily…

“We’re excited about Ryan Mathews and [Darren] Sproles,” GM Howie Roseman said. “We have Kenjon Barner on the roster. We felt like we had a position of depth.”

Okay…how about a veteran wideout to replace Riley Cooper? Not a major concern for Pederson who feels he can get a lower-priced second-wave free agent or a mid-round talent in the draft.

Now we will find out how well Doug and Howie can coordinate with each other on the draft process.

“Our offices are about four doors away, so we have to yell a lot down the hall,” Pederson said of working with Roseman. “But no, the communication has been me walking to his office, him walking to my office, going over our roster — constantly going over the roster — going over the draft boards and looking at the guys that we did sign in free agency.”

“So that communication has been very well received over the past month and really since I’ve been here. That’s something that will continue now on through this draft process.”

Your guess is as good as Howie’s or Doug’s at this point as to who falls to them at #8 overall. Drafttek rates the Top 20 prospects in their latest review:

Post-Combine adjustments have been processed to our 2016 Big Board. Joey Bosa remains in the No. 1 spot, but Carson Wentz moves into second, just nudging out Jalen Ramsey:

Rnk	Player	School	Psn	Change
1	Joey Bosa	Ohio State	DE43	—
2	Carson Wentz	North Dakota St	QB	+ 3
3	Jalen Ramsey	Florida State	FS	-1
4	Laremy Tunsil	Ole Miss	LOT	-1
5	Jared Goff	California	QB	+ 1
6	Vernon Hargreaves III	Florida	CB	+ 2
7	Paxton Lynch	Memphis	QB	+ 5
8	Ronnie Stanley	Notre Dame	LOT	+ 1
9	DeForest Buckner	Oregon	DE34	+ 1
10	Shaq Lawson	Clemson	DE43	-6
11	A’Shawn Robinson	Alabama	DT43	—
12	Laquon Treadwell	Ole Miss	WRF	-5
13	Myles Jack	UCLA	OLB43	—
14	Robert Nkemdiche	Ole Miss	DT43	—
15	Mackensie Alexander	Clemson	CB	+ 2
16	Josh Doctson	TCU	WRF	+ 9
17	Jack Conklin	Michigan St	LOT	+ 3
18	Andrew Billings	Baylor	DT34	-3
19	Reggie Ragland	Alabama	ILB	+ 7
20	Ezekiel Elliott	Ohio St	RBF	-2

Here’s a snapshot of their latest Mock Draft with our own analyst ~Broz offering his input into the consensus. Compensatory draft picks have been added to their 2016 Consensus Mock Draft. The Patriots, Niners, and Cowboys all score four additional picks. Here’s a quick look at how they see the first 15 picks going down:

Joey Bosa

Vernon Hargreaves III

Laremy Tunsil

Not to be melodramatic, but the Eagles have got to get this draft as right and tight as possible. There is no room for error in Round 1.  Danny Watkins and Marcus Smith need not apply.