With two first-round picks and no glaring needs to address, the Philadelphia Eagles can go in a number of different directions once the NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday.

With their first pick at tenth overall, Howie Roseman will have the luxury of picking the best player available, regardless of position. The popular name at the moment seems to be Texas RB Bijan Robinson, and while I will admit I’ve come around to the idea of drafting a running back at ten, there’s still a handful of defensive prospects worth taking with that tenth pick.

Two names that immediately come to mind are Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith and Pitt DT Calijah Kancey – both of whom would have instant impacts along the Eagles defensive line. They would also be near perfect fits for what the Eagles prioritize defensively.

Bleacher Report recently released their ideal landing spots for these two prospects and of course, the Eagles were the top landing spot for both.

B/R on Kancey’s fit with the Eagles:

“If you’ve paid any attention to Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, then you know he absolutely loves adding pieces in the trenches. Kancey could play a rotational role as a rookie behind Fletcher Cox before stepping into the starting lineup opposite Jordan Davis in 2024.”

On Smith:

“About the only thing that GM Howie Roseman likes better than improving in the trenches is adding more pass-rushers. The Eagles just employed an undersized edge-rusher with great success last year in Haason Reddick (6’1″, 240 lbs), who could be a great mentor of sorts for Smith.”

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As Bleacher Report points out, there’s no doubt both of these prospects have been on the Eagles radar this offseason. Defensive line isn’t necessarily a “need” for Philadelphia, but adding some more juice up front certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Losing Javon Hargrave and his 23 sacks during his Eagles tenure is a big blow. If the team entered the 2023 season as-is at he defensive tackle position, they’d be banking on both Jordan Davis and Milton Williams taking big leaps in development this offseason. Not to mention Fletcher Cox is only getting older and less productive.

Davis and Williams both have high ceilings and have already proven to be solid rotational pieces along the d-line. But can they play the majority of the snaps? That’s still to be determined.

I’m a big Kancey guy and would love to see him in midnight green. Taking him at ten may be a bit of a stretch, but trading back to snag him at 14-16 is definitely in play.

>> Read More: Eagles 7-Round Mock Draft: Howie finds his Javon Hargrave replacement; WR room becomes unstoppable

There’s more certainty at defensive end, with Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham all returning. But if just one of those guys goes down with an injury, the Eagles suddenly look pretty thin at the position. Are they really going to rely on Derek Barnett to step up in that situation, or would they rather have a stud like Nolan Smith ready to go at a moment’s notice? We all know the answer.

Sadly, the Eagles can’t have every elite prospect entering this year’s draft, no matter how much we talk about every single one and day dream about them scoring touchdowns at The Linc.

Maybe one of these prospects ends up in Philly, maybe they don’t. Your guess is as good as mine. None of know anything about the NFL Draft. Remember that.