National Football League

Could Amba Etta-Tawo Be Drafted By The Philadelphia Eagles?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:35 p.m. ET

Fansided, Matt Giraldi/FanSided via Inside the Iggles

The Philadelphia Eagles need a wide receiver. Typing that sentence has become habitual over the past two years. In this year’s draft, Amba Etta-Tawo of Syracuse might finally make that request a thing of the past.

Are you a Philadelphia Eagles fan and tired of hearing how we lack a big-time playmaker on offense? Do you wish that former head coach Chip Kelly didn’t gut the roster of players such as Dion Lewis, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson? Well you are in luck because the play-maker the Eagles could use is Syracuse wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo.

There is a lack of elite talent at wide receiver in this year’s draft. There is not an Odell Beckham or Mike Evans available. However, that doesn’t mean that talent is completely void at the position. The underlying question ultimately will be how much draft capital each tier is worth this year.

I am on record of being adamantly against drafting Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams. His neck injury scares me. Corey Davis is a nice talent, but I would like to see the Eagles address more pressing needs early. The team has one USC “receiver” already, so I don’t want to see another.

That leaves us with the crop of under-the-radar receivers making names for themselves during draft preparation. One of those players is Cooper Kupp. The other is Etta-Tawo. I have my doubts about how effective Kupp can be in the pros. On the other hand, I believe Etta-Tawo can be a number one receiver.

The first and foremost reason for this belief is his hands. While they are slightly smaller than the referenced Kupp, they do the job they were intended for. Arguably his greatest asset, Etta-Tawo can make the tough (and contested) catches, traits sorely needed by the Eagles wide receiving corps.

Etta-Tawo utilized the NCAA rule for graduate transfers in order to play at Syracuse in 2016. He then proceeded to amass 1,482 yards on 94 catches during the 2016 season. At just 23 years old, there is plenty of room for development in the NFL considering he would still be younger than Nelson Agholor, Dorial Green-Beckham or Paul Turner.

Projected to be a third-round pick, Etta-Tawo allows flexibility in the Eagles draft strategy. His life story makes him a player that everyone can root for however. The Eagles don’t have the draft capital they have had in recent years, but that shouldn’t stop them from getting high-impact players. If they can address the defensive side of the ball early in the draft (and in free agency), Etta-Tawo would be a perfect addition at the perfect cost. Let’s hope this team feels the same way.