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Philadelphia Eagles: Some early thoughts about the 2017 NFL Draft

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:25 a.m. ET

Fansided, Geoffrey Knox/FanSided via Inside the Iggles

With the 2016 season now over, the questions are, immediately, about how this team gets better next season.

There’s nothing like beating the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys to a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Beating both in consecutive weeks to close a difficult season makes the feeling doubly enjoyable. Fans have reason to smile, but there’s no lack of interest in what the next step is. Much of the talk is immediately about what this team should do come draft time in April.

Here’s what we already knew:

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The Eagles’ first-round draft choice belonged to the Cleveland Browns thanks to last off-season’s trade that gave the Eagles the second pick in the draft. Thanks to their trade with the Minnesota Vikings, where the Vikings acquired the services of quarterback Sam Bradford, Philadelphia took possession of the Vikings’ first-round selection.

Here’s what we know now:

The NFL Playoffs will determine the draft order of the remaining 12 teams, but we can already tell you the order of the teams who were eliminated from postseason contention. The Eagles’ 7-9 finish will give the Browns the 12th pick in the draft. That can be added to the first overall pick the Browns own due to a 1-15 finish.

There’s no need to get worried Eagles fans. You haven’t lost much ground. The Eagles are in a tie for the 14th pick in the draft with the Indianapolis Colts. We know that makes no sense. Just know that the Eagles won’t pick any lower than 15th come April.

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The biggest areas of need are wide receiver, running back and cornerback. We expect them to go with a corner with their first-round selection to shore up a porous secondary. They have some options at the skill positions, but there should be plenty of opportunities to pick up a running back in later rounds. This draft should supply a bevy of them.