NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Eagles' first-round pick at No. 22

The 2024 NFL Draft is 22 days away. Last year, the Ravens took WR Zay Flowers 22nd overall. This year, the Eagles hold the 22nd pick. 

Here’s who experts think they'll take.

Pro Football Focus (Arjun Menon): Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama

After being named USA Today’s High School Football Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, McKinstry would start for the Crimson Tide as a true freshman that same year. 

In three years with the team, the 6-foot-1,195-pound cornerback had 93 tackles, two sacks and a pair of interceptions and was a first-team All-American in 2023. 

Unfortunately, a Jones fracture discovered in his foot at the NFL Scouting Combine limited his participation, but he was able to run a 4.47 at Alabama’s pro day before having his foot surgically repaired. The injury may be a problem for some teams, but as Menon puts it:

"The Eagles haven’t taken a cornerback in the first round since 2002, and Darius Slay and James Bradberry are still on the roster. However, they don’t have a long-term solution on the outside, and we’ve seen general manager Howie Roseman draft future replacements in the first round multiple times."

Bradberry will be 31 years old next season. Slay just turned 33. After allowing a league-low 179.8 passing yards per game in 2022, the team gave up 252.7 yards through the air in 2023, second most in the NFL. 

ESPN (Matt Miller): Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson

Miller believes Philadelphia needs to add top-end talent at cornerback as well and thinks Wiggins fits the bill:

"Wiggins has legendary speed (4.28-second time in the 40-yard dash) that shows up on tape in man coverage situations. He had two interceptions last season, and his combination of length, wheels and hustle would get him on the field early in Philly."

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound cornerback led Clemson with 11 passes defensed and a touchdown in 2022 with six more passes defensed last season. He had two forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions in 2023, including another pick-six against FAU.