The Eagles made a big pick in the sixth round. Literally.
With the 185th overall pick, the Eagles took giant wide receiver Johnny Wilson out of Florida State.
Wilson is 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds. He’s massive. He’s big enough that some teams talked about him potentially moving to tight end at the NFL level but the Eagles announced Wilson as a wide receiver. We’ll see if that’s where he sticks.
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After beginning his career at Arizona State, Wilson became a starter the last two years at Florida State. In the last two years, he had a 41/897/5 season in 2022 and followed it up with 41/617/2 in 2023.
Wilson, who turned 23 earlier this month, caught nine touchdown passes and has a wingspan of nearly 85 inches, so he can make some acrobatic catches over defenders. He’s a good candidate to become a fan favorite once training camp begins this summer.
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There’s a lot to like about Wilson, but there are also reasons why he was available for the Eagles in the sixth round. Here’s what Dane Brugler of The Athletic wrote about him:
“Wilson has imposing size and stride length for potential mismatch opportunities, but he doesn’t always play up to his frame and currently lacks consistent focus and route precision for what the NFL requires. He reminds me of a lesser version of Devin Funchess (considered a tight end by several teams)”
The Eagles did bring in Wilson on a “30 visit” this spring after seeing him at the Senior Bowl and Combine. At the Combine, he ran a 4.52 at 231 pounds and had good vertical and broad jumps, especially for a player of his size.
Wilson the second receiver they’ve taken on Day 3 followed Ainias Smith in the fifth round. Smith is a much different body type at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds. But both will join a group of receivers that’s headlined by A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, who both got contract extensions this offseason.
All offseason, the Eagles added receivers on futures deals that are more of the Wilson mold. And now they’ve added a big-body receiver in the draft.
Previous selections:
No. 22 overall - CB Quinyon Mitchell
No. 40 overall - CB Cooper DeJean
No. 94 overall - Edge Jalyx Hunt
No. 127 overall - RB Will Shipley
No. 152 overall - WR Ainias Smith
No. 155 overall - LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
No. 172 overall - G Trevor Keegan
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