By: Kylan Watson
It is the best time of the year for football fans, it is Draft day. The 2017 NFL Draft is just hours away in beautiful Philadelphia, PA. The Philadelphia Eagles have the 14th pick in the draft, and the Eagles need to draft a running back. Last year, the Eagles chose their franchise quarterback by selecting Carson Wentz, and the Eagles need to pick a franchise running back with their first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Eagles need to select Florida State University running back Dalvin Cook. Cook is the best running back for the system the Eagles run on offense, and he is the answer to the Eagles running back problem.
The Eagles had a horrible corps of running backs last year. The best running back the Eagles had was Darren Sproles. Sproles is 33 years-old and while he is still a dynamic running back, he is not a franchise running back anymore. The Eagles were the 16th rank rushing offense in the league. That is not a bad ranking. At one point the Eagles had one of the most dynamic rushing offenses in the league, but those days are long gone. If the Eagles want to recapture their past greatness they need a dynamic running back and that is Dalvin Cook.
During his time at Florida State, Cook became the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards, he rushed for 4,467 yards during his three-year career as a Seminole. He averaged 6.5 yards per game, he had 46 touchdowns during his career as well. Cook can also catch the football and can block, he is the type of running back that fits the west coast style of offense that the Eagles run.
Cook is the best running back for the Eagles, because his style of play fits the offensive system that the Eagles want to run. It would be a mistake for the Eagles to draft another running back over Cook. Cook is the most complete running back in this year’s draft and the Eagles need to draft him with the 14th pick and not Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette, or any other running back that the Eagles may have ahead of him.
