PHILADELPHIA – He is the prospect that might make the most sense for the Eagles in next Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft, because Donovan Ezeiruaku checks a lot of the box’s general manager Howie Roseman and his staff compile in their evaluation process.
Production? Check. Ezeiruaku ranked second in FBS with 16.5 sacks, third with 20.5 tackles for loss, and added three forced fumbles.
Character? Check. Ezeiruaku was a team captain at Boston College. Eagles love leaders.
“Donovan first of all is just a very bright guy, great teammate, unanimous captain,” BC coach Bill O’Brien told AtoZ Sports. “The whole team voted for him to be the captain of the team.”
Effort? Check. Ezeiruaku would meet with BC offensive line coach Doug Marrone to go over a variety of stuff that would make him better.
“He's willing to meet with an offensive line coach and pick his brain about what guys are going to think about him, what o-linemen are thinking here, the sets they use... all of that,” said Ezeiruaku’s teammate, offensive tackle Ozzie Trapilo, who is considered a second-day draft pick next week.
“Having a resource like that, and then him grabbing that opportunity and sort of using it to better his game just demonstrates how much he wants to do this and how much he's willing to put in to get to the next level.”
Trapilo said he and Ezeiruaku went each other often at practice.
"I think his explosiveness, his numbers were good, and he's always been an explosive guy,” said Trapilo. “He's a very intelligent player. He has a game plan at all times. Especially when you're in practice and you have one-on-ones against him... you're getting a couple of reps a day. You're going against him every snap, throughout all the team drills. It becomes more mental warfare than anything physical. He succeeded at that very well.”
As an added bonus, Ezeiruaku is from Williamstown, N.J., about a half-hour outside Philadelphia.
This is a prospect the Eagles can’t help but love and could very well be their first pick in this draft after having him as one of their top-30 visits.
You could make a case that he isn’t big enough, but he’s just a shade under 6-3 and goes 248 pounds. Josh Sweat, who left in free agency, is 6-5, 265, and Brandon Graham, who retired, played at 6-2, 265. Two returning edge rushers are Nolan Smith, who is 6-2, 238 , and Jaylx Hunt, who is 6-3, 252.
Is Ezeiruaku that much smaller to discourage the Eagles from drafting him at No. 32 or moving up a few spots if he is still there? The answer here is no, and that’s why it would make a lot of sense for the Eagles to try to get him.
