For Eagles, veteran Jason Kelce takes a stand against tanking for a better draft pick

If the Eagles somehow find a way to win the NFC East, they would pick 19th in the 2021 NFL draft, with a potential to go even later than that depending on how many playoff games they win.

If they lose their last three games, they could end up picking as high as fourth.

While Eagles fans might be hoping for the latter, along with playing as many young players as possible, it's clear where veteran center Jason Kelce stands.

"I think everybody’s curious at all times to see what the young guys have in games," Kelce said. "That being said, I think at all times in the NFL, the focus should be winning the football game. Nothing else takes precedence."

He stressed that losing games can translate into losing teams, and eventually, bad cultures – with a focus on the draft and free agency, rather than the game at hand.

And yet, both winning and losing could have consequences for the Eagles.

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If the Eagles keep winning behind rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts, head coach Doug Pederson could be fired after the season. The logic is that a different coach could be brought in to develop Hurts, the second-round draft pick last spring.

If the Eagles lose out, that might give Carson Wentz a better chance to retake the job, and perhaps enable Pederson to keep his job if the front office believes that Pederson can "fix" Wentz during the offseason.

Speaking of the front office, if the Eagles are picking in the top 10, is general manager Howie Roseman the one making the pick, considering his spotty draft record in recent seasons?

There are signs that the Eagles have done both in recent weeks.

On the one hand, they have played veteran receiver Alshon Jeffery over Travis Fulgham and other young wide receivers.

Fulgham had 29 receptions for 435 yards and 4 TDs in five games before Jeffery returned from foot surgery. In the five games since Jeffery returned, Fulgham has 4 catches for 32 and no TDs.

Fulgham played just 11 snaps against the Saints.

Jeffery, who's 30 years old and has an expensive contract, is not likely to return next season. He has 3 catches for 30 yards and a touchdown in 5 games.

"We still game plan for Travis," Pederson said. "I'll tell you this, Alshon is getting healthier and is playing better and we game plan for him. There are certain plays, specific plays, that Travis is going to be in on, and there are specific plays that Alshon is going to be in on."

On the other hand, the Eagles have already looked to the future on the offensive line, though not necessarily by choice. They'll use their 13th offensive line combination in 14 games when they face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Still, Jordan Mailata is starting at left guard for the rest of the season. The former Australian rugby player had never played organized football before the Eagles drafted in him in the seventh round in 2018.

Sure, injuries played a big part of that — but so did Jason Peters' poor play there this season. Peters was placed on injured reserve last weekend with a toe injury.

When asked if Mailata could be the starter beyond this season, Pederson hedged, saying that 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard — who's out for the season with a biceps injury — is projected to start.

But he did praise Mailata, as did Kelce.

"Jordan Mailata, the big rugby player, now he’s officially a football player," Kelce said. "He went out there and has played really, really well. It’s always good to see a 6-9, 400-pound guy (he's listed as 6-8, 346 pounds) show he’ll be a good player in the NFL."

And, of course, there's Hurts, who will make his second career start. He was impressive in his first start, a 24-21 over the Saints this past Sunday. Hurts threw for 167 yards and ran for 106, becoming the first Eagles' quarterback to break 100 yards rushing since Michael Vick did it 10 years ago.

"I’ve always seen the confidence in him, even before all this happened," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "You can tell he’s ready to go out there and show what he can do, and everybody’s excited for him."

That's the balance the Eagles are trying to strike.

But as Kelce sees it, getting a top-10 draft pick as opposed to a late first-round pick might not make much of a difference anyway.

"This isn’t basketball," he said. "One draft pick isn’t going to make us a Super Bowl champion. ... I don’t care if you lost every game, and you’re 0-15, and it’s the last (game of the season). Everything is about winning in this league.

"I know that won’t appease a lot of people out there that always want to talk about getting better draft positions, getting looks at certain guys to see what you got for the future. But, again, the moment ... you as an organization aren’t doing your job for me to go out there and win, all of a sudden, you’ve shown who you are. You don’t care about me or this team."

Slay progressing

The Eagles received some encouraging news when cornerback Darius Slay was a limited participant in practice Thursday after not practicing at all on Wednesday due to a concussion he suffered last Sunday against the Saints.

Slay and DT Malik Jackson, who has been limited the past two days also with a concussion, have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before they can play. The fact that both have been practicing, however, is an encouraging sign.

CB Avonte Maddox and OL Jack Driscoll (both knee) didn't practice Thursday and won't play Sunday. Among those limited were S Grayland Arnold (hamstring), LB Shaun Bradley (neck), LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring), and CB Michael Jacquet (hamstring).

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.