Mel Kiper has bestowed upon his first official NFL mock draft of the year and his pick for the Eagles should be a familiar name for anyone who has been paying attention to other early mocks, Boston College LB Luke Kuechly. Here's what he had to say.

The Eagles were really weak up the middle in 2011, and Kuechly is the top interior linebacker available in the draft. Since Brian Dawkins departed, safety has also been a perpetual question mark, so I could see that being considered here. But in Kuechly you get a player who can fill a massive void in the defense. He's a guy who can come in and start immediately; he's got exceptional instincts, is a very good athlete, demonstrates great form and can fly around making tackles in the middle of the field. He's just a machine. Last year, few teams were forced to utilize lesser talent at linebacker than Philly, and Kuechly can help fix that problem.

This reminds me of the year when every mock drafter on earth had the Eagles taking CB Jimmy Smith...