The Eagles had a great draft

The Picks

22 - Quinyon Mitchell

Let me start with a mea culpa: I thought Terrion Arnold would be the first cornerback drafted, I was wrong (barely, he went two picks later). I thought they would trade up for an OT. They didn't draft one at all.

If the Eagles had traded up for Mitchell, as some expected them to, I'd have no complaints. Instead they were able to stay at 22 and still land him? Even the team was surprised. Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Great pick.

40 - Cooper DeJean

There is an alternate universe where defensive players go earlier than they did in the universe that we live in. In that universe the Eagles are unable to move up from 22 and they draft DeJean and most people are maybe not excited but are satisfied. So to get him at 40 feels like a coup. Like many I was surprised by this pick, but pleasantly so.

DeJean will get his chance at outside corner but his future in the NFL could be anywhere in the secondary, and the Eagles are in a position to let him find it without forcing anything. Outside corner? You can never have enough of them. Slot corner? Sure. Safety? No problem. Occasional linebacker? Why not. The Eagles need talent, and young talent, everywhere on defense. DeJean should be able to plug a hole somewhere. Where that is, it doesn't matter to me, only that he can play. Figure the rest out later.

94 - Jalyx Hunt

I don't get this pick. Hunt was a D3 safety who played off ball LB in FCS and is being called an EDGE in the NFL. I struggle to see it. In the limited footage of him available, Houston Christian dropped him in coverage a ton, he even lined up at outside corner a few times. That is not an edge rusher.

As an ILB/S player I could get it, but as an edge rusher/OLB the few times he went downhill or had the chance to get downhill I was not impressed. I can see him becoming a Connor Barwin-like OLB (maybe Barwin can teach him his spin move) but I fear a Davion Taylor outcome is more likely.

127 - Will Shipley

The Eagles were definitely taking a RB in this draft, and they were definitely taking one who is a threat in the passing game. At 127 there were several to choose from including Ray Davis, Isaac Guerendo, and Tyrone Tracey. Shipley was one of them, he is a more than satisfactory selection.

In my notes for his game vs North Carolina the entry is simply "draft this guy." The Eagles did.

152 - Ainias Smith

This was an obvious pick.

I never understood the Eagles' interest in Smith. He's a punt returner, but they already have one in Britain Covey, and Cooper DeJean is an excellent punt returner. He's not a kick returner, only 20 career returns, 13 of which were as a true freshman in 2019. He's a 5th year receiver who wasn't productive, though he did play in one of the most frustrating offenses in college that wasn't based in Iowa City, and with QB1 hurt for most of the year. He didn't test great, with a 7.36 RAS. He isn't a deep threat, he ran a 4.55. He's undersized for an undersized player with the shortest arms and the second smallest hands of any WR at the Combine.

Good not great athlete, limited production, low ceiling, gadget player in college. I don't understand why you would spend a 5th round pick on that.

155 - Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

Every summer there are players seen as potential 1st round picks that aren't anywhere near 1st round picks when it's actually time to draft them. This year included Kalen King (7th), Leonard Taylor (undrafted), and Trotter.

The fan in me loves having the son of one of my favorite Eagles on the team. But there is a reason why he was available in the second half of the draft. Trotter was inconsistent all year, the second best LB on his own team (Barrett Carter is really good). He didn't test and is one of the smallest LBs in the class at 6'0" and with 31.5" arms.

I thought he was awful against North Carolina, inconsistent against FSU, but played well against Notre Dame, Miami, and Wake Forest. He looked like, well, a day three pick.

172 - Trevor Keegan

If I told you I watched much of Trevor Keegan I would be lying. I thought he was a little too light for the Eagles to have interest in. Michigan won the national championship in part by having an entire offensive line of NFL guards and running the ball behind them, the Eagles could use a guard. Makes sense to me.

185 - Johnny Wilson

I really like this pick. Wilson was one of my favorite players in the draft. Not in a "steal of the draft!" type of favorite player, because those guys rarely work out, just that he is a unique prospect who I am very interested to see what he turns out to be in the NFL. At least now I don't have to look far.

Wilson is huge and knows how to use it, and he's got great speed for a guy his size and pretty good speed for guys not his size, he ran a better 10 yard split than 49ers first-round pick Ricky Pearsall. I thought he would go at least a round higher.

190 - Dylan McMahon

I couldn't pick this guy out of a lineup but a high RAS center in the 190s? That also describes Jason Kelce! That comparison is, of course, unfair to McMahon. But with high athletic ability and multi-position experience playing both guard spots along with center, he checks many boxes the Eagles like. This offseason saw teams, including the Eagles, spend an unusual amount of money on interior linemen, so bringing in rookies, even if late picks, is a good counterbalance.

UDFAs

I'm not going to comment on guys I haven't watched yet, which is half of the UDFA class.

McCallen Castles is a blocking TE, but he moves well. Tennessee lined him up all over the field, from the backfield to WR.

Gabe Hall is a "value" add, a lot of people thought he would be a high day three pick but here he is as a free agent. Thought they might add a NT to compete with PJ Mustipher for a backup role, Hall is not that kind of player.

Kendall Milton is a between the tackles runner, could fill the Rashaad Penny role but with good enough pass blocking to actually see the field.

Andre' Sam could be a guy people like when he hits the field. He plays hard and fast, which can and does lead to mistakes but he'll probably make a play or two in the preseason that excites.

The Trades

It wouldn't be a Howie Roseman draft without trades. I prefer the Rich Hill trade value chart:

50, 53, 161 for 40, 78, 152

Out: 231 points, In: 220 points, 11 points is a mid 5th round pick

A fair price to pay to start an expected run on an important position in the 2nd round. With so few defensive players taken in the 1st round, the 2nd round was bound to be defensive heavy, and it was, 20 picks were defensive players. Four of the seven picks before this were DTs, then the next three picks and five of the next 10 picks were DBs. Outstanding job by Howie Roseman and his staff to jump the line for the best DB available.

78 for 86, 123

Out: 61 points, In: 70 points

Four offensive linemen went between 78 and 86, including one at 86. The only defensive player taken during this run was Caden Bullock at 78. If the Eagles were aiming to come out of this pick with a defensive player this was a wise move down, and good value.

86 for 94, 132

Out: 49 points, In: 58 points

Then they traded down again, so maybe the plan was just add back value given up in the DeJean, fair enough. Between 86 and 94 five defensive players were drafted, so not moving down again was fine, and they again got good value in the deal.

120 for 2025 3rd, 123 for 127 and a 2025 5th, 132 and 210 for 164, 201, and a 2025 4th

Out: 65, points, In: 34, difference of 31 points is an early 4th

I'm going to lump these three together because they happened so close to each other. Four 2024 picks for three 2024 picks and three 2025 picks is great business. I liked these moves for two reasons beyond the obvious. First, the outcome of the Saquon Barkley tampering charge has yet to be announced, so adding three picks next year gets ahead of any that are going to be forfeited. Second, Howie Roseman is almost certainly going to make at least one trade for a veteran player between now and the trade deadline, and now he has more draft picks available to make that work:

171 for 185 and 190

Out: 9 points, In: 13 points

Joe Douglas moving up for Jordan Travis was funny to me, I wouldn't have even signed Travis as a UDFA. No one who was drafted between these picks was some steal in the waiting, and it's the 6th round, just add picks/bodies.

Overall

The Eagles had a strong draft. On defense they added much needed athleticism, while on offense they added depth in the trenches and at skill positions. They set themselves up well for next year's draft, they have six picks in the top five rounds. Putting a number or letter on a draft to grade it is silly to me, but it hard to feel anything short of really good about the week the team just had.