The Draft is finally here—72 Days since the Eagles’ Super Bowl 57 appearance. The next big event for the NFL season began today.
Before the draft, I covered available players the Eagles could pursue with the 10th and 30th picks.
If you don’t feel like reading the above links, the players I had on my board for the Eagles were:
- Jalen Carter
- Bijan Robinson
- Paris Johnson Jr.
- Nolan Smith
- Christian Gonzalez
- Brian Branch
- Jahmyr Gibbs
- Darnell Washington
Not every Christmas list will come 100% true, but one can always dream when you’ve got two picks in the 1st round.
Howie Strikes Before It Began
Just before the draft started and the Panthers were on the clock, the Eagles struck… a trade of sorts with the Arizona Cardinals.
It was reported that a tampering investigation between the Cardinals and Eagles regarding the hiring of new HC Jonathan Gannon. The result of the investigation:
A trade between the 2 teams, the Cardinals trade 66th overall for Philadelphia’s 94th overall pick and a 2024 5th round pick.
A move that will surely look great for the Eagles, being able to add another top 70 pick in this year’s draft, and it only came at the cost of a 2024 5th-round pick, which the Eagles had 5 of before the move got announced.
The Opening Picks
The handful of picks began to come in as expected. Big-name QBs went quickly, surprise.
1) Carolina – Bryce Young
2) Houston – C.J. Stroud
3) Houston – Will Anderson Jr.
4) Indianapolis – Anthony Richardson
5) Seattle – Devon Witherspoon
6) Arizona – Paris Johnson Jr
7) Las Vegas – Tyree Wilson
8) Atlanta – Bijan Robinson
9) Eagles – Jalen Carter
It’s difficult watching players like Bijan get plucked from the available players just before your team’s pick. And that’s why the Eagles most likely jumped ahead of the Bears for 9th overall. With the cost of only a 4th round pick, a small package to guarantee the Eagles could draft their guy.
Exactly like they did in 2022 to secure Jordan Davis at 13th.
Remaining 1st Round
With 22 picks left in the 1st round after the Eagles selected Jalen Carter. Speculation season began. Players like Christian Gonzalez begin to fall further than anticipated, and the question now becomes. Would the Eagles trade up AGAIN to secure another player they were hungry for?
10) Chicago – Darnell Wright
11) Tennessee – Peter Skoronski
12) Detroit – Jahmyr Gibbs
13) Green Bay – Lukas Van Ness
14) Pittsburgh – Broderick Jones
15) New York Jets – Will McDonald IV
16) Washington – Emmanuel Forbes
17) New England – Christian Gonzalez
18) Detroit – Jack Campbell
19) Tampa Bay – Calijah Kancey
20) Seattle – Jaxon Smith-Njigba
21) Los Angeles Chargers – Quentin Johnston
22) Baltimore – Zay Flowers
23) Minnesota – Jordan Addison
24) New York Giants – Deonte Banks
25) Buffalo – Dalton Kincaid
26) Dallas – Mazi Smith
27) Jacksonville – Anton Harrison
28) Cincinnati – Myles Murphy
29) New Orleans – Bryan Bresee
After what seemed like an eternity, the end of the first round approached. The Eagles were back on the clock, with most of my board already gone or falling completely out of the first round. That meant good things for the Eagles, who recently acquired another 3rd round pick. And before long, Howie reached out for another Georgia Bulldog.
30) Philadelphia – Nolan Smith
While it seemed crazy reading mock drafts that showed Nolan Smith falling anywhere below the 20th pick, the reality was he fell right into the Eagles’ lap at 30, which was perfect for a team that needed another piece along the defensive line.
From here on out, I expect the Eagles to pursue some secondary options, as well as some of that OL Depth now that we managed to get out of the 1st round without drafting a bench-warming Offensive Tackle.
The Draft will continue tomorrow, where the Eagles currently hold the 62nd and 66th overall picks. Who would you like to see them grab before the end of tomorrow?
