Step 1 to building a contending roster in the NFL is to have success in the NFL Draft. With Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman leading the way, the Eagles have certainly done that. They have assembled a high-level roster through every creative route, and the NFL Draft has been the main artery.
"It is the foundation of your roster," Roseman has said in the past. "Teams work all year for that NFL Draft weekend because that's how important it is."
The Eagles started the roster transformation in 2020 with the selection of quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the NFL Draft. From 2021 through 2024, things kicked into high gear.
By trading up in Round 1 for wide receiver DeVonta Smith in 2021, the Eagles found an important piece for the passing game. In the second round, Philadelphia took guard Landon Dickerson, who has become one of the league's best interior linemen and a Pro Bowl player. In the third round, the pick was defensive tackle Milton Williams, a key piece for the defensive line.
The 2022 NFL Draft, on paper, brought the Eagles just five players from those seven rounds – defensive tackle Jordan Davis, center Cam Jurgens, linebacker Nakobe Dean, and tight end Grant Calcaterra all started Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers – but the Eagles also engineered a trade with a second No. 1 draft pick they had that year that helped changed the dynamics of this football team.
Shortly after picking Davis in the first round, the Eagles traded with Tennessee to acquire wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has since teamed with Smith to give the Eagles a potent 1-2 punch at wide receiver.
"It was a priority to get the right players. And this, for us, was the right player, was the right fit," Roseman said the night the trade was announced. "I can't tell you that we were definitely going to draft a wide receiver in the first round. We had some other players we were looking at here, but I think we felt like this particular player, this particular person, the fit was really good for what we had and what we were looking for.
"A.J. Brown was someone we studied coming out (in the 2019 NFL Draft) and spent a lot of time on. We had a lot of love for A.J. Brown in that draft. Obviously, things went a different way in that draft. But, really excited to get him, just in terms of how Coach can use him and his vision for A.J. Brown in this offense and how he complements the other guys that we have here."
The vision has become reality, and bringing Brown to Philadelphia counts as a piece of the Eagles' draft haul.
But Roseman wasn't finished.
Far from it.
The Eagles played in Super Bowl LVII and the roster continued its evolution, and Roseman kept making the right calls on NFL Draft weekend.
In 2023, he hoped for a "unique" player with a Top 10 pick and that's exactly what the Eagles drafted, moving up one slot to No. 9 overall to take Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. In his second season, Carter is a dominating player. At No. 30 in the first round, Roseman took Carter's college teammate, edge player Nolan Smith Jr., and in his second season Smith has become a force on defense with his speed, relentlessness, and physical, productive play.
But wait, there's more from the 2023 Draft Class.
All five of the remaining Eagles' draft picks from that class remain on the roster and are talented, on-the-rise players. Tyler Steen is a starting-level player at both guard spots who has performed well when called upon. Cornerback Kelee Ringo has contributed both on defense and as a special teams ace. Safety Sydney Brown has overcome a knee injury to team with Ringo as superior gunners in punt coverage and Brown still eyes a high-end career on defense. Tanner McKee is the Eagles' third-team quarterback who has shown in the preseason that he has a bright future. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, taken in Round 7, is a key piece in the Eagles' defensive tackle rotation.
How about the 2024 Draft Class? Immediate contributions have happened. Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell started from Day 1, the first Eagles' cornerback to do so since Eric Allen in 1988. Cooper DeJean has manned the nickel cornerback position capably and has also done an excellent job returning punts.
Third-round draft pick Jalyx Hunt is working his way into the picture at defensive end and has shown flashes of his high-end ceiling. Sixth-round pick wide receiver Johnny Wilson has had a steady role as a reserve, while linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., running back Will Shipley, and wide receiver Ainias Smith are on the roster, active on gamedays, and developing their skills. Offensive guard Trevor Keegan is one of Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland's developmental players on the active roster, and you can bet Keegan will be ready to go when his name is called.
Roseman, then, has nailed the NFL Draft. Killed it, in fact, and that's in part why the Eagles are where they are: They've brought in great talent, they've developed the players, and they have retained many of them with long-term contracts.
It is a winning formula.
"Credit to Howie for bringing these guys in here," Head Coach Nick Sirianni. "Every one of them works hard and is coachable and wants to be the best player he can be, and we rely on each and every one on this team to have his role and be ready to help this team win. That's the kind of program you want to have."
