Eagles NFL Draft 2024 grades: What Philadelphia failed to do, and one thing it definitely got right

The Philadelphia Eagles had a impressive three days of the NFL Draft, a masterclass toward how Howie Roseman addressed the present and future. Roseman found a way to address the secondary on the first two days of the draft while stockpiling picks on Day 3 and using them to set up draft capital in future seasons.

Thanks to tying the NFL record for trades in a draft, the Eagles acquired a 2025 third-, fourth-, and fifth-round pick and gave themselves extra draft capital for the future. This was the biggest takeaway of the draft for an Eagles team that addressed major needs in the early rounds, but regretted not taking care of other aspects of the roster. 

Here are the nine Eagles picks in this year’s draft:

Eagles 2024 NFL Draft class

Eagles 2024 NFL Draft grades

Pete Prisco’s grade: B+

Best pick: “Rather than panicking and trading up, they stayed put and landed the top cover corner in the draft in Quinyon Mitchell in the first round. It was a gamble that paid off.”

Chris Trapasso’s grade: A

Summary: “GM Howie Roseman knows how to balance the draft as well as any GM in the league. Sometimes he’s ultra aggressive, other times he trades back multiple times and lets the draft come to him. Either way, it always feels like quality prospects fall into his lap, doesn’t it? Mitchell AND DeJean? HELLO. Hunt has immense upside based on what he showed in 2023 at Houston Baptist, which came after a switch from safety at Cornell. Smith and Wilson are two divergent specimens but both experienced productive collegiate careers at marquee programs. And Trotter has the coverage ability and range to be a star in Philadelphia, just like his dad.”

What Eagles failed to address

Offensive line early 

The Eagles were targeting offensive linemen early in the draft, but the board didn’t fall their way with multiple prospects. Philadelphia chose not to trade up in Round 1 with the cornerbacks falling to it at No. 22. The front office could afford to pass on Troy Fautanu (who went to the Steelers at No. 20) with Quinyon Mitchell and Terrion Arnold falling into its lap. 

Offensive line could have been addressed in Round 2 with picks Nos. 50 and 53, but the Eagles traded up to No. 40 and landed one of the top players on their board in Cooper DeJean. That’s a major win for Philadelphia at the expense of drafting an offensive lineman with any of those second-round picks. 

The Eagles did recoup a third-round pick in the DeJean deal (No. 78), then traded back multiple times in Round 3 for various reasons. While they gathered more draft capital, possible additions along the offensive linemen (namely Cooper Beebe, Kiran Amegadjie, Christian Haynes and Zak Zinter) went off the board. They traded down again to No. 94 and selected pass rusher Jalyx Hun after all potential offensive line targets were gone.

There were other third-round targets who weren’t offensive linemen whom the Eagles liked, but even Howie Roseman admitted it was surprising they didn’t take an offensive lineman early. 

“It’s just how the board fell,” Roseman said. “I think there was a run on offensive linemen in some areas where we didn’t pick. When we came back and picked in some of those rounds, it didn’t really fit. We felt like it was more important to stay true to our board than to just kind of reach. Like you said, we have added some offensive line.”

The Eagles did draft Trevor Keegan and Dylan McMahon on Day 3, then reportedly added former New York Jets first-round pick Mekhi Becton after the draft. The Eagles addressed depth on the offensive line, but appear settled on Tyler Steen at right guard — for now. 

“I think both those guys, both were team captains,” Roseman said of Keegan and McMahon. “Obviously you talk about Keegan, the team captain for national championship team. Can play with power. He has mentality.

“Then you talk about Dylan. He’s probably a little bit different guy. Elite athlete. Again, a guy that — both those guys that we’ve been on as a staff and felt fortunate that they were there on Day 3.”

Opportunity to draft a linebacker in Round 3

The Eagles traded back in Round 3 and stockpiled picks for Day 3, eventually settling in at No. 94. Payton Wilson was sitting on the board at No. 94, but the Eagles passed and took Hunt from Houston Christian. Hunt rose up draft boards since the Senior Bowl and is still developing as a football player. 

“He’s got freaky tools in his body. He’s an explosive guy,” Roseman said. “If you watch his best plays, he’s doing things that are unique. He can bend. He can close. He can finish. He’s long. … We feel like we got a good edge rush group. He doesn’t have to come in here (and play right away) — we’re going to develop him like we talked about.

“This is a perfect developmental guy for us because of the tools in his body and his character and work ethic, and we think we can really find something with him. That’s on us. That’s on how he’s going to work.”

Hunt is essentially on a redshirt year, yet the Eagles could have taken a Week 1 starter at linebacker with Wilson, who would have been the top linebacker taken if not for the injuries. The Steelers landed Wilson at No. 98 — with the third-round pick the Eagles gave up to acquire Kenny Pickett — while the Eagles took a pass rusher they’ll stash and develop in year one.

For a team that needed help at linebacker, Wilson would have been the perfect fit. This comes down to what the Eagles medical staff thought of Wilson, which we don’t know. The Steelers believed he was worth taking four picks after the Eagles.

What Eagles got right

Secondary addressed early with two potential starters

Getting Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22 was a major win for the Eagles front office. Not only did Philadelphia get a Week 1 starting cornerback in Mitchell, but it didn’t have to trade up to acquire him, nor did it have to part ways with either of its second-round picks (Nos. 50 and 53). That massive win for the organization paid off on Day 2. 

The Eagles were aggressive Friday, trading up 10 spots to No. 40. They started a run of cornerbacks going off the board as Cooper DeJean fell into their lap, adding a player they had a first-round grade on in the second round. 

“He was a first-round player for us,” Roseman said. “It’s rare for us to be picking in the 20s and to get two first-round players. You know, both those guys were first-round players for us.

“We didn’t have 32 first-round guys, so when you get that opportunity to get two first-round guys, especially picking where we were, we felt like it was an opportunity and it was obviously an area we wanted to address.”

Both Mitchell and DeJean could start for the Eagles in Week 1 — Mitchell at cornerback and DeJean at safety. The Eagles could play DeJean at outside cornerback, in the slot, or as a safety; he’s ready to contribute wherever needed.

The Eagles are deep in the secondary all of a sudden. Philadelphia has Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, Avonte Maddox, and Isaiah Rodgers at cornerback. The Eagles have C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship, Cooper DeJean and Sydney Brown as the top four safeties. Not only are the Eagles deep at both positions, but athletic. The secondary should be significantly better in 2024. 

Picks acquired for 2025 

The Eagles certainly stocked the cupboard for future draft picks, using their seven picks in the fourth round to get draft picks in the middle rounds for 2025. Here were the eight trades the Eagles made:

• 2nd round: No. 50, No. 53, and No. 161 to Commanders for No. 40 (selected Cooper DeJean) No. 78, and No. 152 (selected Ainias Smith)
• 3rd round: No. 78 to Texans for No. 86 and No. 123 
• 3rd round: No. 86 to 49ers for No. 94 (selected Jalyx Hunt) and No. 132 
• 4th round: No. 120 to Dolphins for 2025 third-round pick
• 4th round: No. 123 to Texans for No. 127 (selected Will Shipley) and 2025 fifth-round pick 
• 4th round: No. 132 and No. 210 to Lions for No. 164, No. 201 and 2025 fourth-round pick 
• 5th round: No. 164 and No. 201 to Colts for No. 155 (selected Jeremiah Trotter Jr.)
• 5th round: No. 171 to Jets for No. 185 and No. 190 (selected Johnny Wilson and Dylan McMahon)

Roseman’s job was to recoup picks for the 2025 draft — and he succeeded. Here are the Eagles picks in the 2025 draft: 

• 1st round 
• 2nd round 
• 3rd round 
• 3rd round (from Dolphins) 
• 4th round (from Lions) 
• 5th round 
• 5th round (from Texans) 
• 7th round 
• 7th round

Not only did the Eagles acquire three picks for 2025, but they have nine total picks for next year. They also got back the fourth-round pick they sent to the Lions in the D’Andre Swift trade last year at the draft. The eight trades are tied for the most ever for a team since the draft went to seven rounds in 1994, matching the 2018 New England Patriots and 2023 Houston Texans (eight) for the most in the seven-round format.

Roseman set the Eagles up to be even more aggressive in the 2025 NFL Draft, while also improving the secondary and adding depth at wide receiver and on the offensive line. 

“We were a little light for next year’s draft going into day three, and so I think that was a little bit of a focus in the trade talks,’ Roseman said. “Sometimes you’re in trade talks and kind of going, ‘Hey, I’ll take a pick in this year’s draft.’ So in those talks more focused in particular about instead of a this year pick, we’ll take a next year pick just because we wanted to get back some of the picks that we had gotten rid of next year.

“We felt like we had an opportunity with the amount of picks we had today to get a lot of players that we liked, and we were also excited about the draft process. It will be a little bit different draft class next year because of the amount of guys that are coming out next year. That was kind of in the back of our mind.

When taking into account how little draft capital the Eagles had for next year’s draft and how they addressed depth at multiple positions, Day 3 was a massive win for the front office.