Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Eagles Draft Overview

Posted April 27th, 2026 | No Comments »

Now that we are away from the draft I thought it would be good to take a look back and talk about some big picture angles, as well as some trivial stuff. During the draft you tend to live in the moment. It is easier to reflect after some time passes.

Howie Roseman’s most basic goal going into the draft was to improve the team based on the available resources. I think he certainly did that, especially with the addition of Jonathan Greenard. The draft picks will have varying degrees of impact. Greenard will start and be an immediate impact player. We saw the difference Jaelan Phillips made after the team traded for him last year. I expect the same impact from Greenard.

Howie had some key things he needed to do.

  • The Eagles needed to get younger and cheaper on offense. You can’t pay everyone big bucks.
  • Howie had to find a pass rusher.
  • The team needed a safety or two.
  • OL depth had to be addressed.

Howie managed to check all those boxes.

Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers give the offense a pair of weapons that are cost-controlled for the next four years. That’s important with all the big money going to the other stars on that side of the ball.

I already covered Greenard. There were some prospects I really liked, but Greenard is more of a sure thing. That’s important for a team that wants to get back to the Super Bowl. I was impressed when Greenard talked about seeing the Lombardi Trophies. He then said Minnesota didn’t have any hardware like that. He wants to win. Keyshawn James-Newby is someone to try and develop for the future.

You might not like him waiting until late to take a guard or safety, but you can find good depth pieces later on in the draft. I had Micah Morris rated as a mid-round guy. Dane Brugler and Fran Duffy had him rated as a late round prospect. The Eagles spent a lot of time talking to him so this is clearly someone they had targeted and think will fit in well. They have a vision for him. Halapoulaati Vitai was a fifth round pick and ended up starting 6 games for that team. Morris could be good depth as a rookie. We’ll see how he plays this summer.

I think there is too much worrying at the safety position. I know I’m in the minority on that. And I could be dead wrong. Marcus Epps started all 17 games in 2022. That defense was second in the league in yards allowed. That team went to the Super Bowl and might have won if the field wasn’t garbage. Epps started 4 games last year for a Top 5 scoring defense. He isn’t a playmaker or star, but can get the job done. Cole Wisniewski can come in and challenge for a starting role. He might just be good depth. I think the Eagles added a pair of good UDFAs in Maximus Pulley and Tucker Large. You can find safeties late. Reed Blankenship was a UDFA. Epps was a sixth round pick. Andre Sam, who the team likes, was another UDFA.

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The Eagles targeted players and went after them. We know this by the visits/meetings/interest tracking we all did. Lemon visited Philly. Stowers had zoom meetings. Bell visited Philly and they had people go see him in Miami. Payton is a guy they spent a lot of time on. I don’t think we have all the details, though. Morris had zoom meetings with the team. They sent DL coach Clint Hurtt to work out Uar Bernard. There were meeting with some of the UDFAs as well.

Teams get real specific on who they want. Obviously the other 31 teams didn’t likek Cole Payton or Micah Morris as much. The Eagles wanted them and got them. Now we have to wait and see if they wanted the right guys. I do like the process, no matter the outcome. Find your guys.

The fact the Eagles were able to get players they specifically wanted tells you that Howie and his staff have a good idea of what other teams are going to do. That’s critical for a GM. The Steelers lost out on Makai Lemon because they waited for him. Howie knew he wasn’t going to last much longer so he went and got him. He was willing to give up the two picks because he felt the Eagles would still be able to get some of their guys later in the draft. Worked out well in the short term. We’ll see about the long term.

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A non-Eagles item here. We here a lot about value. We base our values on rankings by draft experts. Where did Daniel Jeremiah or Brugler or Duffy have the guy rated? NFL teams have their own rankings, obviously, and they can be very different. De’Zhaun Stribling was seen as a mid-round prospect 6 weeks ago. We started to hear buzz on him. Suddenly he was an early third and might even sneak into the second round. He ended up going 33rd overall. Stribling went on a bunch of visits and apparently was great in the meetings. He even had to turn down three teams because he ran out of time. If you hear there is a buzz on a guy and there is some evidence to back it up, that is probably legit buzz.

I had Caleb Douglas rated as a sixth round player. He went 75th overall. The Eagles brought him in for a visit, as did multiple other teams. When guys are doing a lot of visits, that tells you there value is probably going to be higher than what we on the outside think. Pay attention to that stuff.

If you hear an insider talk about a guy having buzz, but there is no evidence to support it, that is likely an agent trying to boost his client.

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Markel Bell could be interesting if they can activate him on game day. If the Eagles are in short yardage, they could put Bell in as an extra OL next to Jordan Mailata. You would then have more than 1,000 pounds on the left side of the OL (Dickerson is also big). That trio could get some serious movement. That would be seriously fun to watch. I don’t know that they will be able to have him active on a regular basis. Just a fun thought.

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Is Cole the new Jalen? Payton and Wisniewski. Hurts and Carter.

I got confused when Howie said Cole the second time. I thought senility was setting in and he was calling guys they had already drafted. Then I realized there were two of them. I guess I’m the one who is senile.

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The offseason isn’t over. We have seen teams cutting some guys today. After the draft GMs go over there roster and make changes. If the Eagles decide they want a veteran safety, they can still get one via trade or seeing if a player gets cut over the next month.

The Eagles could look to add a veteran guard. They seem to like Drew Kendall, last year’s rookie. They have Willie Lampkin. Now you add Morris and UDFA Jaedan Roberts. That is an interesting group of young OL. We’ll see if they want a vet to throw into the mix. Kendall focused on center last year. He could play some guard this summer. Lampkin played guard and center for the Rams last summer. He was a guard in college. There is some flexibility here.

One spot I would like to see them address is DT. They only have 7 players on the roster. Last year they had 9 for Training Camp. They don’t need to go sign a proven vet or a star. They just need depth and competition.

They could always bring back Brandon Graham and have him focus on the inside. He wants to come back. The Eagles are interested in having him. I think the fit has to be right and BG will want some money. He isn’t playing for peanuts. Howie will have to decide if they want to pay and just how BG would fit into the rotation. I think the team likes their top edge rotation with Greenard, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt and Arnold Ebiketie. Fangio doesn’t like to play a bunch of guys so he’ll likely want to stick with that rotation.

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