Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Inside the Draft

Posted May 4th, 2025 | Comments Off on Inside the Draft

The NFL Draft is a fascinating event. We spend months watching prospects, studying team needs and trying to figure out who teams like. We make some educated predictions, but these are just educated guesses. We don’t fully know what teams are thinking until after the picks.

The Eagles put out their annual video showing behind the scenes draft clips.

The first thing that jumped out to me was how the Eagles tried to trade up multiple times in the first round. They thought they had a deal with the Chargers, but that didn’t pan out. Howie talked to just about everybody. Why is this a big deal? It shows you just how much they wanted to get Jihaad Campbell.

Howie mentioned after the draft that the Eagles had Campbell as one of the top 10 players on their board. I don’t think he would lie about something like that, but seeing him trying desperately to move up confirms just how much the Eagles liked Campbell. This is a player they targeted going into the draft. It wasn’t like he started falling and they all of a sudden got interested.

Vic Fangio looked very happy when he found out the news. His defenses have been built on LBs going back almost 40 years. He’s got to be thrilled at the idea of pairing Zack Baun and Campbell. That could be a special duo.

The second round was less dramatic. Alac Halaby said Andrew Mukuba was another player the Eagles had targeted. Mukuba went in the area he was supposed to go so the Eagles didn’t have to try to move up for him or sweat out Mukuba falling to them. There are no guarantees of course. In the end, the Eagles got another player they wanted.

The Eagles had the final pick of Day 2, #96. Instead of picking, they traded back to pick 101, adding a 5th round selection in 2026. The draft got going on Saturday and the Eagles moved back again, dropping to 111. Howie said in an interview that Ty Robinson was the highest rated player on their board at the time. It is interesting that they moved back 15 spots and still got the player they wanted. It was worth the risk to move back (more on that later).

Before the draft began on Saturday, Howie asked the scouts to speak out on players they really liked. The scouts mentioned Robinson, Smael Mondon, Drew Kendall, Kyle McCord and Myles Hinton. Obviously they mentioned other players as well, but those five became Eagles draft picks. These are players the Eagles were high on.

I know sometimes Day 3 can feel random. Teams are selecting guys you may not know much about. The point above should help you realize the picks weren’t random at all. The Eagles did extensive research on these guys and identified them as players they definitely wanted. Jeff Stoutland seemed genuinely excited by the Hinton pick. Stout must feel that’s a guy he can develop.

When scouts and coaches work in unison, young players have a much better chance to succeed. Scouts do the research and put grades on players. Howie makes the picks. The coaches then have to develop the players. I think the success of the past few years is due to the front office and the coaching staff working so well together. Let’s hope that trend continue.

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I mentioned earlier that the Eagles felt the risk of moving back was worth the extra picks. Here are some comments from Ravens GM Eric DeCosta on the value of draft picks.

DeCosta is one of the best drafters in the league so it was interesting to hear his comments. You can have great scouts. You can have a good organization. You can love the picks your team makes. But there is still no guarantee the picks will work out.

The complication is that you are projecting future success. I’ve done some hiring in the last decade. I know I had some great interviews that led to mediocre employees. They had the right background. They did a great job in the interview. But they didn’t work out once in my organization.

I will disagree a bit with DeCosta. Trading up does make sense under the right circumstances. The Eagles moved up aggressively last season to get Cooper DeJean and that helped them win a Super Bowl. It was a minor miracle that DeJean had fallen to that point. In Howie’s mind, he was getting a first round player at pick 40.

When teams talk themselves into players and then move up, that is where DeCosta is right. Should the Giants have gone after Jaxson Dart the way they did? Should the Falcons have moved up for James Pearce, a prospect who more than a few teams didn’t have on their boards at all? The Lions aggressively went after WR Isaac TeSlaa. Most draft analysts had him as a 5th rounder. I thought that was too low, but you do wonder if Detroit was too aggressive in going after him in the 3rd round (pick 70).

There is something to be said for taking chances. You aren’t going to outsmart 31 other teams on a regular basis, but you also aren’t going to have great success if everyone does the same thing. You have to figure out ways to be different that still make sense. Like signing Saquon Barkley. Or drafting Jalen Hurts when you already have a QB in place.

If you hit on the right moves, they can change the fortunes of a franchise.

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Looking at LB

Posted May 2nd, 2025 | 3 Comments »

Years ago I was doing a podcast with Jimmy Bama and we started to talk about linebackers. I joked with Jimmy that someone should make a failed linebackers quilt for the Eagles. It would be a way to remember all the has beens, never wasses and mediocre players that patroled the middle of the Eagles defense for the past decade or so.

Who remembers Eric Wilson? Shaun Bradley would have been a great story since he was from Temple, but he just wasn’t good enough. Was Stephen Tulloch really an Eagle? Nate Gerry was nicknamed Whitesnake. Not so great other than that. The Myles Jack era didn’t pan out as hoped. I could go on, but there’s no reason to depress you.

The good news is that those days are over. Zack Baun was an All-Pro LB last season. Nakobe Dean played at a high level before getting hurt. Oren Burks stepped in and the defense didn’t seem to miss a beat. That was the best LB play in a long time.

Burks left in free agency. Dean isn’t all the way back from his injury yet. But the Eagles still have a good set of LBs.

  • Zack Baun
  • Nakobe Dean
  • Jeremiah Trotter Jr
  • Jihaad Campbell
  • Smael Mondon

It is amazing how quickly the LB room went from a question mark to an exclamation point. As good as the Eagles LBs were last year, the group could be even better this season. Baun now has a year of experience at the position. He was learning last year, especially early in the season. Baun could eliminate some issues and continue to be a playmaker.

When Dean is healthy, he’ll likely play. He knows the defense and pairs well with Baun. Dean has struggled with injuries so he’s not a long term answer at this point. This is a contract season for him. The Eagles would probably love him to play well, get a good deal and help them with a comp pick in 2027.

Trotter showed some promise last year and could be on the field early on since he’s healthy.

Campbell and Mondon are both rookies. Both of them have played a lot of football. They have the size and athleticism to play in the NFL. Neither of these guys is a project. Campbell needs a bit of time because he’s coming back from shoulder surgery. Mondon will get his chance to compete and fight for playing time.

The good thing about having young LBs from big schools like Georgia, Alabama and Clemson is that the guys are used to having to earn playing time. They understand competition. They understand the value in starting out as a role player. It will be interesting to see how the young guys do this summer.

Vic Fangio has to be thrilled after the uncertainty of last summer. Would Baun be any good at ILB? Could Devin White bounce back? Would Nakobe finally play like the star he was in college? Lots of questions. This year he’s just got to worry about Nakobe and Campbell getting healthy. Campbell should be ready for Training Camp. Nakobe seems likely to spill into the regular season.

Look how awesome he is at just standing. Both feet are on the ground. He’s not slouching. Future star for sure.

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I don’t understand why Howie Roseman’s plumber is doing interviews from NovaCare.

That can’t be a draft pick, right?

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