Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

2026 UDFAs

Posted April 26th, 2026 | 3 Comments »

The Eagles have a very good roster. I thought they had a good draft. With that in mind, I didn’t expect much from the UDFA class. Agents want their guys to go places where they have a shot to stick. The Eagles surprised me with a class that has some good pieces.

Here is a quick overview.

You wanted a TE who could block. The Eagles got you one.

They signed 3 safeties. One could move to corner, but they wanted to get guys to improve the depth for Training Camp. They got athletes who can make plays.

They added another big OL.

They got a LB who could make the practice squad.

And yes…they did sign a long snapper.

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TE Dae’Quan Wright – 6-4, 246 – Productive throughout career. Caught 113 passes. As a senior he started all 15 games (39-635-16.3, 5 TDs). Good effort blocker, both in-line and on the move. Has quiet hands. Catches the ball smoothly. Good RAC ability. Good downfield receiver. Shows a good feel for getting open. Didn’t do athletic testing at Combine or his Pro Day. Looks athletic on tape, but would be good to have numbers to compare to others. Hurt his shoulder in the season opener and played through the injury all year. That shows toughness, especially for a guy who will block. Big question for me is route-running. Ole Miss used him in space quite a bit and also got him open via play design. If Wright can prove he can consistently get open against good man coverage, he absolutely has an NFL future. I had him rated as a fourth rounder. Others had him a bit lower, but surprising he went undrafted unless there is a lingering medical issue.

LB Deontae Lawson – 6-3, 226 – Alabama – 3-year starter. Team captain. Finished career with 283 tackles, 19 TFLs, 6.5 sacks. Bit of a sloppy tackler. Tends to go low on his targets, which will be an issue at the next level. Prefers to slip blocks rather than take them on. Will take on blocks at times, but tends to use his shoulder. Will need to fix that at the next level and learn to use his hands to strike. Solid athlete with good quickness and agility. Has a lean build. Would likely need to bulk up for the NFL. Quick feet. Diagnoses well and then attacks the ball. Has the athleticism to be solid in coverage. The biggest issue for him is tackling. He grabs, reaches and lunges. Needs to keep his feet and attack the midsection of his target instead of consistently going low. Will be a fatal flaw if not fixed. A good LB coach should be able to get this turned around.

OL Jaeden Roberts – 6-5, 333 – Alabama – 3-year starter at RG. Injuries limited him in 2025. Big, physical blocker. If he’s able to latch on, the defender is going where Roberts wants him to. Powerful. Has some real pop when he hits guys. Heavy hands. Serious hand punch. Stuns guys. Able to engage and move DL. Can be sloppy with his hands. Knee bender. Plays with good pad level. Looks for work. Good on the move. Has good feet. Strong finisher. Put his share of guys on the ground. Big man who plays big. Has 33 3/8 inch arms and 10 inch hands. I’m shocked he didn’t get drafted in a weak OG class. Has real potential. There was reportedly a lot of competition for him, but the Eagles were able to get him signed. This is a player they really wanted.

S Maximus Pulley – 5-11, 200 – Wofford – 34 career starts. Recorded 189 career tackles with 7.0 tackles for loss and 7 interceptions. Does a great job of jumping routes. Gets a really good break on the ball. Plays WR screens well. Good hands. Solid tackler. Has quick feet. Comes down quickly in run support. Didn’t play deep a lot, but showed good range when he did. Spent most of the time closer to the LOS where he could be a playmaker vs run and pass. Really good athlete and you see that on tape. Ran 4.45 at his Pro Day. Had a VJ of 41.5 inches and a SS time of 4.25. That’s an NFL athlete. The Eagles did a lot of work on him before the draft so this is another guy they had targeted.

LS Rocco Underwood – 6-3, 240 – Florida – Was Dane Brugler’s #5 LS. He won the Patrick Mannelly Award, awarded to the best long snapper in the country in 2024. Was a semifinalist in 2025. Did a good job of getting downfield after the snap and getting in on the tackle. Recovered one fumble. Was Florida’s LS for four seasons so he’s got plenty of experience.

S Kapena Gushiken – 5-10 – 189 – Ole Miss – Had a great Pro Day. Ran 4.35 , 41″ vertical, 11′ broad,  6.77 3-cone and 4.11 shuttle. 3-year starter. The first two were at WSU. Ended WSU career with 88 total tackles (52 solo), 5.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks, three interceptions, 11 pass breakups and one fumble recovery. Trf to Ole Miss and had 55 tackles, 1 INT and 5 PDs as a senior. Good when he’s in the slot. Has good man cover skills. Okay tackler. Good effort, but doesn’t get guys down quickly and cleanly. Shows good awareness. Fluid hips. I wonder if the Eagles would consider him at corner with that kind of athleticism and speed. Had an amazing pick-six back in 2023.

S Tucker Large – 5-10 , 181 – Washington State – Started for 3 years, the first two were at South Dakota State. Became a team captain in his only year at WSU. Had 71 tackles with 3 TFLs and 8 PDs as a senior. Had 7 INTs at SDSU, but none at WSU. We don’t have any testing numbers for him. Has punt return experience. Smart, instinctive player. Made big plays on defense and STs. Can line up in the slot and play man coverage. Also comfortable playing deep and reading the QB. Has good ball skills. Undersized and had some injury issues at WSU. You wonder if he can handle the NFL.

LB Joshua Weru – 6-4, 244 – IPP – Another guy with great athleticism. Just has to learn how to play football. Eagles will have a roster exemption for him. Learning to play LB will be tough. Have to defend the run and pass. Lots to learn. The best LBs are smart and instinctive. Weru is a blank slate. Will be interesting to see if they have him focus on the edge or off-ball LB.

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There will be several guys invited to rookie minicamp. Those guys are real long shots. I haven’t seen a full list yet so I might address that down the road.

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2026 Draft – Day 3 Review

Posted April 25th, 2026 | 1 Comment »

The Eagles entered the day with 3 picks, and none in the fourth round. Howie Roseman had to wait a couple of hours to get going, but ended up having an active day. A trade with the Rams added a couple of extra picks.

Round 1: No. 23 – WR Makai Lemon – 5-11, 192 – USC
Round 2: No. 54 – TE Eli Stowers – 6-4, 239 – Vanderbilt
Round 3: No. 68 – OT Markell Bell – 6-9, 346 – Miami
Round 3: No. 98 – traded for ED Jonathan Greenard
Round 5: No. 178 – QB Cole Payton – 6-3, 232 – NDSU
Round 6: No. 207 – OG Micah Morris – 6-5, 334 – Georgia
Round 7: No. 244 – S Cole Wisniewski – 6-3, 219 – Texas Tech
Round 7: No. 251 – DT Uar Bernard – 6-4, 306 – IPP
Round 7: No. 252 – ED Keyshawn James-Newby – 6-2, 238 – New Mexico

We had to wait a long time for the first pick. Some people were disappointed that it was QB Cole Payton. I was totally fine with the pick. Payton is naturally gifted and QB is the most important position in football. The Eagles did a lot of work on Payton and really wanted him.

The big concern for some is that the team now has 4 QBs on the roster. Don’t worry about that too much. Howie wouldn’t have made the pick if he didn’t have a plan. Jalen Hurts is a lock, obviously. Tanner McKee is a lock, unless the Eagles are able to trade him. Andy Dalton and Payton need to earn roster spots. They could always cut Dalton and try to get him on the practice squad. There apparently wasn’t much of a trade market for McKee this weekend. That could change in the summer. Howie said in his press conference that they would be willing to keep 4 QBs on the roster. This is probably a mixture of truth and also Howie letting teams know he won’t be giving McKee away. They will have to pay the price if they want him.

Now let’s talk about Payton the player. Here are my raw notes.

Cole Payton – 6-3, 232 – One-year starter with outstanding mobility. Ran for 777 yards and 13 TDs in 2025. Left-handed passer. Good accuracy on downfield throws. Throws well on the move. Good arm. Played in a run heavy offense. Only threw 225 passes as a senior, only 283 for his career. Good athlete. Payton is a project because he hasn’t been in an offense focused on the passing game and he lacks ideal experience. Has the size, athleticism and tools to develop into an NFL QB.

He needs work to be sure, but has the raw talent.

I think Payton has the potential to be a starting QB down the road. For now he provides the Eagles a cheap backup QB when McKee leaves.

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Next up, the Eagles added a big man to the middle of the OL, taking Micah Morris from Georgia.

Micah Morris – 6-5, 334 – Georgia – 18 career starts. Big, thick build. Still quick off the ball. Powerful player with strong hands. Needs to work on using them better. Too grabby at times. Moves well for a guy his size. Anchors well. Good on short pulls. Plays with a wide base in pass pro. Has some athleticism, but is a bit stiff. Good Combine numbers. Too uright at times. Can get off balance. Good showing at the Shrine Game. Has experience at LG and RG.

Morris is big, but still athletic.

Morris does need some work. He can be too upright at times. You can get away with that in college, but no so much in the NFL. He needs to be better with his hands. He can be too grabby. These are things coaches can fix. They can’t teach big and athletic. You have that or you don’t. I had A 5th round grade on Morris so he feels like good value at this point.

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The Eagles finally added a safety with the next pick.

Cole Wisniewski – 6-3, 219 – Texas Tech – 6-year player, mostly at NDSU. Had 32 career starts. Had strong senior season. 73 tackles, 6 TFLs, 5 PDs, 2 FF. Began his career at LB before moving to S. Had 8 INTs while at NDSU. Wrap up tackler with good power. Big hitter. Looks good in man coverage. Played some slot in the Shrine Game and looked good there. Physical presence, whether in the box or the deep middle. Takes good angles to the ball. Can match up with TEs in man coverage. Doesn’t have ideal speed. Already age 24.

I wondered if he would interest them with his skill set. The Eagles seem to like guys with good man cover skills and some experience as a nickel. Wisniewski isn’t that guy. But then he went to the Shrine Game and showed some versatility. That got my attention.

Wisniewski will be a good STer right away. He can develop into a starting safety over time if he proves he can handle the pro passing game. His run defense is NFL ready right now. He is physical.

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Howie admitted the Eagles made sure to get a 7th round pick because he wanted to draft DT Uar Bernard. Who? Who indeed.

Calling Bernard an athletic freak feels like an understatement. He is basically the same speed as Grant Calcaterra, but is 70 pounds heavier. That’s insane. He has no football experience so this is a long shot. Jordan Mailata panned out, but was good at a similar sport and just had to adjust to football. Bernard is a blank slate. Clint Hurtt worked him out and has met with him multiple times so the Eagles did their homework. This is a gamble they feel is worth it because of Bernard’s potential. He will be interesting to follow this summer. Becaus he’s an international player the Eagles get a roster exemption for him so this is a smart gamble.

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With the final pick the Eagles took someone I had not studied, ED Keyshawn James-Newby – 6-2, 238 – New Mexico. Since the draft ended and I had a chance to watch him, I can see what they like.

KJN is impressive. He can win with speed. He will mix in power rushes. He can set the edge in the run game. He dropped back into coverage at times. That is the skill set that Fangio loves in his edge rushers. Watch that tape and you see him making plays against Michigan and UCLA. He wasn’t just eating up weak competition.

We don’t know how his game will translate to the NFL, but this is a good late round pick. You can never have enough pass rushers.

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Howie didn’t have ideal resources on Day 3, but I liked what he did. He added a talented QB, addressed the LOS and got us a safety. That’s good work. The Eagles targeted some players and went and got them. That’s what you want to do. Now we’ll find out if they targeted the right players.

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The Eagles have signed some UDFAs. I will write about them tomorrow. Sometimes players come and go in the first 24 hours so there’s no reason to do too much work until we feel confident about who is really here.

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