Posted April 25th, 2026 | Comments Off on 2026 Draft – Day 3 Preview
Patience is a virtue, they say. Well, we will have to be virtuous today because the Eagles don’t have a fourth round pick. Their first selection will be number 178. The final pick last night was number 100 so we have a while to wait.
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 Round 6: No. 197 Round 7: No. 244
POSITIONS
I’m going to focus on the key positions here. The Eagles will trust their draft board so they could take a RB or WR or ED. Here are the positions I think they will focus on. There are better options than you might think for a team with three late picks.
SAF – Drew Mukuba is set as one starter. I have Marcus Epps as the other starter, but he could be beaten out by a rookie. Epps is a good tackler and run defender. He’s not as much of a playmaker as the Eagles prefer. This is a spot where the Eagles could take someone as early as the second round. This is a good safety class so the Eagles don’t need to force things. If they can add an extra pick or two, I’d love to see them double-dip at safety.
OG – Another spot where there is a need for the future, possibly the present. Dickerson hopes to be healthy this season. If he is, he’s one of the best OGs in the league. He struggled mightily last season and the Eagles can’t go through that again. Steen was solid in 2025, but a very talented rookie could push him.
CB – The starters are set for 2026. There is a need for a young player to play opposite of Mitchell for the long term. That guy could be picked this year, but doesn’t have to be. The Eagles would probably like to address this position on Day 3.
DT – The Eagles have a good DL with Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and Byron Young. Ty Robinson didn’t show much as a rookie, but the team was very high on him so let’s give him a chance to develop. There is always room for another talented big man. The question is what they are looking for. I think they would prefer an athletic DT who can rush the passer. Jonny Page who does excellent work for BGN thinks they need more of a run stuffer. It will be interesting to see what they do. If Brando Graham comes back, he can rush up the middle so that may push them to go for more of a run stuffer.
LB – Vic Fangio loves LBs. The departure of Nakobe Dean means there is room to add one. I don’t see this as an early target, but never say never. Zack Baun will turn 30 this year so the team could take a LB earlier than expected. They have been checking out athletic LB prospects.
QB – There isn’t a need for a QB. That said, McKee is in the final year of his deal and the team might want to add someone to get ready for 2027. If they do that, it would mean carrying four QBs on the roster. The Eagles are one of the few teams who might be willing to do that. There is also the possibility of trading McKee. That could happen during the draft. The Eagles have looked at prospects who could go in the middle rounds as well as UDFAs. They will add a QB, either to the roster or the practice squad.
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I would love to come away with one or two of these guys.
S Genesis Smith S Kamari Ramsey OG Brian Parker OG Beau Stephens DT Kaleb Proctor DT Jordan van den Berg LB Jimmy Rolder LB Karson Sharar
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DRAFT BOARDÂ
The Eagles have to wait so long to pick that there isn’t much use in a normal draft board for us. I will list players of interest at the positions above. Read the rest of this entry »
The Eagles draft like Kyle Schwarber hits. They are interested in home runs, not singles or doubles. They swing for the fences when they can and have a pretty good track record, like Schwarber. With that in mind, here are some additional thoughts on what the Eagles did on Day 2.
Check out this nugget from Howie Roseman’s press conference after Day 2.
What stood out about both Eli Stowers and Markel Bell: They’re “unusual.” Roseman said that word came up often in the draft room. Stowers has off-the-charts athleticism. Bell has off-the-charts size. The Eagles lean toward players who offer something you can’t find elsewhere.
There you have it. Unusual. That’s an interesting word. They could have gone with rare or unique, but unusual it is.
The Eagles are looking for players who can be special. Eli Stowers is a special athlete. Grant Calcaterra is a good athlete. There is a major difference. They are basically the same size. Stowers is faster, 4.51 compared to 4.62. The vertical jump really stands out. Stowers was at 45.5 inches, Calcaterra only 32.5 That shows explosiveness. Stowers has it, Calcaterra doesn’t. Stowers is unusual.
Eli Stowers was drafted in round 2 with pick 54 in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.42 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 86 out of 1471 TE from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/jyRaCUxXCXpic.twitter.com/WFbQYYLMIC
Everyone’s big knock on Stowers is his blocking. He stinks as of now. It is up to the Eagles coaches to work on that and get him to be better. He’ll never be a strong in-line blocker, but that’s not why the Eagles drafted him. They want someone who can be a difference-maker in the passing game.
I can’t think of many TEs who move like that. Again, this is an unusual guy.
Markell Bell has unusual size. He’ll enter the league and automatically be one of the biggest OTs. He is 6-9, 346 and has 36-inch arms. That is insane length. As Joel Buchsbaum, Pro Football Weekly’s legendary draft analyst, would say “It is a $20 cab ride just to get around the guy”.
The player you instantly compare Bell to is Jordan Mailata, who is also enormous. Mailata is a natural athlete who had to learn how to play football. Bell has played football his whole life. He was the starting LT for the team that almost won the national title. He didn’t give up a single sack over the course of his final season, 16 games. Bell is not a rare athlete. He has good feet and is an okay athlete for his size. Bell is light years beyond Mailata entering the league. That doesn’t mean he will develop into the same level of player.
The Eagles liked Bell a lot. Howie said they brought him to Philly and also visited with him in Miami. This is a player they targeted. The Eagles have high hopes. Bell only played LT in college, but has been working some at RT in his pre-draft training. OL guru Duke Manyweather is one of the guys working with him.
Excited to see Markel in the Philly development system, they will get every ounce out of that potential
One of the benefits of taking the OT now is that Bell can spend 2026 adjusting to RT and life in the NFL. Bell is only 21 years old. His body is still developing. The Eagles training staff will work with him to get in top shape.
Bell isn’t just some big stiff. He can get out and block on the move.
Does that guy look too big or too stiff to you? We see massive OTs in each draft class. Most are awkward. They don’t have the feet to function in the NFL. They aren’t natural benders who can avoid being too upright. That’s not Bell. His size is unusual and his ability to play at his size is even more unusual.
You also have to love his attitude. He started at LT in the national championship on January 19th. He reported to the Senior Bowl a week later. He didn’t miss a practice and even played in the game. He wanted to show the NFL what he could do. This is a guy who wants to succeed.
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Jonathan Greenard isn’t unusual. He’s just really good. He does have one of the quickest get-off’s in the league. He only had 3 sacks last year, but still was one of the fastest players off the ball. That just shows you that sacks can be a high variance stat. The key is to regularly pressure the passer. You certainly want guys to finish, but affecting the QB on a regular basis is the key.
New #Eagles edge Jonathan Greenard has one of the best get-offs in the NFL, and has ranked near the top of quick pressures (under three seconds), per Next Gen Stats. Had 22 in 2025 and 28 in 2024, which ranked tied for 12th and 6th in the NFL, respectively.
Howie mentioned that Greenard was a captain in Minnesota. That tells you he’s the kind of guy you want on your team. Minnesota’s GM said the only reason they let him go was their salary cap situation was getting too challenging. They needed to get cheaper and younger (like the Eagles offense).
Everything you need to know about Jonathan Greenard right here. Did this with a left shoulder injury that was likely always going to need surgery. pic.twitter.com/BWt431rh20
Howie did mention that they were able to add Greenard and pay him without hurting their ability to re-sign their key young defensive stars. That is great news.