D
Philadelphia Eagles
Larceny in the 191st pick lands the Eagles a D, Smith-Wade and all.
by Dutch ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 3 steals
· 0 reaches
The phones were a trap the Eagles kept walking into, shipping out surplus on nearly every deal. The math is unkind, and the D follows.
The interior defensive lineman spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. Spending an early pick on linebacker with interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to.
They banked enough surplus on Smith-Wade to cover a lot of smaller sins.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 27 they get a lockdown presence outside, outstanding value to boot. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Patrick Paul at pick 54 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
No drama and no debate, Jermaine Burton went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Edgerrin Cooper in Round 2, Pick 24 is fair value, right on his grade. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They paid sticker price for Brandon Dorlus in slot 59, and that is fine. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
By-the-book stuff, Jalen McMillan at No. 88 squarely in line with his ranking. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Marist Liufau adds a linebacker and leaves interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots untouched.
They bypassed pressing needs at interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots to take Cedric Gray, a linebacker that was not the priority.
Steal is underselling it; Chau Smith-Wade at the Round 6 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A tidy little value on Theo Wease Jr. in pick No. 196, a step better than break-even. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Isaiah Davis at slot 197, value and slot in agreement. A need, and now a little less of one.
Josh Proctor in No. 200 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They did well to land Jordan Magee in the 220th overall pick, just ahead of his grade. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A slide stopped in pick 248, with Jalen Green worth more than the price. It fills a real need, too.