Give the war room a raise for the dealing alone. The Eagles came out ahead on every exchange that mattered, and it was not close.
The Stover pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with interior defensive lineman and tight end still on the board. They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it.
The Abrams-Draine value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.22
· Pick 22
· Cooper DeJean
· CB
· rank 13
In the Round 1 slot they get an island corner, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R2.32
· Pick 64
· Javon Bullard
· S
· rank 66
No edge and no loss on Javon Bullard in slot 64; it is a wash and a sensible one. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R3.26
· Pick 89
· Junior Colson
· LB
· rank 76
A slide stopped in the 89th pick, with Junior Colson worth more than the price. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
R3.32
· Pick 95
· Zak Zinter
· OG
· rank 94
Zak Zinter in the 95th overall pick is fair value, right on his grade. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R3.34
· Pick 97
· Cade Stover
· TE-EDGE
· rank 93
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went TE-EDGE with Cade Stover while clear needs at interior defensive lineman and tight end sat open.
R4.32
· Pick 132
· Kris Abrams-Draine
· CB
· rank 118
They read the board right and Kris Abrams-Draine was the payoff at pick 132. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R5.1
· Pick 137
· Will Shipley
· RB
· rank 129
A quiet steal in No. 137: Will Shipley for less than the market said. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R5.27
· Pick 163
· Joe Milton III
· QB
· rank 162
A straight-up fair deal on Joe Milton III at Round 5, Pick 27, value and slot in agreement. A need, and now a little less of one.
R5.36
· Pick 172
· Michael Barrett
· LB
· rank 180
Michael Barrett in the 172nd pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
R6.3
· Pick 178
· Brennan Jackson
· DE-EDGE
· rank 171
They did well to land Brennan Jackson in No. 178, just ahead of his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R7.23
· Pick 243
· Joshua Cephus
· WR
· rank 230
Joshua Cephus is a better player than pick 243 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.