D
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles cashed the board's mistake on Thomas Jr.: D.
by Dutch ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 9 steals
· 0 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Eagles did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. The process wobbled, and the D is where it lands.
With interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots unsolved, spending premium capital on TE-EDGE is the choice that costs them. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
Landing Thomas Jr. that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. They went 5 of 9 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
It is a steep hill from here, and the grade knows it.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a double-digit-sack hope. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In pick No. 22 they get a bendy edge with upside at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A top-tier wide receiver at a bargain, Brian Thomas Jr. in the 54th pick, plain and simple. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They let Jonah Elliss come to them and pounced at the 61st overall pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Nice patience on Javon Bullard, who had no business lasting to pick 74. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Junior Colson in slot 92 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Christian Mahogany reach the Round 3 slot and blink. They did not. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A want over a need in pick 110: Cade Stover adds a TE-EDGE while interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots keeps waiting.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jaylin Simpson in slot 165. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in pick No. 178 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They read the board right and LaDarius Henderson was the payoff at No. 180. The roster fit checks out.
Good price on Isaiah Neyor in the 240th pick, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.