Since the Eagle’s very first draft in 1936, they have had 75 first-round picks.
There were a few positions that have had a surprisingly low amount of first-round resources used on them and the picks also show how the game has evolved and how very different it was played 40 years earlier.
The following is how each position has been invested in.
QB 5
One would have thought a lot more had been selected over 87 years and 75 1st round picks, but alas, it was not meant to be.
Carson Wentz, Donovan McNabb, John Reaves, Frank Tripucka and Davey O’Brien are the only 5.
Interestingly, #5 Donovan McNabb, is without question, the best 1st round QB they have ever drafted.
RB/FB 22
The last one, Keith Byars, was drafted way back in 1986.
The Peak?
18 of their first 25 1st rd picks were RB/HB/FB
An incredible indicator of how different the game was once played.
WR 7
The polar opposite of the RB position was the way receivers were valued in the early years of the NFL.
Exactly zero wideouts were selected in the first round prior to 1982.
Mike Quick was the first.
They have drafted 5 first-round WRs since 2001.
(and used a 1st rd pick to acquire another, A.J. Brown in 2022)
TE 2
Keith Jackson in 1988 and Charlie Young way back in 1973.
They have had recent success drafting them in round two, with Ertz and Goedert.
OL 15
This is another position where I would have thought a lot more than 15 had been drafted in the 75 years history of round-one picks.
Fun fact:
Only one has been a center, HOF Chuck Bednarik in 1949.
DL 13
Brandon Graham is the best Edge the Eagles have drafted in the first round, in my lifetime.
Fletcher Cox and Jerome Brown, the best DTs.
LB 6
The last LB drafted in round one by the Eagles was Jerry Robinson in 1979.
DB 5
The last corner drafted in round one was in 2002, that honor belongs to the great Lito Sheppard.
No safety has been drafted in round one.
Only 3 were drafted to play CB as their only pos.
The other 2 were drafted for double duty, like 1958 first-round pick Walter Joseph Kowalczyk who was drafted as a defensive back and, you guessed it, an RB/HB/FB.
Since they were the only other (2) I could find that had DB next to their name when drafted, I added them to the DB list.
Excluding them you would only have Lito in 2002, Ben Smith in 1990, and Roynell Young, in 1980.
Quick Hits:
51 picks have been used for offense and a lowly 24 on defense.
That is incredible to me.
If the defense wins championships, the offense wins the usage of resources.
The Picks:
Top pick — 3 times
Top 2 pick — 9 times
Top 5 pick — 21 times
Top 10 pick — 42 times
Top 15 pick — 55 times
Top 20 pick — 61 times
Drafted outside the Top 20–14 times