Here are my top five thoughts on position groups in the 2024 draft, which may be stronger or weaker, and what it means for the Eagles (click any of them to jump to that section):
- Pass rusher may be the top priority and it’s going to need to be drafted early
- Cornerback is loaded in the mid-rounds which is probably where Howie will look
- Wide receiver is a sneaky possibility and likely to be the best player available at a high pick
- Right tackle doesn’t make sense high unless a special talent falls
- Linebackers will go higher than expected this year, ignore the boards which is bad for the “draft a top LB” crowd
Investing ahead of upcoming free agents
DE/EDGE will be a priority that you are going to have to draft early this year
My prediction: If I had to bet right now, I’m putting my money on Bralen Trice or Chris Braswell being the first pick the Eagles make.
Howie can be a secretive or complicated guy, but I’ve written before that it is easier to understand his draft approach with two things.
Howie prioritizes premium positions early in the draft
We should all know this but Bijan Robinson was one of the most frequently mocked players last year and Jeremiah Trotter is again this year. Since 2016, R1 picks have been defensive line (4), receiver (2), QB and tackle (1 each).
Look to who they may lose a year or two out in free agency for what may be a priority this year
This is the more important one in my opinion as there’s a pattern that makes sense. If you look back, there were key starters set to leave in a year or two ahead of every Eagles 1st round pick. Derek Barnett with Curry and Chris Long leaving the following year… Dillard with JP expected to be gone the next year… Reagor with Alshon and Desean leaving in a year… Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter ahead of Hargrave hitting free agency and coming retirements of Fletch and BG.
Both of the above point to DE/EDGE being the priority. Yes, Nolan Smith was drafted last year but Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, and Haason Reddick all hit free agency after the 2024 season. And the reality is the Eagles probably cannot afford both Sweat and Reddick, especially with Reddick over 30 years old at the time.
This pass rusher class is very lean
Add in that the 2024 DE/EDGE class – already not expected to be as good or deep as recent drafts – has further thinned out with guys like Princely Umanmielen and Jack Sawyer returning to school. If Sawyer’s linemate JT Tuimoloau also returns, this class gets really lean, especially if you want a bigger DE.
Pass rushers are always drafted heavily – an average of 5 are taken in the 1st and almost 15 in the first three rounds. This year, only half that number have day 1 or day 2 grades.
| Draft day | Prospect and Expected Draft Position |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Dallas Turner (pick 14) Jared Verse (15) Laiatu Latu (17) Chris Braswell (24) Bralen Trice (25) |
| Day 2 | JT Tuimoloau (33)* Jonah Elliss (38) Chop Robinson (46) Adisa Isaac (63) |
If Howie is looking ahead and knows he can’t afford both Sweat and Reddick, you might as well circle guys like Bralen Trice and Chris Braswell in red on your draft board.
Turning over the Secondary
It’s a good year to look for a mid-round corner
My prediction: A mid-round slot corner like Mike Sainristil, Kris Abrams-Draine, or Jabbar Muhammad to replace Avonte Maddox
The second most heavily drafted position, cornerback, may not have the same top-end guys from recent drafts like Sauce Gardner, Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon, and Patrick Surtain II, but it’s a deep class.
The Eagles need to turn over the secondary with Bradberry all but gone after this season, Slay with likely only one more year, and Avonte Maddox never on the field and hitting free agency in 2025. They have Isaiah Rodgers but he’s only signed for 2024. And Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks have shown enough to keep getting opportunities which takes pressure off of this position.
The mid rounds are loaded with corners
While guys like Terrion Arnold, Kamari Lassiter, and Quinyon Mitchell could be sitting there for the Eagles on day one and would all be good picks, if the Eagles do look to continue adding corners, it’s more likely to be in the mid rounds. And there are a lot to pick from:
| Draft day | Prospect and Expected Draft Position |
|---|---|
| Day 2 | Kalen King (pick 43) Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (60) TJ Tampa (62) Josh Newton (72) DJ James (74) Caelon Carson (76) Kris Abrams-Draine (86) Max Melton (91) |
| Day 3 | Nehemiah Pritchett (102) Cam Hart (105) Johnny Dixon (108) Khyree Jackson (116) Mike Sainristil (121) Jabbar Muhammad (139) Kamal Hadden (158) |
Corner is the hardest position to hit on, especially later in the draft, but there are several guys above that have traits and may be being pushed down boards for bad reasons – Mike Sainristil’s inexperience and size, Kamal Hadden with an injury-shortened breakout year where he had the best passer rating against in the SEC, and Khyree Jackson with one year starting.
The picks I’d love to see the Eagles make if they wanted a mid-round corner are:
- Mike Sainristil, Jabbar Muhammad, or Kris Abrams-Draine as Avonte replacements
- Khyree Jackson or Kamal Hadden as upside, outside guys
It’s a great draft to invest in weapons
Receiver could be the BPA at an early pick
My prediction: We will see great receivers on the board at our early picks but Howie probably goes other directions. But with such a good WR class, he adds somebody mid or late draft.
To be clear up front, I really don’t think Howie takes a receiver high. With how good this receiver class is, we will likely be sitting here with really good receivers on the board at our first few picks.
And it wouldn’t be crazy to draft one:
Two top receivers isn’t special anymore, it’s expected
Do we have a top receiving group? Yes. But if we are honest, the Eagles don’t separate as much as we may think against the teams we are really competing with. San Francisco has better weapons. Dallas and Miami both rival the Eagles. Detroit has invested more recently. If Seattle had a QB when we played them, we wouldn’t have been able to cover all their guys.
It’s a sneaky priority because of a couple of “what if’s”…
What if somebody is injured? The offense drops off a lot when any one of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, or Dallas Goedert are out.
What if we can’t pay all of these guys long-term? It would be surprising if DeVonta was not extended, but he’s going to get a top-of-the-league contract and AJ is set to make $26M and $41M in 2025-26.
Just look at the receiver depth in this class
In 2004, 7 receivers were taken in the 1st round and as recently as 2020 and 2022 6 were taken, but I really think this class could threaten to beat those years. Add in that this is class has a lot of big and fast receivers, unlike last year where the class was dominated by small, thin guys and you can expect a couple of runs on receiver to happen.
I’m skipping the top guys that will go above us and starting around the Eagles first pick, but there are 23 receivers graded in the first three rounds and some other guys like Malik Washington, Malachi Corley, and Tre Harris that are incorrectly still slotted on day 3.
| Draft day | Prospect and Expected Draft Position |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Brian Thomas Jr. (21) Troy Franklin (26) Ladd McConkey (31) |
| Day 2 | Devontez Walker (35) Keon Coleman (41) Adonai Mitchell (43) Xavier Legette (44) Xavier Worthy (54) Ja’Lynn Polk (58) Brenden Rice (71) Jalen McMillan (78) Johnny Wilson (81) |
What if the EDGEs and top corners are taken, there’s no tackle on the board, and somebody like Troy Franklin who I think is still very underrated is sitting there at the first pick?
Or if the Eagles get their EDGE and an AJ body clone like Xavier Legette or deep threat like Xavier Worthy are sitting there at one of the second round picks?
Or in the 3rd round Washington’s forgotten man, Jalen McMillan, injured for a lot of this season but who put up numbers close to Odunze’s in 2022?
I am way higher on the possibility of getting a WR high than I think most are – put what you think need may be, with a class this good and deep, it is going to be great value.
drafting Lane’s replacement?
Tackle is going to need somebody special to be taken high
My prediction: Howie drafts again on the interior and possibly looks for an upside tackle late
The biggest pushback I got on my offseason mock was that the Eagles needed to take a future RT in the 1st round. I know it’s folly to bet against Howie taking anybody on the lines high and I know I am largely alone on this view, but I really don’t think this is likely or makes sense.
Unless Lane Johnson changes his plan, he has said he plans to play through this current contract which ends in 2027 at age 37. Could this change? Sure. But it is really hard to use a 1st round pick on a player that is going to sit, if things go well, the entirety of their rookie contract.
The only way I see a tackle taken in the 1st is if there is a really special tackle that falls, that is young, and could play inside while waiting for Lane to retire. Who could fit that?
Taliese Fuaga is maybe the only guy I see that makes sense and I doubt he gets anywhere near the Eagles first pick. He’s probably the best pure RT in this class, could play OG, and while his birthday isn’t published, I believe he is 21.
What probably makes more sense? As David has pounded the table for somebody like Jackson Powers-Johnson, I think an interior guy is more likely to be a priority and makes much more sense. At tackle, guys on day 2 or 3 that fit what the Eagles look for with size and athleticism include:
| Draft day | Prospect and Expected Draft Position |
|---|---|
| Day 2 | Troy Fautanu (36) Tyler Guyton (53) Dominick Puni (97) |
| Day 3 | Blake Fisher (116) Jonah Monheim (129) Javon Foster (160) Anthony Belton (239)* |
Setting expectations on drafting the ignored position…
Linebackers will be drafted higher than consensus thinks
My prediction: Who knows… who the new defensive coordinator is will impact this, but regardless of what they do, I would still not expect any LB to be taken before the mid rounds
Pair up Eagles fans most demanded position with the lowest rated position group this year and I think Eagles fans need to get prepared for disappointment.
This linebacker class is really hated nationally… no matter which board you look to, it is bleak. Dane Brugler only had one in his top-50 and it’s Barrett Carter who returned to school… PFF has no LB ranked until the 3rd round with Edgerrin Cooper at pick 68… consensus boards from NFLMockDraftDatabase are a bit more optimistic with Edgerrin at pick 49 and Trotter at 52.
You may say “perfect, these guys will drop to the Eagles picks on day two”. And they could. But no matter how much the analytics community and Howie de-values LBs and no matter where pre-draft boards rank them, LBs always go higher than expected.
Drafts average two LBs in the 1st round and another two in the 2nd
During the height of “positional value” and rise of analytics, here’s where we can all agree with Seth Joyner. No matter how much people minimize LBs, teams still draft them with an average of four being taken by the end of round 2.
The last year a LB was not taken in the 1st round was 2016
It’s been 7 years and even then, it took concerns about Myles Jack‘s career longevity due to his knee and Reggie Ragland‘s enlarged aorta discovered pre-draft for those two to drop out of the 1st round. And they still went high, going at picks 36 and 41.
So yeah, ignore the pre-draft predictions and don’t get your hopes up for Trotter or Edgerrin – they will go high.
I still think the Eagles need to address linebacker in free agency where they could get a ready-to-start guy that would be a huge upgrade in the $5-6M range. They don’t have to play in the top end of the market and I wrote before why Blake Cashman makes so much sense.
But if they did look in the draft, who could make sense?
- Payton Wilson – elite athleticism and very good coverage skills, but could drop due to his age and injury history
- Junior Colson – a guy ranked behind the top LBs, he has coverage skills needed and doesn’t miss many tackles