With the Eagles as the reigning Super Bowl champions, the front office needed to get a little more strategic in their war room. Operating from the back end of each round, Howie Roseman needed to get strategic, which he did, yet he remained conservative in the picks he made. Roseman managed to make five draft-day trades, which allowed him to select one of the largest draft classes in his tenure at ten selections. After making some sneakily good selections, Roseman and his team will work with undrafted and unsigned free agents to complete the roster, filling some of the gaps left by players who departed during free agency or retirement. We’re going to take a look at the Eagles’ picks and see what the highs and lows of the draft were, and where these new birds will fit in the nest that is the Linc.

Roseman and his camp worked their magic yet again as they traded with Kansas City for the 31st pick in the first round, securing Alabama Linebacker/Edge Jihaad Campbell, who truly is the highlight of this year’s 2025 draft. Campbell played all over the field at Alabama last year, totaling 117 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception. He was first-team All-SEC and was also a second-team All-American. He’s a strong blitzer, and paired with Zack Baun, makes our linebackers almost an impenetrable duo. With a fair number of teams that had earlier picks in the first round, Campbell luckily fell to the bottom of the round, and right into Howie’s plan. While he might not be a surefire bet to pair up with Zack Baun, he absolutely could be on the field at the beginning of the 2025 season, depending on whether he will be ready to resume football activities after his surgery in March. He suffered a slight labrum tear in his left shoulder during the ReliaQuest Bowl last year, but still managed to dazzle teams with his stats through the combine, which he still participated in fully, including the running and jumping portions. With his talent as a downhill force player, it’s still early, but he could very well be the Eagles’ version of Micah Parsons, easily making him look like one of, if not the biggest steal of the draft, at least from an Eagles point of view.

Spend the first 24 hours as an Eagle with Jihaad Campbell@FirstrustBank | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/oxfvSAiVRI

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 29, 2025

The Birds then had pick number 64 in the second round, and with that, they selected Safety Andrew Mukuba, a Texas Longhorn, more famously known for his tenure as a Clemson Tiger. It should be noted that with the vacancy in the backfield after the departure of CJ Gardner-Johnson, there is a need for some fresh talent in the back end of the Eagles’ defense. After seeing how well some of Roseman’s other second-round picks have played out (shoutout to Jalen and Shady McCoy), he could see something in Mukuba that most can’t see. Mukuba could’ve had the potential to be one of the best in his class after being selected first-team All-American his first year at Clemson; however, after former Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, Brent Ventables, departed from the team to become the head coach at Oklahoma. Mukuba’s sophomore and junior year tapes easily made him a fringe pick, so with that, he chose to transfer over to Texas, putting up some of the best stats of his career, giving his projected draft round a boost to where we saw him go, which some could argue was too high of a selection for Mukuba.

The fourth round brought us Ty Robinson, a five-year starter from Nebraska who was an instrumental part in his team’s much-improved defense. He returned for his sixth year this past season and helped Nebraska achieve its first winning record in almost a decade, all while posting personal bests with 42 pressures, 12.5 tackles for loss, and seven sacks in his sixth year of playing time. He is a third-team All-Big Ten selection who started in 47 games over five seasons with the Cornhuskers, easily fitting into any spot on the defensive line. Many say he resembles a young Lane Johnson in terms of talent and dimensions, mainly when he stays low with a forward lean on a snap. From methodical tackles to always having the ability to clog a defensive hole against an opposing offense, he will absolutely fill the gap that Milton Williams’ departure and Brandon Graham’s retirement left, and will only grow from here.

One of the most significant remaining question marks is who will fill the hole at right guard, as they did not manage to draft anyone with collegiate experience in the position. The closest pick came in the fifth round when they drafted Boston College Eagle, Drew Kendall. He is already accustomed to a run-heavy offense with what he was working with in head coach Bill O’Brien’s offensive schemes as a starter with BC. He’s an athletic center; however, he’s more likely to force stalemates than win a battle or create movement. The other issue is that he doesn’t have much bend to him; however, if he can manage to take over the Right Guard spot, it might not be as big of a disadvantage as one would think. Also picked in the fifth round were Mac McWilliams, a cornerback from Central Florida, and Smael Mondon Jr., another Georgia Bulldog who played the Will linebacker position throughout college. With fellow former Bulldog Nakobe Dean still on the mend, Mondon and the rest of Vic Fangio’s Middle Linebackers will be asked to play a critical role in the defensive scheming next year. Mondon Jr., the above-average athlete, can stop any receiver or runner all over the field, and could be one of this year’s biggest Cinderella Stories.

The sixth round came with a flurry of picks from Howie Roseman’s camp, with multiple selections within the second-to-last round. Thanks to Roseman trading back three times earlier that Saturday, the Eagles received four sixth-round picks. The Eagles spent one of their times on the clock selecting Syracuse quarterback, Kyle McCord. After the Eagles traded away South Jersey native Kenny Pickett, they knew they needed to find competition for the role of QB3, with Tanner McKee taking over the role of QB2. The Eagles thrive off the depth they can create for themselves across the entire roster; however, while it was presumed that Dorian Thompson-Robinson who came over in the Pickett trade with the Browns would take over that spot on the chart, he truly struggled in his first two seasons in the NFL, so McCord gives them another viable option for the QB3 spot on the roster in opposition from DTR. In addition to the selection of McCord, they also selected Edge Antwaun Powel-Ryland, who, while in his two years as a starter with Virginia Tech, became extremely difficult to block because of his ability to mix up his rush attack in addition to his ability to detach from blockers, making him a clear shoein to become a platoon in pass rushing situations. They also picked up two offensive tackles: Myles Hinton from Michigan and Cameron Williams from Texas. Hinton, who has experience at both Left Tackle and Right Tackle with the Wolverines, gives the Eagles some flexibility in filling the role, which is perfect with Fred Johnson’s departure in free agency. He and Williams both will be up for the Swing Tackle spot, with Williams more comfortable at Right Tackle.

Overall, it was a successful draft that allowed the Eagles to secure some great options for the platoon and may have also uncovered some diamonds in the rough, which could pay off next season if the coaching staff prepares the rookies as well as possible. If a grade had to be given for the success of this draft, I would give it a solid B or B+, depending on when you ask me. The one thing that was needed, which the war room just couldn’t secure, was a tight end. With Dallas Goedert entering the final season of his contract, the Eagles were perhaps waiting to see whether he could return to the level of success he once achieved before his frequent injuries. Grant Calcaterra’s rookie contract is also up at the end of this year, so with the team’s two top options for the position potentially walking at the end of this season, their pool of players to potentially fill the position that the two have had locked down since the departure of Ertz just got increasingly smaller. Goedert is a fringe tight end at best, but has been at the heart of the Eagles’ passing game for the past few seasons, making him TE1. However, if he continues to battle injuries, Roseman and company could be looking to make a move at the deadline. Overall, the reigning Super Bowl champs had a moderately successful draft and have managed to set themselves up for success with the ten picks they made this year. It’ll be exciting to see how the hype around these young players eventually plays out.