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 warnings were there, and the F is the bill.
It is not that Smith is a bad player; it is that the Eagles had louder needs to answer first. They punted on interior defensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest.
Every board in the league had Lindberg lower, and that gap is the story. On value alone, Wilson makes the weekend a net positive.
The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
There is no soft landing here: they fought the board and left interior defensive lineman open, and the grade is the bill.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.22
· Pick 22
· Cooper DeJean
· CB
· rank 13
In No. 22 they get a lockdown presence outside, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
R1.24
· Pick 24
· Dallas Turner
· LB-EDGE
· rank 14
In pick No. 24 they get a double-digit-sack hope at a price that makes it sweeter. Exactly the need they had to hit.
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Ladd McConkey
· WR
· rank 33
In the Round 1 slot they get a go-to option on the outside, though they paid up to get him. The biggest hole, addressed.
R2.18
· Pick 50
· Kamren Kinchens
· S
· rank 34
Nice patience on Kamren Kinchens, who had no business lasting to the 50th pick. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R2.22
· Pick 54
· Chris Braswell
· LB-EDGE
· rank 57
No drama and no debate, Chris Braswell went about where he belonged in the 54th overall pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
R3.24
· Pick 87
· Gabriel Murphy
· DL-EDGE
· rank 85
They took Gabriel Murphy at par in Round 3, Pick 24, which is nothing to complain about. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.34
· Pick 97
· Maason Smith
· DT-EDGE
· rank 87
A curious use of the 97th pick. Interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots needed the pick; a DT-EDGE in Maason Smith did not.
R4.1
· Pick 101
· Tykee Smith
· S
· rank 97
Tykee Smith at Round 4, Pick 1 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
R4.15
· Pick 115
· Roman Wilson
· WR
· rank 83
They robbed the room for Roman Wilson here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R5.1
· Pick 137
· Sataoa Laumea
· OT
· rank 122
Sataoa Laumea in the Round 5 slot is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R5.10
· Pick 146
· Cedric Gray
· LB
· rank 135
The board had Cedric Gray higher than pick 146, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
R6.6
· Pick 181
· Cody Schrader
· RB
· rank 165
Cody Schrader is a better player than No. 181 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R6.8
· Pick 183
· Roger Rosengarten
· OT
· rank 175
A tidy bit of business in slot 183, where Roger Rosengarten graded well above the range. A need, and now a little less of one.
R7.25
· Pick 245
· Chad Lindberg
· C
· rank 260
They paid a round early for Chad Lindberg in pick No. 245, more than the board wanted. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
