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 Liufau pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with interior defensive lineman and quarterback still on the board. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
The McClellan pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.4
· Pick 4
· Brock Bowers
· TE
· rank 6
In the Round 1 slot they get a seam-stretching tight end. A clean fit for the roster.
R1.22
· Pick 22
· Jordan Morgan
· OT
· rank 25
In pick No. 22 they get a long-term starter on the line at fair value. A real need, handled.
R2.18
· Pick 50
· Jonah Elliss
· DE-EDGE
· rank 42
The board had Jonah Elliss higher than the 50th overall pick, and the edge rusher fell to them anyway. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R2.22
· Pick 54
· Calen Bullock
· S
· rank 47
Calen Bullock in the 54th pick lands just on the right side of the ledger. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R2.23
· Pick 55
· Edgerrin Cooper
· LB
· rank 58
Edgerrin Cooper in No. 55 is fair value, right on his grade. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R3.23
· Pick 86
· Roman Wilson
· WR
· rank 83
Roman Wilson at pick 86 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R3.27
· Pick 90
· Gabriel Murphy
· DL-EDGE
· rank 85
A clean, defensible pick in pick No. 90 with a little surplus value in Gabriel Murphy. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R3.34
· Pick 97
· Marist Liufau
· LB
· rank 86
A surprising call. With interior defensive lineman and quarterback still to address, they spent No. 97 on Marist Liufau, a linebacker they were not short of.
R5.1
· Pick 137
· DJ James
· CB
· rank 113
They barely believed it either: DJ James still on the board at the 137th pick. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R5.27
· Pick 163
· Ty'Ron Hopper
· LB
· rank 153
Ty'Ron Hopper slid further than he should have, and pick 163 is lovely value for the linebacker. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
R6.3
· Pick 178
· Kitan Oladapo
· S
· rank 166
They let Kitan Oladapo come to them and pounced at the Round 6 slot. It fills a real need, too.
R7.23
· Pick 243
· Jase McClellan
· RB
· rank 217
Jase McClellan in slot 243 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.