D
Philadelphia Eagles
Williams should have been long gone. The Eagles pounced, and earned a D.
by Dutch ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 9 steals
· 0 reaches
The phones were a trap the Eagles kept walking into, shipping out surplus on nearly every deal.
The Stover pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots. They will regret leaving interior defensive lineman for another day if the season turns on it. The Williams pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 18th pick they get protection for the quarterback. A real need, handled.
In the 25th overall pick they get a plug-and-play piece up front at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
Chop Robinson in No. 50 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Chris Braswell at pick No. 54 squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Ja'Lynn Polk in slot 88 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the Round 4 slot on Cade Stover with interior defensive lineman, quarterback and other spots unsolved.
Tyrice Knight at the Round 4 slot is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Kris Abrams-Draine in the 126th pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Cole Bishop slipping to slot 143 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A top-tier safety at a bargain, Sione Vaki in pick 160, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Cedric Johnson in the 170th overall pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Good price on Chau Smith-Wade in pick No. 171, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A tidy bit of business in No. 178, where Cody Schrader graded well above the range. It fills a real need, too.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. at Round 6, Pick 28 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
You do not let a wide receiver like Isaiah Williams reach pick No. 240 and blink. They did not. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jha'Quan Jackson in pick 243 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.