Eagles Draft Recap

Bryan Murphy, Reporter|May 20, 2021

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April 29 to May 1 the NFL held their annual draft, many college players had a lot of hype surrounding them and excitement really started to amp up. After an underwhelming season the Eagles held the sixth pick in the draft and eventually traded back to pick number twelve for a first round pick next year. With all of the hype around this draft fans were excited but worried about what direction the Eagles could take. Many fans are extremely excited and interested with the players that were taken and we’re going to look at each round and the players taken by the Eagles in depth.

Round 1:
The Eagles held the twelfth pick of the draft and were behind two division rivals the Cowboys and the Giants but the unthinkable happened and the Eagles traded up with the Cowboys to jump the Giants and draft Wide Receiver Devonta Smith. Smith decided to stay in college for his senior year and that ended up being his best season yet, breaking almost every college record for a receiver and being the first receiver to win the Heisman in just under thirty years. He was on a dominant Alabama team that had three other first round receivers in the past two years but he is the one that stood out the most. Smith is six feet tall but only 170 pounds which brings his durability into question but many people don’t have a problem with his weight and say it is just a dumb pre draft story. Many Philly fans are excited to have a first round receiver let alone a Heisman winner on the team and big things are expected from this player.

Round 2:
In the second round a lot of first round talent had dropped and the Eagles were expected to pick a Corner-back or a Linebacker with their second pick but they surprised a lot of people when they picked Center Landon Dickerson. With Jason Kelce probably entering his final season before retirement, a replacement was going to be needed and Dickerson definitely has the talent to fill Kelce’s void. The Dickerson pick was controversial due to his injury history and him tearing his ACL this past season pulled him out of the first round. Dickerson, when healthy was probably the best interior offensive lineman in all of college football, but there is an understandable worry about his past injuries which could plague him in the future.

Round 3:
The third round was the most controversial out of the whole draft for the Eagle and it wasn’t hard to know why. The Eagles traded back three picks and picked Defensive Tackle Milton Williams but Eagles Scout Tom Donahoe looked extremely unhappy about the pick. It was rumored that the Eagles were targeting a Corner-back in the third round but he was picked after the team traded back with the Carolina Panthers by just a few picks, so there’s a chance scouts like Donahoe think GM Howie Roseman was getting to full of himself trading up and down all over the draft. Williams was a top ranked defensive lineman on PFF and was compared to players like Aaron Donald, he obviously isn’t Donald but some of his technique is similar. With Williams giving more depth and youth to the defensive line hopefully the Eagles can have a strong and healthy rotation.


Round 4:
Halfway through the draft the Eagles address one of their biggest need Corner-back and they select Texas Tech CB Zech McPhearson. After a down season from recent acquisition Darius Slay it was obvious we needed to pair someone on the other side of him that could play on the outside. Avonte Maddox, Cre’von Leblanc, and Nickell Robey Coleman were all starting Corners last year but they were all primarily slot players so hopefully this addition to the outside can help lock down the passing game.

Round 5:
In the fifth round the Eagles drafted a Running Back out of Memphis Kenneth Gainwell who is a great depth pick for our RB room. Gainwell is the cousin of Eagles DT Fletcher Cox so there is a possibility that was one of the reasons he was picked even if he was projected to be drafted in the fourth round. With the elusiveness of Miles Sanders and the Power that new edition Kerrion Johnson brings to the table, Gainwell brings in a nice balanced back into the equation.

Round 6:
Three picks were selected in the sixth round and all of them were focused on defense which is what most of the later rounds focused on. With our first pick in the sixth round was Defensive Tackle Marlon Tuipulotu from USC who was highly recruited and can be another solid depth piece for the defensive line if he makes the team. The second pick of the round was another potential defensive line depth piece Defensive End Tarron Jackson out of Coastal Carolina. The third pick of the round is probably the most interesting Safety JaCoby Stevens out of LSU, but Stevens is a hard hitting Linebacker/Safety hybrid that can play all over the field and can help mix up the defensive scheme.

Round 7:
The final round of the draft is usually when guys you have never heard of are getting their chance at making a team or getting a spot on a practice squad but some late round picks can become legends like Bo Jackson or Shannon Sharpe. In the seventh and final round of the draft the Eagles picked Outside Linebacker Patrick Johnson out of Tulane, if Johnson can end up being one of the big steals of the draft this could really help turn around the Eagles defense.