Eagles need more from their draft picks to sustain a Super Bowl roster

Nakobe Dean and others need to be real factors in 2024 and beyond.

The Eagles’ blitz of signings at the start of NFL free agency last week was exciting and breathtaking.

Whether you agree or disagree with Howie Roseman’s moves, it’s clear he’s intent on using up every bit of the cap space they have to bring in both impact and role players on both sides of the ball.

Bryce Huff is getting paid big-time edge rusher money, despite having never started an NFL game before. In Saquon Barkley, they’re eschewing their committee-approach to the running back position by throwing big dollars at the veteran superstar. Safety/slot corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson give them a playmaker with versatility for at least one of those positions. Devin White gives them a pass-rushing linebacker with size and athleticism. They traded for Kenny Pickett, who will give them a young, experienced veteran on a cheap contract to back up Jalen Hurts, and they signed center/guard Matt Hennessy and LB Zack Baun to fill in some depth gaps.

But you can’t fill all your needs in free agency. I mean, you can, but after one season, you’re back to trying to figure it all out again. That’s why the draft is such an important component to team building. Sure, you can build a championship roster out of free agents and veterans, but it’s very difficult to sustain it.

The 2017 Eagles are a prime example of that. Carson Wentz’ downfall was the biggest reason for the decline, but the offense aged as they were unable to draft quality wide receivers and defensive players, resulting in the four-win season that saw Doug Pederson booted as head coach.

Fast forward five years and the Eagles came within a whisper of winning their second Super Bowl title, featuring perhaps the best overall roster in the NFL. However, they lost some key players from the defense, specifically linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White, and safeties Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps. James Bradberry forgot how to cover guys in 2023, and the swap of rookie Jalen Carter for Javon Hargrave fizzled as the 17-game schedule wore down the talented young Bulldog.

Now, it was never fair to expect Carter to instantly replace a Pro Bowler like Hargrave, but the fear is the team is in danger of stumbling back to the depths or a rebuild like they did five years ago, and that will happen unless some key former draft picks and some yet to be selected this April become impact players in 2024.

Some people look at how the Eagles are structured for next year and see them as a “boom or bust” team. It’s hard to argue against that thought. One of the ways you avoid being “boom or bust” is by killing it in the draft, and on the whole, it’s fair to say the Eagles’ draft history has been a mixed bag.

• 2020: Jalen Reagor, Jalen Hurts, Davion Taylor, K’Von Wallace, Jack Driscoll, John Hightower, Shaun Bradley, Quez Watkins, Prince Tega Wanogho, Casey Toohill
• 2021: DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Milton Williams, Zech McPhearson, Kenny Gainwell, Marlon Tuipulotu, Tarron Jackson, JaCoby Stevens, Patrick Johnson
• 2022: Jordan Davis, Cam Jurgens, Nakobe Dean, Kyron Johnson, Grant Calcaterra
• 2023: Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Tyler Steen, Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo, Tanner McKee, Moro Ojomo

There are obvious home runs in there, to be sure. Hurts in the second round turned out to be a brilliant pick, even if his ascension as a franchise quarterback wasn’t the route Roseman & Co. had mapped out in their minds. DeVonta Smith was a slam dunk selection at No. 10 overall, Dickerson has proven to be one of the best young guards in the league, Jurgens has been a solid guard and is hopefully the center of the future, and Milton Williams is a solid rotational defensive tackle.

We won’t talk about Jalen Reagor right now.

But as you peruse the rest of the list, you see many question marks and more than a few misses, especially on Day Three of the four drafts above. The only viable offensive contributors they got from those rounds were Kenny Gainwell and Quez Watkins, and neither came without their warts, while defensively, tackle Marlon Tuipulotu has been a decent rotational player (13% of defensive snaps), but doesn’t project to be much more than that.

One shouldn’t expect a team to nail every pick in Rounds 4-7, but the hope would be they’d unearth a gem or two here and there. To be fair, there’s still time.

The Eagles also need their Days 1 and 2 picks from the last two years to step up. Jordan Davis has to provide more of an impact that he has. Nakobe Dean has to stay healthy and be better at the nuts and bolts of off-ball linebacker in his third year. Nolan Smith needs to do more than get the occasional pressure as his snap-count increases, and Tyler Steen will be given every opportunity to win the starting right guard job in training camp. As a third-round pick, he needs to grab it and own it. And hopefully, Sydney Brown recovers from his injury and picks up where he left off after an encouraging rookie season.

It’s likely they’re going to draft for some needs this April, too. They need a second tight end who can actually catch the ball a little bit. Grant Calcaterra hasn’t proven to be that guy. They need a slot wide receiver who can get down the field and catch the ball when it’s thrown to him. Quez isn’t that guy, and I doubt free agent signing DeVante Parker is either. They could draft their starting slot corner in the first round and should at the very least at one in the first few rounds to learn the ropes and be ready to play should Darius Slay and/or Bradberry get hurt or are ineffective.

At some point, the veterans on this team need to hand the baton to the younger players. That’s how this whole thing sustains itself. Jason Kelce’s retirement opens the door for Jurgens. He has to be good in order for this to work. Steen needs to slide into Jurgens’ role and has to be good for this to work. Someone needs to take Avonte Maddox’ spot in the slot, and if the Eagles bring him back, there needs to be someone capable of providing playing time after the inevitable Avonte injury.

Howie Roseman has built two separate Super Bowl teams in his time as general manager. That is really hard to do and he should be lauded for it. Maintaining that level of excellence has thus far eluded him, and it’s clear they need more hits in the draft in order to keep the momentum rolling year after year.

Free agency is fun and, if you’ve got the cap space, a crime if you don’t take advantage of it. The Eagles have done that. Now, they need to hope their existing draft picks and the ones from the 2024 NFL Draft can supplement the roster and keep that Super Bowl window of opportunity open.