The 2023 NFL Draft is just weeks away and the Philadelphia Eagles are busy trying to find the next crop of talented young players to continue to enhance their title window.
For general manager Howie Roseman, the draft will be a key part in continuing to improve on a team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl last year. And while recent top picks have certainly worked out, recent history hasn’t always been kind to the Eagles’ GM.
With the draft weeks away, we will look back at the good, the bad, and the average from every round that the Eagles have pounced on since the 2010 season. Today we start with the first round.
Best Pick: Lane Johnson
Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham could easily have joined Johnson here, but the Lane has clearly been the most consistent and important first-rounder the Eagles have had in the last decade. The fourth-overall selection in the 2013 draft, Johnson has easily been the best player of his class and a clear first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.
Philadelphia’s 79-47-1 record with Lane and 13-22 record without him shows his overall importance to the entire team.
Worst Pick: Marcus Smith, Jalen Reagor
I would throw Derek Barnett in here but at least he produced in some facets for a game or two. Jalen Reagor and Marcus Smith were reached for when they were selected in the 1st rounds of their respective drafts, but few could have seen the lack of production. Smith totaled just six and a half sacks in five years in the NFL. Reagor on the other hand lasted with the Eagles for just two seasons and was an actual detriment to the offense in his final season with the team.
Both picks were equally awful but actually set the course for better picks to be made later on. Smith’s selection led to Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham becoming household names across the league, and Reagor’s abysmal performance set the stage for the next player on our list.
Sleeper Pick: DeVonta Smith
In two seasons with the birds, DeVonta Smith has been a lightning rod and the most consistent offensive weapon Philadelphia has had in over a decade. He’s totaled more catches and yards than any Eagle receiver in the first two years of his career with the team. DeVonta Smith has helped changed Philadelphia’s offense into being one of the most lethal in football.
Smith is a second option outside of A.J. Brown and may not get the respect he should be garnering entering his third season, but he’s as good a receiver as they come.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
