PHILADELPHIA, PA — The NFL Draft begins on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and if the past is any indication, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has his eye on a handful of youngsters that can immediately help bring the next Super Bowl championship back to Philadelphia.
They'll start off with the 23rd overall pick on Thursday night, and they have eight picks in the first six rounds.
Most analysts believe the Eagles will target an offensive lineman of some sort with their top pick, as star veteran and future Hall of Famer Lane Johnson is likely to depart following the 2026 season.
Many think the Birds will trade up to get an edge on the Detroit Lions, another team looking to compete this year who is in need of offensive line help. ESPN's mock draft has them trading up to 17 to get Arizona State's Max Iheanachor. NFL.com's analysts have them trading up to 16 to nab Georgia's Monroe Freeling, or trading up to to 15 to get Alabama's Kadyn Proctor.
If they stick to their pick at 23, Utah's Caleb Lomu and Clemson's Blake Miller have both been repeatedly floated.
Later rounds will likely see them fortify their receiving corps, with a tight end likely a top priority. Assuming they do wait until round 2 to do that, Georgia's Oscar Delp and Vanderbilt's Eli Stowers are both top options.
The Birds have fed their nest greedily from the draft in the past several years, rebuilding and retooling on the fly and finding key contributors in later rounds. Pick for pick, round by round, it's hard to argue that any team has been better at drafting since 2020 than the Eagles.
First round picks DeVonta Smith (2021), Quinyon Mitchell (2024), and Jalen Carter (2023) have all turned in to stars. Franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts came deep out of the second round in 2020, as did Dallas Goedert and Cooper DeJean. And don't forget players like Jordan Mailaita or Jalen Mills, who came out of the 7th round.
Here's where the Birds will draft over the coming days:
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