The draft is over, and the Eagles came away with quite the haul. Between landing Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in rounds 1 and 2, and getting some nice players on day 3, Howie did very well, at least on paper.
Of course, we know we can’t truly judge these picks until we have seen them in action. There are always picks that look great at the time but turn into busts. There are also head-scratchers, that become some of the best picks. On paper though, he had a great draft. But in getting good players, did he address their biggest needs heading into the draft?
The Eagles Biggest Needs Going Into The Draft
Before round 1, we talked about what the Eagles biggest needs were.
Starting with them badly needing to reshape their cornerback room. Darius Slay was the only corner you could say with confidence is an NFL starter. They had a few young guys with upside. Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, and then there is the wildcard Isaiah Rodgers. But I would have been nervous if they went into the season banking on one of them to start.
After that Linebacker and Safety were both needs too. Plus edge Rusher after trading Haason Reddick.
On offense, we went into the draft needing the future replacement for Lane Johnson, competition for Tyler Steen at RG, and depth all along the line. The departures of Jack Driscoll and Sua Opeta left them wanting for depth. And Matthew Hennesy was the only off-season addition addressing that need.
They also needed TE depth, RB depth, and a slot WR.
They needed a lot. That tends to be the case when you have a disaster season like 2023. Addressing all of those needs in the draft was never feasible. But they did address as many of them as they could.
I would say Howie did a great job of balancing needs, without reaching, for the most part. But let’s take a closer look at what he did during the draft, and if it filled some of their holes.
The Draft Haul
- CB-Quinyon Mitchell
- DB- Cooper DeJean
- EDGE- Jalyx Hunt
- RB-Will Shipley
- WR- Ainais Smith
- LB- Jeremiah Trotter Jr
- WR- Johnny Wilson
- OG-Trevor Keegan
- C-Dylan McMahon
Did these players address their needs? Do they still have some work to do between now and the start of the season to address any of these needs?