Eagles 2024 Draft Grades
First Round - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, 6’0” 195: Grade A+
Second Round - Cooper DeJean,
CB/Safety, 6’0” 203: Grade B
Cooper will likely play
safety in the NFL. His 40 time was good with a 4.43. He also had a strong 38.5
inch vertical and a pretty good 10’4” broad jump. It would have been nice to
see his cone and shuttle. Many people talk about his elite athleticism and it
seems good but I’m not sure about elite. His lateral movement is okay, but nothing
amazing. He’s also coming off an injury. He has 7 interceptions for his career
which is pretty good but only 13 passes defended. His production and athleticism
is much worse than Mitchell. He has a chance to be a good safety, but he’s not guaranteed
to develop into a starter.
Third Round - Jalyx Hunt, EDGE, 6’4” 252: Grade C-
It was definitely a reach to take Jalyx Hunt in the third
round. He had pretty bad production with only 7 sacks his junior year and 6.5
sacks his senior year. He’s a small school prospect. He did have 87 tackles his
junior year but that’s when he was a safety so it’s not as impressive. He only
had 46 his senior year as an edge rusher and had a half less sack than his junior
year. He had a decent 4.64 in the 40 and a 1.6 10 yard split. He did have an
impressive 37.5 vertical and an amazing 10’8” broad. Those are the most hopeful
parts about Hunt. He needs to get stronger without losing any speed. There are
better and more interesting picks here. I would have taken the linebacker
Payton Wilson from NC state or WR Luke McCaffrey, Christian McCaffrey’s brother.
Fourth Round - Will Shipley, RB, 5’11” 206: Grade B
I would have rather not traded up in the second round to
take cooper DeJean and have taken Trey Benson who was my favorite RB in the
draft, but Shipley isn’t bad for the 4th round. He’s little light,
but not too light to play. He has a strong 4.39 40, a very good 6.81 3 cone and
4.11 shuttle. He also had a 38.5 vertical and a 10’2” broad. Overall his
numbers are impressive and correlate well with successful NFL running backs. I’d
like to have seen what his 10 yard split is though. During his best year, his
junior year, he had 1182 yards and a 5.6 yard average. For his career he has a
solid but not amazing 5.2 yard average and 2748 yards. He also had 602 receiving
yards and a not that great 7.1 yard average. It’s debatable if he’ll be able to
replace Gainwell as the backup RB. Gainwell had a much better college receiving
average of 11.6 yards and rushing average of 6.3 yards. Gainwell, though, had a
terrible 10 yard split of 1.62 and a 40 that’s not as good as Shipley with a
4.47. Shipley looks good, but not great on tape, but for the 4th
round, he’s a reasonable value.
Fifth Round - Ainias Smith, WR, 5’9 190: Grade C-
Smith is short for a WR, but slot receivers are sometimes
shorter. He has pretty good weight for his size at least. He ran an okay 4.48
but that’s not great for his size. He had a not that great 4.27 shuttle, but a
strong 3 cone 6.86. He never had a big year of receiving in college, but his
best was 795 yards and a 15 yard average his senior year. He never caught too
many TDs. His college average per reception is an okay 13.4. Overall, none of
these numbers are that impressive. His best attribute is his ability to run
after the catch and his lateral movement.
Fifth Round - Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB, 6’0” 228: Grade B
have had. Trotter Jr. had unimpressive an 4.6 40, 4.40 shuttle, and 7.13 cone. He had two pretty good years of 89 tackles and then 87 tackles. He also had 12 sacks and 4 interceptions, and 10 PD over those years. I would have liked to see his other combine numbers. He’s quick to diagnose plays and plays with a lot of heart, but I’m not sure if he has the athleticism to make it. Still for a fifth round pick and because of his bloodline, I like the pick.
Fifth Round - Trevor Keegan, G: 6’5” 310: Grade C+
Keegan is not athletic for his size and he’s not huge
either. He started 37 games at Michigan which has been a top school. He needs to
work on his technique and his athleticism could be an issue in the NFL. He
could develop into a backup. I would have liked to have gotten a top offensive
lineman in the second round to ensure Hurts is protected and Barkley has room
to run.
Sixth Round - Johnny Wilson, WR, 6’6” 231: Grade A
For the sixth round Wilson was a great pick. He’s a huge receiver
that could be moved to TE. He had good combine numbers for his size with a 4.52
40, a 1.55 10 yard split, an impressive 37” vertical and an amazing 10’8” broad
jump, which shows his explosiveness. He also had a great 4.11 shuttle. Wilson
is much more athletic than WR’s he’s compared to like Kelvin Benjamin and Devin
Funchess, even though is 40 was similar to Wilson. His best year was his junior
year with 897 yards and a 20.9 yard average. He doesn’t catch a lot of TDs, but
had a strong 17.2 yard average for his career. He has a chance to develop into
a good WR.
Sixth Round - Dylan McMahon: G, 6’3” 299 Grade B
He’s smaller than Keegan, but much more athletic. He’s one of the more athletic offensive linemen with a 7.26 3 cone, 33 inch vertical, 4.33 shuttle, and a 9’7” broad jump. He started 45 games for N.C. State. He has pretty good technique and awareness, but his lack of arm length could be a problem. He will also need to put on some mass. For a later sixth round pick it was a good pick.
