Philadelphia Eagles NFL Draft Grade 2024

Eagles 2024 Draft Grades 

Overall Grade: A-

First Round - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, 6’0” 195: Grade A+

The Eagles were lucky that Mitchell dropped to their spot, and they got a steal with this pick. Mitchell was likely the best corner in the draft. He ran a very fast 4.33 40 with a quick 1.51 10 yard split. He also had a 38 inch vertical which is strong, and an okay 10’2” broad. What really stands out are the amount of passes he broke up in college. He had an amazing 19 his junior year and 18 his senior year with a total of 45 for his career. These are wonderful numbers and usually translate to success in the NFL. He also had six interceptions for his career. He also proved himself at the senior bowl looking like the best corner there. He’s likely to be a longtime starter for the Eagles.

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 4^th 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 4^th 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

As Jeremiah Trotter’s son Trotter Jr. gets a boosted grade. Trotter was one of the best LBs the eagles
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.

Philadelphia Eagles NFL Draft Grades

 

Philadelphia Eagles NFL Draft Grades and Bonus Trade Grade

Overall Grade: B

Round 1: Jalen Carter DT 6’ 3” 314 lbs, Georgia: Grade: B-

Athletic on tape, but he didn’t participate of the combine so unfortunately we don’t have the numbers. He has a quick first step and a good swim move. Shows good strength over all but was neutralized by the stronger O’Cyrus Torrance who was drafted in the second round. Jalen’s production was limited in college. He was more comparable to average and even some below average defensive tackles. He looks like a star at times, but didn’t show it very much. For the ninth pick I would have liked to see him rack up a few more tackles for losses and sacks. I saw someone comparing him to Warren Sapp which would be amazing. The difference is Warren sap had 84 tackles and 10.5 sacks his last year in college while, Jalen had 32 tackles and 3 sacks.

 

Round 1: Nolan Smith LB 6’3 235 lbs, Georgia: Grade: B-

Elite athleticism by the numbers. He ran a 4.39 40, had a 41.5 inch vertical and a 10’8” broad jump. All top level numbers. He’s more athletic than some running backs that are twenty pounds less than him. He doesn’t look quite as athletic on tape. He also looks small with thin hips. He missed several games for two years so his production took a hit. Still he barely did anything his senior year in the eight games he played. Not impressive. His junior year was his best with an unimpressive 53 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and only 1 pass defended. He added an int and 3 forced fumbles. I don’t like to draft players who performed this poorly in the first round. He may just be a workout warrior, which the Eagles love to draft. If we’re just going on the combine A. He has a high ceiling, but also a low floor.

Round 3: Tyler Steen OT 6’6” 321 lbs Alabama: Grade: A

Steen has excellent size with powerful legs and pretty good athleticism. He’s in the 91.7^th percentile for the bench, the 72.7^th percentile for vertical and around 80^th for the broad jump and shuttle. His arm length is in the 17.2 percentile so he’ll likely have to move to guard in the nfl. He got second team All-SEC honors for his 13 starts at left tackle for Alabama. He only had one sack attributed to him for his senior year. He has a powerful and well timed punch and good feet moment. He needs to improve his pad level and his forward lean, but if he can improve these, he can be a solid starter eventually for the Eagles. They needed depth and found a solid player in Steen.  

Round 3: Sydney Brown S 5’10” 211 lbs Illinois: Grade B

Sydney Brown played for five years at Illinois and was injured twice. He had a couple years with his total tackle numbers in the eighties, but doesn’t get many tackles for losses or sacks. During his senior year he had an impressive 6 interceptions and a respectable seven passes defended (PD). I usually like to see more PDs overall than he had in his college career. For me, his statistics are so so, but it’s promising that his senior year was his best year in terms of defending the pass. Overall he’s much better at defending the run than the pass and might make a better in the box safety on obvious rushing situations. Based on his combine numbers, he should be athletic enough, but his change of direction skills are questionable. He didn’t run the 3-cone or shuttle, so we can’t confirm this with his measurables. The Eagles needed depth at safety, and Brown has a chance to develop into an at least part-time starter.

Round 4: Kelee Ringo CB 6’2” 207 lbs Georgia: Grade C+

The Eagles love the SEC and selected a cornerback from Georgia. He has good size and functions well as a press corner. He has excellent top speed and ran a 4.36 40. His burst speed isn’t as good and he ran a 1.54 in the 10 yard split. He’s also not very explosive according to his poor vertical jump at 33.5” and his so so 10’2” broad jump. He didn’t run the shuttle and cone, which for some reason hardly anyone ran this year. His change of direction skills are suspect. He may not have the athleticism to be a successful corner. He will have to rely on his press abilities to have a chance. He had a not very impressive 8 PD and 7 PD in his junior and senior years. He also had an okay 4 interceptions total for those two years. I don’t think Kelee can become a starter, but he may be able to make it as a backup or special teamer.  

Round 6: Tanner McKee QB 6’6” 231 lbs Stanford: Grade D

McKee has an excellent height and weight to play QB in the NFL. He has good enough arm strength, but struggles with accuracy. He also rushes his throws when under pressure. He also didn’t perform very well in college at all. He had 13 TDs to 8 Ints his senior year and 15 TDs and 7 Ints his junior year. These are very poor numbers. He had a solid completion percentage his junior year with 65.4% and an adequate one his senior year with 62%. He can’t run at all and had negative 86 yards for his career. Overall, his numbers don’t seem good enough for him to make it in the NFL. All he seems to have going for him is good size and a strong enough arm.

Round 7: Moro Ojomo DT/DE 6’3” 292 lbs Texas: Grade C-

He is versatile and can line up at DE. He’ll probably be a DT for the Eagles, but may play DE in goal line situations. His senior year was almost as good as Jalen Carter’s which is funny since he’s a seven round pick. They both had 3 sacks and 32 total tackles. Moro had 1.5 less tackles for a loss though. He generally lacks the speed to play DE, but also is a little small for DT. He’s also not very athletic especially for his smaller size. He likely won’t be a long term player in the NFL

Trade: D’Andre RB 5’9 208 lbs: Grade A+

The Eagles get a first round talent for a 4^th round pick in 2025. He only has one year left on his contract and he gets injured, but I love it still. He’s great at catching the ball and electric with the ball in his hands. He has a 4.6 yard average for his three years in the NFL which isn’t as good as it could be largely because of injuries. He had a 5.5 yard average last year which is more in line with where he should be. He also has over a thousand yards receiving in three years with a sold 7.7 yard average. It’s very likely that D’Andre is much better than anyone we would draft in the 4^th round. He can be a complimentary pass receiving back and we might not have to pay him too much when his contract is done to keep him.