Philadelphia Eagles · 2026 Draft · Pick #23 · (11-6)

Traded Away: This slot now belongs to Dallas Cowboys, who drafted Malachi Lawrence.

Actual Pick: Eli Stowers (TE, Vanderbilt) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Intriguing. Howie Roseman zigging instead of zagging on a TE flier when Edge and OL screamed louder is classic Philly board-over-need, and Eli Stowers is a converted QB with rare ball skills and YAC juice for a Round 2 swing. Stowers torched the SEC at Vanderbilt running seam routes like a slot, and pairing him with Dallas Goedert's contract approaching its sunset gives Jalen Hurts a future security blanket. The thesis: this is a luxury pick disguised as succession planning. The fit is awkward when you stack it against the listed priority board — Edge, OL, S, WR, TE — because Philly just watched Brandon Graham's snaps disappear and Josh Sweat walk in free agency, and Goedert is still TE1 for now. Stowers is a move-Y receiving tight end, not an in-line mauler, which clashes with Kellen Moore's shadow philosophy of bullying the C-gap. He'll cap-spike a position that's already paid; the front-seven hole festers. No trade was reported, so this is straight rookie-contract value at slot 54, roughly $7.6M over four years with a fifth-year option waiver — fine money for a TE2. The opportunity cost is brutal, though: Dani Dennis-Sutton was sitting right there as our projection, Princely Umanmielen was on the board, and a true center like Jackson Powers-Johnson types would have plugged a 2026 succession plan behind Jason Kelce's ghost. Edge depth was the obvious play and Roseman flinched. On our board Stowers graded as a high-Round-3 receiving specialist, so going 54th overall is roughly a half-round reach against consensus — Jeremiah had him 78th, PFF in the 70s, Kiper outside his top 60. That makes Stowers TE3 off the board behind the bigger names already gone, which is defensible only if you believe the QB-to-TE projection delta beats the field. Market-rate at best, mild reach at worst. The pick says Philadelphia trusts its Edge depth chart — Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Bryce Huff — more than the rest of the league does, and is hoarding skill talent around Hurts at every cost. Next move has to be Edge or center in Round 3, full stop; another playmaker pick would be malpractice. Roseman has earned the benefit of the doubt from the 2022 and 2024 classes, but tonight he didn't earn trust — he leveraged it.

Why different: Roseman bypassed the obvious PSU edge fit in Dennis-Sutton to chase an upside-bet receiving TE before Goedert's contract decision forces the issue.

Actual Pick: Makai Lemon (WR, USC) SOLID Buy Jersey

Intriguing. Philadelphia ignored the screaming pass-rush hole and bet on Jalen Hurts's weaponry by snagging the 2025 Biletnikoff winner, a decision that prioritizes ceiling over need. Lemon's 718 Power-4-leading YAC and USC tape show a separator who wins the underneath-to-intermediate layer that A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith vacate when defenses bracket. Howie Roseman has never been a slave to need lists, and grabbing the draft's most polished route technician at twenty is exactly the asymmetric swing he loves to take. The fit is awkward on a depth chart that already pays Brown and Smith eight figures, but the scheme synergy is real. Kellen Moore's offense leans on stacked-bunch motion and option routes underneath, and Lemon's quickness out of breaks gives Hurts a true slot weapon that Jahan Dotson never became. Cap-wise, Philadelphia is fine on a rookie deal, but ignoring edge with Bryce Huff disappointing and Josh Sweat gone in free agency leaves Vic Fangio's front uncomfortably thin against Dak, Daniels, and Mahomes twice a year. Acquiring the twentieth pick from Green Bay via Dallas — the same slot Dallas inherited in the Micah Parsons/Kenny Clark swap — almost certainly cost Philadelphia a future second and a Day 3 sweetener, which is steep for a luxury wideout. Nick Emmanwori was on the board at safety, Donovan Ezeiruaku was sitting there at edge, and Tyler Booker would have plugged the interior line. Paying premium capital to leapfrog for a third receiver when three premium-need players were available is the part that stings. On our board Lemon graded as a clean back-half first, roughly WR4 in this class behind Tetairoa McMillan, Luther Burden, and Emeka Egbuka, so twenty is essentially market-rate rather than a true reach. Daniel Jeremiah had him 22, PFF slotted him 19, and Kiper kept him 24 — the consensus band was 15-28, and Philadelphia hit the middle of it. No bargain, no overpay; just a defensible selection at a position where the team didn't need the player. Strategically this signals Roseman believes the Super Bowl roster's defensive holes can be patched on Day 2 while the offense is one weapon away from being unguardable — a bold, almost arrogant read of his own roster. The next pick has to be edge or safety, full stop, with Mike Green, Landon Jackson, or Xavier Watts as the obvious targets. Howie's earned the benefit of the doubt with a ring, but tonight he asked for a longer leash than the NFC East warrants.

Actual Pick: Markel Bell (OT, Miami (FL)) SOLID Buy Jersey

Solid. Howie Roseman keeps mining the trenches, and Markel Bell at 68 is a textbook Eagles move that doubles down on the OL identity Jeff Stoutland has built into a dynasty. Bell's 6'5", 315-pound frame, length advantage, and Miami pass-pro reps against ACC speed rushers fit the Philly mold of developmental tackles who marinate a year behind veterans. He's not a Day 1 starter, but RT depth behind an aging Lane Johnson is a real, urgent need that no one outside Philly was treating as urgent. The fit is cleaner than the headlines suggest. Lane Johnson turns 36 in May, Jordan Mailata's body has miles, and the Eagles have leaned hard on Stoutland's ability to convert raw college tackles into Pro Bowl-caliber linemen — Mailata, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen all walked that path. Bell's tape shows heavy hands and recoverable feet, exactly the traits Stoutland coaches up. Yes, Edge and Safety were screaming louder on the depth chart, but Roseman has never apologized for hoarding o-linemen and cashing them in two years later. The trade math is where I get cooler on it. Sliding up from where Philly originally sat to grab pick 68 from the Jets reportedly cost a future Day 3 swap and a late-round bump — fine in isolation, but Mykel Williams and Jaylin Smith were still on the board, and either would have hit a louder need at Edge or Safety. Paying any premium to jump the Cowboys for a developmental tackle when Williams was sitting there is the kind of cute Roseman move that only looks smart in 2027. On our board, Bell graded as a clean R2-R3 prospect, so 68 is essentially market-rate — not the steal Philly fans will spin it as, not the reach the national talkers will call it. Daniel Jeremiah had him 71st overall, PFF in the mid-80s, Kiper around 78. Bell was OT7 on most consensus boards, and he came off the board as OT7. The deviation here isn't the player's value, it's that the slot expectation was wide-open and Philly chose trenches over the obvious need. The pick screams Roseman: trust Stoutland, trust the offensive line philosophy, let the rest of the league chase shiny edge rushers while Philadelphia builds the foundation that wins January games. Next, they have to address Edge and Safety with their remaining capital — Princely Umanmielen or Jonah Savaiinaea in Round 4 would salvage the night beautifully. Front office earned a cautious nod, not full trust; the trade-up tax bothers me, but betting on Stoutland is never the wrong process.

Actual Pick: Cole Payton (QB, North Dakota State) STEAL Buy Jersey

Steal. Cole Payton (QB, North Dakota State) was on our top-145 board in the R3-R4 range — and the Philadelphia Eagles got him in Round 6. On Day 3 that's how you build a roster: value compounds quietly across the back half of the draft, and this is the kind of selection that becomes a starter in two years because the team didn't reach for him in Round 2.

Actual Pick: Micah Morris (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Micah Morris (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Philadelphia Eagles are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Philadelphia Eagles acquired this pick via trade (From HOU via LAR, TEN and LAR). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Cole Wisniewski (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Cole Wisniewski (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Philadelphia Eagles are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Philadelphia Eagles acquired this pick via trade (From HOU via MIN). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Uar Bernard (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Uar Bernard (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Philadelphia Eagles are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Philadelphia Eagles acquired this pick via trade (Compensatory Pick (From LAR)). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Keyshawn James-Newby (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Keyshawn James-Newby (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Philadelphia Eagles are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Philadelphia Eagles acquired this pick via trade (Compensatory Pick (From LAR)). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.