Eagles draft takeaways: Trades and more trades, as the new-look defense and O-line take shape

After three days and nine picks, the Eagles’ 2024 draft class is now finalized.

General manager Howie Roseman made eight trades over the final two days, stockpiling picks in the later rounds and selecting a pair of offensive linemen and receivers Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson to join Clemson running back Will Shipley and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the Day 3 haul.

From a rebuilt defense coming into focus, the biggest winner of the weekend and the biggest lingering needs, here are some big-picture takeaways coming out of the three-day frenzy.

The Eagles went into the offseason with the task of keeping a young core of offensive players together while rebuilding the other side of the ball. They needed to find high-upside players worth building around and, in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, they finished the draft weekend with two players capable of filling that description in short order.

» READ MORE: Quinyon Mitchell gives Howie Roseman his first 1st-round CB. Can Mitchell also become the GM’s first stud at the position?

Mitchell has a chance to become an immediate starter at outside cornerback and has the physical traits and ball production to be a No. 1 cover man at some point in his career. Roseman’s decision to move up 10 spots to take DeJean, a player to whom he said the front office had assigned a first-round grade, gives new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio another versatile chess piece to pair with fellow “defensive back” C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“He was a first-round player for us,” Roseman said, later adding, “We didn’t have 32 first-round guys.”

Much has been made of DeJean’s lack of a clear position, but his versatility should raise his floor as someone who could “fail” into being a full-time safety with the upside to become plenty more in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system.

Third-rounder Jalyx Hunt figures into the Eagles’ long-term plans as well but is admittedly more of a developmental player rather than an immediate contributor. Roseman said as much on Friday, calling him “the perfect developmental guy” to add to an already established rotation of edge rushers.

On Saturday, Hunt said he welcomed that label.

“[It] is a huge honor to me,” he said. “They see a lot of upside and it’s something I’m excited to grow into. I’m definitely patient enough to put in the work and do what I need to do in order to reach my potential. But if there is any way I can contribute out of the gate, I’m willing to do it. I’m all for it.”

With the trio of high-upside defensive rookies along with free-agent additions Bryce Huff and Gardner-Johnson, the new-look defense rebuilt in Fangio’s image is starting to come into focus. Fangio’s long track record suggests he can raise the floor of the Eagles defense compared to last year, and now the team has a group of players who can affect the ceiling of the group as well.

» READ MORE: Howie Roseman flips the Eagles’ draft script with picks like Jalyx Hunt

Tyler Steen’s path to becoming the Eagles’ starting right guard got much clearer over the weekend.

The second-year lineman out of Alabama went into the weekend penciled into the spot next to center Cam Jurgens and the Eagles’ prioritization of defensive prospects with premium picks leaves him in the driver’s seat.

Considering Steen’s position behind backup guard Sua Opeta for most of his rookie season and his limited playing time as a result, it was fair to wonder if the Eagles would add a lineman early in the draft to start ahead of him. The run on first-round tackles capable of playing on the interior also happened before the Eagles at No. 22 and trading up for DeJean led to them missing out on a second run of Day 2 linemen like Washington’s Roger Rosengarten and Kansas State’s Cooper Beebe.

Enter Steen, who will have to beat out Day 3 selections Trevor Keegan and Dylan McMahon and free-agent addition Matt Hennessy for the right-guard spot, barring a more notable offseason addition between now and training camp.

“We’ve got a long time until we play the first game,” Roseman said when asked about the outlook at right guard. “We drafted a guy [Steen] in the third round last year that we’re excited about. We brought in some guys here that have started before in the league, and competition will bring out the best.”

Roseman’s first two days of selections uncharacteristically lacked any reinforcements on the offensive line, something even he conceded he wouldn’t have expected going into the draft.

“It’s just how the board fell,” Roseman said. “I think there was a run on [the] offensive line in some areas where we didn’t pick and when we came back and picked in some of those rounds, it didn’t really fit.”

After missing out on the first couple waves of tackle prospects in the first two days, the Eagles took the Michigan guard Keegan with the 172nd pick and doubled down with the N.C. State interior lineman McMahon 18 slots later. Still, the Eagles’ depth at offensive tackle behind Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson remained surprisingly unaddressed by way of the draft with Fred Johnson and Le’Raven Clark still situated as the presumptive top reserves.

It’s fair to acknowledge there’s plenty of time before the Eagles’ depth chart translates into an on-field product in a meaningful game, but the avenues to finding quality offensive line depth between now and then are much more sparse than they were a few months ago.

After uncharacteristically standing pat in the first round instead of trading up the draft board, Roseman made up for lost time on Friday and Saturday.

The Eagles made eight trades across the two days, moving back in this year’s draft or trading out for a pick in next year’s five times. The Eagles have seemingly placed a higher premium on future draft capital than most teams for some time now and it came to fruition often on Saturday with the leaving the draft having added an extra third-, fourth-, and fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft. They’re now up to nine picks in next year’s draft, including two third-rounders.

Especially considering this year’s draft class was considered somewhat thin toward the end of the final day with a higher number of underclassmen staying in college because of their earning potential through NIL, accumulating picks for next year makes sense. The Eagles still made nine picks because of the consistent trade backs, which also helped square the move up the board to get DeJean.

Roseman said the trade for the 40th pick, which cost the Eagles’ Nos. 50, 53, and 161 in exchange for Nos. 40, 78, and 162, did not favor their side on traditional trade charts. Still, some analytics-based valuations had the Eagles gaining significant value by moving back down the board with a series of trades Friday night.

The lack of depth at the end of the draft didn’t just impact the Eagles’ prioritization of future picks. They sat out most of the final two rounds and signed just seven undrafted free agents on Saturday night, which Roseman called “the smallest undrafted group” he’d ever been a part of.

Instead, the front office signed available players like linebacker Julian Okwara and defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher, who spent last season on NFL practice squads.

“We made a conscious decision after the season to try to get guys from teams’ practice squads where we had some tape to watch,” Roseman said. “We felt like, for us, that was a unique opportunity that we wanted to try to take advantage of based off this class, knowing that this was a different class so it wouldn’t have the same opportunities in the undrafted market that maybe we’ll get next year. So we’ll try to take advantage of that. I think we’ll be back to normal next year.”