Eagles Corner Shines In Tampa, Another Example OF GM's First-Round Success

PHILADELPHIA – Howie Roseman’s rebound from two bad first-round picks in 2019 (Andre Dillard) and 2020 (Jalen Reagor) has been off the charts good. This only brought up because of what Jihaad Campbell did in the Eagles’ 31-25 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday when he forced two turnovers, and the shutout down game Quinyon Mitchell played in the same win.

Campbell, of course, came in last spring's draft. Mitchell was the general manager’s first-round pick in 2024.

The cornerback covered Bucs rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka like wet tissue paper that sticks to your skin on a 95-degree day, which was the temperature in Tampa during the game. Yes, Mitchell was that sticky. And dominant.

He didn’t have an interception, though Campbell did, and in the end zone to blunt a scary Bucs march that had reached the 11 with the home team trailing by just eight points.

Egubka had a 77-yard touchdown catch, but that was against the Eagles safeties, Reed Blankenship and Drew Mukuba. Against Mitchell, Egbuka did next to nothing. He was targeted six times against Mitchell, but the Eagles’ second-year corner all just two catches for only six yards, per Next Gen Stats. Pro Football Focus gave Mitchell a grade of 90.2.

“He’s just a relentless guy who relentlessly works every day,” said head coach Nick Sirianni during his Monday press conference. “You stay out after practice, he's out there working his footwork, he's out there working catches, he's out there working his brakes and his ability to press and all his footwork that goes into playing defensive back.

Quinyon Mitchell Turned In Relentless Effort

“So, it's great when you see, and obviously he's highly talented, so it's great when you see that work, that daily grind show up because we're a product of our habits and those habits are formed in practice and I think you get top level preparation by Q, not only in practice, but in pre and post practice.”

You could go down the list of Roseman’s first-round pick since Reagor washed out five years ago, and everyone of them contributed to Sunday’s win. Every single one of them have contributed to the Eagles 20-1 record in their last 21 games and for delivering a second Super Bowl championship to Philadelphia last season.

Here is a reminder of who those players are:

2021: DeVonta Smith (10 overall)

2022: Jordan Davis (13 overall)

2023: Jalen Carter (9 overall)

2024: Mitchell (22 overall)

2025: Campbell (31 overall)

Four of those players came after Roseman went up to get them with draft night trades: Smith, Davis, Carter, and Campbell. That’s quite the rebound for Roseman.

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