Grading Eagles Last 10 First Round Picks: Lot Of Hits, Lot Of Misses for Howie Roseman

Howir Roseman has nailed the last few drafts for the Philadelphia Eagles. That hasn't always been the case.

Even though the Eagles won Super Bowl LII, Roseman hasn't hit on a lot of his early draft picks -- especially in the first round. For every Quinton Mitchell, there was a Jalen Reagor.

General managers aren't always going to have a perfect hit rate. It happens.

What is noticeable over the last decade? How much Roseman has improved at getting the first-round picks right, finding premium players and drafting the best player available on the Eagles board -- instead of drafting for need.

When the Eagles went for need, they picked the right position -- but the wrong player. The best player available philosophy has worked, and led to a Super Bowl LIX championship along with a 59-26 regular season record over the last five seasons.

The evolution of Roseman's first-round picks is stunning to look at over the past decade. Let's grade the last 10 first-round picks Roseman has made -- since it's been 10 years Roseman took over general manager duties form Chip Kelly.

Makai Lemon will be left out of this one, as we'll go from 2025 back. Lemon hasn't even played a game yet.

2025: Jihaad Campbell (No. 31)

Grade: B

There's so much to tell regarding Campbell's story, especially since he had a solid start to his NFL career. He started Week 1 of his rookie season while Nakobe Dean recovered from his torn patella tendon.

The most important part of Campbell's season? He played all 17 games (starting 10), compiling 80 tackles, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hit.

Campbell is writing his next chapter this season. He's starting at off-ball linebacker after Dean departed in free agency, and has every opportunity to make the impact the past few first-round picks have made for the Eagles.

2024: Quinyon Mitchell (No. 22)

Grade: A+

Only two years into Mitchell's career and he's one of the elite cornerbacks in football. Mitchell was a First Team All-Pro selection last season -- the first Eagles cornerback to accomplish that feat since Lito Sheppard in 2004.

Mitchell has saved his best football for the postseason. He has four interceptions in the playoffs -- but none in the regular season. Opposing quarterbacks have a 32.7 passer rating when targeting Mitchell in the playoffs.

Mitchell didn't allow a touchdown pass last season either. He's been everything the Eagles could ask for -- and more.

2023: Nolan Smith (No. 30)

Grade: B

Smith has been a good player for the Eagles. If it wasn't for injuries, he may have been a great player at this stage of his career.

While having just 10.5 sacks in his career, Smith has consistently gotten to the quarterback when he's on the field. The pressure rate has increased every season, including up form 11.9% to 15.4% last year. He also had more pressures in 12 games lat season (33) than in 16 games the season prior (31).

An offseason speeding incident has clouded Smith's future, so he'll have to prove himself on the field. The Eagles have a good player in Smith. Can he be better?

2023: Jalen Carter (No. 9)

Grade: A

Carter already earned Second Team All-Pro honors in just his second season in the league. If it wasn't for Carter's game-changing plays in the NFC Divisional Playoff win over the Rams, the Eagles don't have a Super Bowl championship.

While he hasn't lived up to his potential yet, Carter is still a very good defensive tackle. He can be the best defensive tackle in football. He had just 3.0 sacks and 10.8% pressure rate in a down year by his standards, racking up 41 pressures.

Having 13.5 sacks in three seasons, the best is yet to come for Carter. The Eagles just have to make sure he's signed to a long term extension.

2022: Jordan Davis (No. 13)

Grade: A-

Davis was a solid starter for years with the Eagles, but battled weight issues which limited his ability on the field -- and his production.

That changed last season. Davis finished with 72 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season, both career highs. He also had nine tackles for loss and six quarterback hits -- while playing all 17 games for the third consecutive season.

Davis became one of the elite defensive tackles in football, and was already excellent against the run. He earned his contract extension and is one of the premium players on this Eagles defense.

2021: DeVonta Smith (No. 10)

Grade: A

Smith was the pick that changed everything for the Eagles front office. Not only has Smith been an instant contributor since Day 1, but he's been the perfect 1A for A.J. Brown over the past four years.

Smith set the rookie receiving yards record in his first year with the Eagles (916), carrying an pass game that was close to nonexistent throughout the year. He has three 1,000-yard seasons in four years since, had has the most receiving yards for any Eagles player (5,019) after his first five years in the league.

The Eagles are banking on Smith to be their WR1 this season, and believe he's in for a huge year. Smith is ready to show he's one of the elite wideouts in football.

2020: Jalen Reagor (No. 21)

Grade: F

Reagor was a disaster for the Eagles, and this isn't even a reminder that Justin Jefferson was picked immediately after him.

He was out of Philadelphia after two seasons, having 64 catches for 685 yards and three touchdowns. Reagor was traded to the Vikings in 2022 for a 2023 seventh-round pick, showing how much his value diminished.

Reagor averaged just 24.8 yards per game with the Eagles, the third-lowest by an Eagles wide receiver with at least 20 starts for the franchise. His tenure with the Eagles was the shortest by a first-round pick since Bernard Williams in 1994.

The team bust is overused, but Reagor was one for the Eagles.

2019: Andre Dillard (No. 22)

Grade: F

The Eagles are fortunate Jordan Mailata turned out the way he did, because Dillard couldn't perform well when given the opportunity. He just couldn't handle bull rushes, which led to the downfall.

Dillard had little interest in playing right tackle, even being benched at halftime of a game because he performed that poorly when he had to start in place of Lane Johnson. He knew the performance was going to be bad.

The tools were there, but not the production. Dillard was out of Philadelphia after four years, starting just nine games in an Eagles uniform. He hasn't played a regular season game since 2024, playing for three teams since.

2017: Derek Barnett (No. 14)

Grade: C+

Barnett was a fine player in Philadelphia, but appeared to fall out of favor amongst the coaching staff as the years rolled by. He had 21.5 sacks and 76 quarterback hits in seven seasons with the Eagles, and was a full-time starter for three seasons.

While Barnett's tenure didn't end well in Philadelphia (he had no sacks in his final 15 games with the Eagles), he has revitalized his career with the Texans. Penalties and a torn ACL hurt Barnett's career with the Eagles, but he still recovered the fumble on Brandon Graham's strip sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII -- one of the greatest plays in Eagles history.

Barnett played a major role on the 2017 championship team, but didn't live up to what the Eagles thought he could be. He's still good enough to stick around the league.

2016: Carson Wentz (No. 2)

Grade: B

A torn ACL and LCL in Week 14 of the 2017 season ruined Wentz's MVP season, as he was the quarterback that was going to lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl. That's how good Wentz was with the Eagles prior to that injury, the franchise quarterback they traded up to the No. 2 overall pick to grab the year prior.

Wentz still holds the franchise record for touchdown passes in a season (33), but he hasn't been the same player since that knee injury. Not only did Nick Foles lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl championship, but he led them to the playoffs after a back injury caused Wentz to miss the end of the 2018 season.

A concussion in the 2019 playoffs essentially sealed Wentz's fate in Philadelphia. He has thrown just four passes in the playoffs, even though the Eagles made the playoffs in three of his five seasons.

Wentz threw for 16,811 yards and 113 touchdowns in five years with the Eagles. The end of his Eagles career leaves a bad taste in many mouths, but that allowed Jalen Hurts to take over the reins as franchise quarterback. Wentz has been a backup since the middle of the 2022 season.

What could have been if Wentz didn't get hurt? The Eagles had the franchise quarterback they have been seeking since Donovan McNabb. They ended up getting it with Hurts.

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