Eagles Third-Day Draft Examination

A look at how Philly did in previous drafts with at least five selections in rounds four through seven

Howie Roseman was effusive in his praise for what the Eagles did on the third day of the 2020 NFL Draft.

It was late Saturday night, after the draft had ended and many undrafted free agents had been contacted, when the Eagles general manager met with Eagles reporters on Zoom.

“I feel like today was a difference-making day for our organization, for our football team,” said Roseman.

The Eagles made seven picks on Saturday, the most they had on the third day of the draft since 2011 when they made eight. They had 10 final-day picks in 2010.

“I really felt like it all came together today to show the vision of what we want our football team to look like during the 2020 season,” said Roseman. “Really excited about what we did over the last three days. I know a lot of the attention gets thrown on Thursday and Friday night, but for all of us, (the third day) is the most important night.

“(It) is the most important opportunity to add the most players that we have through the course of the season, through the course of the year, and I really feel like we added a lot of good players, a lot of Eagles mentality, to our football team.

Third-day picks, which are rounds four through seven, are only as good as a team’s talent evaluations and the coaching staff’s development meshing with the player’s desire to succeed.

The following is a look at how the Eagles did on the third day of the draft dating back to 2010 when they had at least five selections in rounds four through seven.

Before diving in, two notes of interest pertaining to this year’s draft and previous one this decade:

• Receiver Quez Watkins was the 200 pick, which was the third time the Eagles owned that pick. Their other two selections with pick No. 200 were LSU running back Charles Scott in 2010 and Miami guard Brandon Washington in 2012. Not good.

• Casey Toohill was the 233 selection, which was the same number that produced Jalen Mills.

Now, the drafts with at least five picks in rounds four through seven, with overall selection in parentheses:

2020 DRAFT

Best pick: TBD

Note: My frontrunner for best pick is K’Von Wallace.

Fourth round

Wallace (127)

Jack Driscoll (145)

Fifth round

John Hightower (168)

Sixth round

Shaun Bradley (196)

Quez Watkins (200)

Prince Tega Wanogho (210)

Seventh round

Casey Toohill (233)

2017 DRAFT

Best pick: Nathan Gerry

Note: Prior to the 2020 draft, I graded this overall draft a ‘D.’

Fourth round

Mack Hollins (118), Donnel Pumphrey (132)

Fifth round

Shelton Gibson (166), Gerry (184)

Sixth round

Elijah Qualls (214)

2016 DRAFT

Best pick: Jalen Mills

Note: This has to be one of the strongest Day Threes the Eagles ever had.

Fifth round

Wendell Smallwood (153)

Halapoulivaati Vaitai (164)

Sixth round

Blake Countess (196)

Seventh round

Mills (233)

Alex McCalister (240)

Joe Walker (251)

2013 DRAFT

Best pick: Jordan Poyer, who went on to star elsewhere and is now a key cog in the secondary of the Buffalo Bills.

Note: The Eagles traded up to make Barkley the first pick of the fourth round.

Fourth round

Barkley (98)

Fifth round

Earl Wolff (136)

Seventh round

Joe Kruger (212)

Poyer (218)

David King (239)

2012 DRAFT

Best pick: Bryce Brown

Note: Brown still holds the one and two spots in the Eagles record book for most yards in a game with 178 and 169 and he did it in back-to-back games on Nov. 26 and Dec. 2, 2012. He is sixth in the record book for most yards in a season as a rookie with 564. Two years later, the Eagles turned Brown into a fourth-round pick, acquired from the Buffalo Bills. In 2015, the Eagles traded the pick they got from Buffalo to the Lions for a third-round pick in 2016, which became Isaac Seumalo.

Fourth round

Brandon Boykin (123)

Fifth round

Dennis Kelly (153)

Sixth round

Marvin McNutt (194)

Brandon Washington (200)

Brown (227)

2011 DRAFT

Best pick: Jason Kelce

Note: Some good players arrived on Day Three, but the All-Pro center was the best.

Fourth round

Casey Matthews (116)

Alex Henery (120)

Fifth round

Dion Lewis (149)

Julian Vandervelde (161)

Sixth round

Kelce (191)

Brian Rolle (193)

Seventh round

Greg Lloyd (237)

Stanley Havili (240)

2010 DRAFT

Best pick: Kurt Coleman

Note: Cooper could be considered a close second.

Fourth round

Trevard Lindley (105)

Keenan Clayton (121)

Mike Kafka (122)

Clay Harbor (125)

Fifth round

Ricky Sapp (134)

Riley Cooper (159)

Sixth round

Charles Scott (200)

Seventh round

Jamar Chaney (220)

Jeff Owens (243)

Kurt Coleman (244)