The Attribute That Tied An Eagles' Defensive Draft Together

PHILADELPHIA - During the Eagles’ now-annual post-draft “class picture,” in which most of the organization gathers around GM Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio sat inconspicuously on the NovaCare Complex stage.

The NFL’s most respected defensive mind had just finished helping Roseman find the fits for a No. 1 defense that needed reloading after a host of key contributors left in a Super Bowl offseason of attrition, including edge rushers Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham, defensive tackle Milton Williams, linebacker Oren Burks cornerbacks Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers, and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The Eagles’ first five draft picks were all defensive players, beginning with first-round defensive weapon Jihaad Campbell and speedy safety Andrew Mukuba as the primary picks.

Day 3 started with Nebraska defensive tackle Ty Robinson, Central Florida cornerback Mac McWilliams, and Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. before Boston College center Drew Kendall stopped the 0-for-5 slump for Nick Sirianni, Kevin Patullo, and the offense.

The common denominator for the defense was space eaters, players who can cover a whole of of ground in very little time.

Part of the Eagles’ defensive-centric approach on draft weekend should have been obvious, even to outsiders.

“Offensively, we have a bunch of starters under long-term contracts, starters who are in the prime of their career, so it allows you to really, on the fly, get young on [the defensive] side of the ball,” said Roseman.

And who better to lean on than Fangio when it comes to finding players to fit in?

“I think for us, we're having those conversations with every member of our coaching staff and certainly our coordinators. Obviously, Vic with the success that he's had, those conversations go deep,” Roseman admitted. “And so, understanding that he's got a vision for the player, but we've seen what he can do with guys with this kind of skillset.”

The Eagles hinted at a much more varied role for Campbell than the conventional off-ball role most pundits pigeonhole the former Alabama star in.

“You just look around the league, the teams that we have to get through to get where we want to go, they have fast explosive quarterbacks, players in their backfield that we've got to bring down at all levels of our defense, and we need a tremendous amount of front seven players to contain those guys,” said Roseman. “It's always been a priority for us. This doesn't deviate what we believe. We believe in affecting the passing game on offense and defense, and [Campbell] can affect the passing game on defense.”

That likely means as a pass rusher and a flat defender in coverage, a role Roseman envisioned Zack Baun potentially fitting into before Fangio saw the instincts of a stacked LB.

“Vic does a tremendous job with getting guys who have pass rush ability to be versatile players like that,” the GM said. “I think what's really fun is that those guys who have that versatility who can go out on the edge and get pressure as a rusher and he's got speed, he's got power as an edge rusher, he was trained as an edge rusher. And then, he's got the versatility to play off the ball and blitz from depth and play in space, in pass coverage, as an off-ball linebacker.”

Being comfortable in space was the attribute that tied the defensive prospects together, even Robinson, who played some fullback at Nebraska and was given a Relative Athletic Score of 9.89, No. 24 of the 2,033 DT prospects ranked since 1987.

Ty Robinson was drafted in round 4 pick 111 in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 9.89 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 24 out of 2033 DT from 1987 to 2025. https://t.co/EtACKz7KN1 pic.twitter.com/KrNb4aPwj9
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 26, 2025

When discussing Mukuba, Roseman noted, “there's no such thing anymore as [a] box safety. I mean you have to be able to play in space. … It is a space game and the guys are just too fast and too explosive in this league when you get to the second and third level.”

With Monson Jr., Roseman said “he is really a fast mover and space is his friend. … it's a speed game and he's another guy who plays really well in space.”

McWilliams has a 4.41 stopwatch time, and all of the personnel decisions fit one underlying Roseman sentiment.

“There's nowhere that you can be slow on defense."

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