2023 NFL Draft: Recapping the NFC East Activity on Day 3

The NFL Draft is now complete, and each NFC East team has to be pleased with how their selections turned out.

Author:
Andrew Parsaud
Publish date:
Apr 29, 2023 7:51 PM EDT

In this story:

If there’s anything this year’s draft taught us, it’s that the NFC East got a lot better over the course of the last three days.

The Philadelphia Eagles arguably had the best draft class out of any team, plucking pieces from Georgia’s championship defense.

The New York Giants also had a great draft, filling needs at good value. The Dallas Cowboys also filled some major holes, and the Washington Commanders added solid pieces all around the board.

With that being said, here’s who each NFC East team selected with their final picks in this year’s draft.

New York Giants

Round 5, Pick 172 - RB Eric Gray (Oklahoma)
Round 6, Pick 209 - CB Tre Hawkins (ODU)
Round 7, Pick 243 - DT Jordan Riley (Oregon)
Round 7, Pick 254 - S Gervarrius Owens (Houston)

Saturday was all about adding solid depth for the Giants. Eric Gray is a shifty back who amassed 1,300 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022 at Oklahoma. He’ll be a nice change of pace back behind Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida.

Tre Hawkins is a tall, lengthy corner that excels in press coverage and plays very physical, which will be useful in Wink Martindale’s scheme. The same can be said with Gervarrius Owens and Jordan Riley, who will both provide solid depth on the defensive side of the ball.

Aside from being depth, all of these players also provide special teams value. A solid end to the draft for the Giants, who had a very good weekend overall.

Philadelphia Eagles

Round 4, Pick 105 - CB Kelee Ringo (Georgia)
Round 6, Pick 188 - QB Tanner McKee (Stanford)
Round 7, Pick 249 - DE Moro Ojomo (Texas)
Trade: Eagles sent 2024 4th round pick to Houston for 105th overall pick. Eagles sent 230th and 248th overall picks to Houston for 191st overall pick. The Eagles sent the 219th overall pick and 2025 4th round pick to Detroit for RB D’Andre Swift and the 249th overall pick.

The Eagles continue to prove they arguably have the best general manager in football. Howie Roseman worked the phones again and made trades to get the players he wanted. He even traded for former Lions running back D’Andre Swift in the process.

They added cornerback Kelee Ringo at the top of the fourth round after trading up to get him, another Georgia defender added to the Eagles defense. They grabbed Tanner McKee in the sixth, who will compete to back up Jalen Hurts, and Moro Ojomo was a sneaky good addition to their defensive line.

Dallas Cowboys

Round 4, Pick 129 - DE Viliami Fehoko Jr (San Jose State)
Round 5, Pick 169 - OT Asim Richards (North Carolina)
Round 6, Pick 178 - CB Eric Scott (Southern Mississippi)
Round 6, Pick 212 - RB Deuce Vaughn (Kansas State)
Round 7, Pick 244 - WR Jalen Brooks (South Carolina)

The Cowboys are another team that has been having a solid draft. They added five players to bolster depth across the roster. Most notably, they drafted running back Deuce Vaughn.

Vaughn’s father works as a scout for the Cowboys, so the connection is there. Besides that, Vaughn rushed for over 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns last season at Kansas State, a solid complement to Tony Pollard.

The area they needed depth at the most arguably was tackle, and they drafted Asim Richards for that reason. Richards caught Dallas’ eye at the Senior Bowl, and decided to take a chance on him during Day 3.

Washington Commanders

Round 4, Pick 118 - OG Braeden Daniels (Utah)
Round 5, Pick 137 - DE KJ Henry (Clemson)
Round 6, Pick 193 - RB Chris Rodriguez Jr (Kentucky)
Round 7, Pick 233 - LB Andre Jones (Louisiana)

Day 3 is always about adding depth, and the Commanders did just that. Adding KJ Henry, a 6-4 255-pound edge rusher, to a defensive line that includes Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Chase Young was a great addition.

Braeden Daniels is another piece thrown into the mix for the offensive line, something they’ve needed to address multiple times this draft. Andre Jones had 7.5 sacks at Louisiana last season and brings over good size.