Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 4/14/25.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
2025 NFL Draft: Ideal top two picks for every team – NFL.com
Round 1: No. 32 overall: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss. Round 2: No. 64 overall: Jaylin Lane, WR, Virginia Tech. The reigning Super Bowl champions don’t have a lot of weaknesses and are typically aggressive when moving up for players to fit their roster, so I see them grabbing the explosive Nolen, whom they might have to trade up for, to fill Milton Williams’ former 3- and/or 5-technique spot on the defensive line. Lane’s speed and quickness make him a great fit to share slot duties with DeVonta Smith; despite his smallish frame (5-9 3/4, 191), Lane does not shy away from contact after the catch.
The Eagles’ top 10 options with their first-round pick – PhillyVoice
2) iDL. Interior defensive line is the Eagles’ biggest need in this draft. They loaded up on interior linemen in the draft from 2021-2023, selecting Milton Williams, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Moro Ojomo. However, they didn’t add any in 2024, they lost Williams in free agency, and they’ll have a decision to make soon on Davis’ fifth-year option for 2026. The Eagles didn’t really have great iDL depth in 2024, but it didn’t matter because Carter was a beast who played a ton of snaps and the rest stayed healthy. The Eagles have an immediate need for iDL depth, and a longer-term need for a future starter. So why is iDL No. 2 on this list? There are simply fewer first-round iDL prospects in this class than there are edge defenders.
NFL Mock Draft 2025: Eagles 7-round simulation, Version 5.0 – BGN
Round 1, Pick 32 (for the Super Bowl Winner): Luther Burden III, Wide Receiver, Missouri. Spending a first round pick on WR3 is undoubtedly a questionable use of resources but… hear me out. One… WR3 is a massive hole in the Eagles offense. Two… the Eagles are likely losing Dallas Goedert this offseason and will need to replace his target share. Three… having a high caliber wide receiver on a rookie contract can give the team a lot of needed flexibility down the line. Look at how Seattle drafted Jaxson Smith-Njigba despite having DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in house. That looks like a great decision now. Finally, Luther Burden III would be sick in this offense. The dude is a YAC menace and would have all the space in the world to function as a rookie with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith drawing attention. Imagine forcing linebackers to cover Luther Burden and Saquon Barkley… they’ll be in hell.
The Key Piece – Iggles Blitz
Howie hasn’t had to reach for a QB. He’s been able to identify QBs the Eagles like and then he has been able to go get them. He did a masterful job at moving up to #2 in 2016 to get Wentz. He took Hurts in 2020. That pick might have been a bit earlier than some expected, but he went 53rd overall. That’s not much of a reach. The Eagles took Tanner McKee in the sixth round in 2023. They traded for Kenny Pickett last spring. They added young guys like Ian Book, Nick Mullens and Carson Strong in recent years. They signed veterans like Joe Flacco and Marcus Mariota. Not all of the moves worked. But none of the moves required a major use of resources. McKee looks like he could be a terrific backup. That’s a great return on a sixth round pick. Right now the Eagles have Hurts and McKee as their top QBs. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is the #3 guy. I expect the team will either draft a QB or sign a priority undrafted free agent. Always be looking. You never know what you’ll find.
Eagles pre-draft mailbag: When the Eagles will draft a safety, understanding the Dallas Goedert situation, 2018 vs. 2025 – PHLY
It’s hard to answer this without knowing how the board will fall, but I’d expect the Eagles to draft a player along the line of scrimmage ahead of a safety in the first round and I do not think they go into this draft hellbent on finding a safety in the first two rounds — or even with the priority of finding C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s replacement. The Eagles will always take someone on the line of scrimmage (including edge rusher) if it’s close to equal. That is the organizational priority, and this is a draft in which priority could meet value with the top pick. I think the Eagles are earnest about giving Sydney Brown a chance to compete for the starting job. They won’t give him the job unimpeded, but this is someone in whom they invested a high third-round pick and there’s still optimism about his development curve. He was set back by injury last year and will be healthy going into the offseason program. It would need to be a can’t-miss grade on a high pick (Malaki Starks?) to block Brown.
New rules for the 2025 NFL season, explained by Eagles Assistant GM Jon Ferrari – PE.com
Also … the NFL will use Artificial Intelligence to measure for first downs. Jon Ferrari: “It makes no difference in where they put the ball down. The officials still spot the ball the way they always have. What it does is it measures the distance – once the ball’s been put on the ground – it measures the distance from the front of the ball to the line to gain. It gives you an accurate laser-driven reading. It doesn’t spot the ball – it gives you a measurement once it’s done. It replaces stopping the clock, bringing the chains on the field, measuring the line to gain with the chains, and the official putting his hand up and signaling first down or not. For the foreseeable future, the chain gang will stay on the field, but remain on the sidelines, not on the field measuring first downs.”
How to watch ‘Awareness to Action: The Eagles Autism Challenge’ – NBC10
This week, “Awareness to Action: The Eagles Autism Challenge” will air on NBC10 and stream on the NBC10 Philadelphia streaming channel as well as in the video embedded on top of this article. The hour-long special showcases the Philadelphia Eagles’ commitment to families in our region and the innovative ways the team rallies to raise money for autism research. NBC10’s Tracy Davidson will host the special while Ryan Hammond, the executive director of the Eagles Autism Foundation, will join her live.
Can a game-changing running back make a good Commanders team great? – Hogs Haven
Can a game-changing running back take Washington to another level? Being able to run the football and stop the run are vital in the NFL. Just ask the current Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. As previously mentioned, Washington did a lot this offseason on both sides of the trenches to help stop the run and potentially to increase the efficiency in the run game. But one key piece is missing…
BTB Monday Musings: It is hard to see a bad first round result for Cowboys – Blogging The Boys
Something that feels like it has become obvious over the last couple of months as we have gotten closer and closer to the draft is that it is hard to envision a scenario in which we are not relatively pleased with the result of the first round for the Cowboys. Obviously it is possible in a literal sense, but if we assume things go at least relatively chalk then I imagine an overwhelming majority of the fanbase will wake up next Friday morning refreshed, pleased and ready to go again.
‘Things I think’ as we get closer to the 2025 NFL Draft – Big Blue View
Todd McShay of The Ringer put an exclamation point on the rising tide of support for Jalen Milroe as a potential first-round pick when he had the New York Giants trade up to No. 24 to select the Alabama quarterback in his most recent mock draft. McShay pointed to Brian Daboll’s work with Josh Allen, a quarterback who also came out of college with plus physical traits as a runner and thrower, but consistency and accuracy issues, in teaming Milroe with Daboll for the Giants. I have come around on the idea of the Giants possibly selecting Milroe, something I thought a couple of months ago would be doomed to fail if it happened.
4 NFL teams who could trade back for more picks in the 2025 NFL Draft – SB Nation
NEW YORK GIANTS: Everything is going to Giants’ GM Joe Schoen’s plan. New York might not want to take QB Shedeur Sanders if he falls to No. 3, and despite Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter being very good, the question of where you play him does pop into the mind. The Giants could use this news of Carr potentially being out for the season to leverage their way into trading out of the third overall pick with a team that’s either desperate for a QB or a team that really wants that EDGE rusher (cough cough, Carolina). It feels like the draft really starts at New York, and the Giants could end up moving back in the top ten.
Kenny Pickett returns to Acrisure Stadium for Pitt spring game, recalling what made Panthers ACC champions in 2021 – TribLive
Pickett was traded from the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles this offseason, and he doesn’t plan on being a backup. “That’s the plan, man (to start). I’m not going there to hang out,” he said. “I want to go play. I’m excited, been working hard for it, taking it a day at a time.” He said competing with Flacco, who played quarterback at Pitt in 2003 and 2004 before his ongoing 18-year NFL career, will take him back to his childhood. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about Joe,” he said. “I’ve been watching him since I was 10 years old. Total respect for Joe, what he’s done and I’m excited to get to work with him, too.”
2025 NFL draft: College football coaches pick sleepers – ESPN+
ELIJAH ROBERTS, DE, SMU. Bio blast: After three seasons in a reserve role at Miami, Roberts transferred to SMU and immediately became a key contributor. He led the team and ranked 17th in the FBS in sacks with 10 in 2023, adding 12.5 tackles for loss. Roberts then had 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season, while tying for sixth nationally in defensive pressures with 51, as SMU made a surprise push to the CFP in its first year as an ACC member. He earned second-team All-AAC honors in 2023, and he recorded two forced fumbles in each of the past two seasons. Roberts served as a team captain last fall, when he had three games with multiple tackles for loss. Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 177 overall, No. 27 edge, grade of 59. What else to know: Listed at 295 pounds while playing for SMU, 6-4 Roberts weighed 285 pounds at the combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds. Although some NFL teams have scouted him as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, his natural position is at end. “Elijah will play 10-plus years in the NFL,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. [BLG Note: The Eagles brought Roberts to Philly for a pre-draft visit.]
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