The former NFL general manager and Philly native weighs in on the Birds.
Mike Mayock is one of the foremost authorities when it comes to an eye for talent. The former NFL Network draft expert, Las Vegas Raiders’ general manager and current national analyst for Westwood One Radio NFL broadcasts recently took some time with Bleeding Green Nation to discuss where the Eagles stand and who they may pick with the No. 32 overall slot in Thursday’s 2025 NFL Draft.
First, the Eagles have needs on the defensive line, edge, cornerback, safety and possibly tight end, with the chance Dallas Goedert won’t be back for 2025, maybe even traded Thursday night. If Goedert is gone, Grant Calcaterra will be the Eagles’ starting tight end, after officially starting 14 games for the Eagles last season. C.J. Gardner-Johnson traded, the starting safeties will be Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown. Can Jalyx Hunt step in for Josh Sweat at the edge and Moro Ojomo, who showed flashes in 2024, start inside in place of free agent loss Milton Williams? Is Kelee Ringo ready to walk into the role of the departed cornerback Darius Slay? Quinyon Mitchell is one bonafide starter at corner, Cooper DeJean will hold down the slot. The other outside corner spot is up for grabs. Can Ringo be it?
Hopefully, this draft will fill some of those dubious voids.
With 20 picks in the next two years, eight this year, and 12 next year, including compensatory picks, Eagles’ general manager Howie Roseman has a lot of ammo to play with here. It is an overabundance of draft picks that he may look to unload to move up.
MAYOCK: “Howie is probably looking at this that he can move up, if he really wants to move up, feeling confident with the comp picks coming. Howie has flexibility. He may use some of that draft capital to move around the board a little bit. When he has that, he’s intriguing. For me, looking at the Eagles’ needs, they lost four starters in defense (Williams, CJGJ, Sweat and Slay), and one significant player on offense (right guard Mekhi Becton, free agent loss to the Chargers). Howie signed some guys to prove-it deals. I look at the Eagles roster today, if the right corner was available at 32, that is where I would be leaning.
“You have Mitchell, but how strongly does Howie feel about Ringo and Eli Ricks. There is a drop off after the first six, seven, eight guys. If they sit and pick at 32, Travis Hunter (CB/Colorado) will be gone, Jahdae Barron (CB/Texas) will be gone, Will Johnson (CB/Michigan) will be gone, and maybe Max Hairston (CB/Kentucky). The four guys I would be looking at there would be Hairston, Trey Amos, from Ole Miss, Azareye’h Thomas, from Florida State, and Shavon Revel, from East Carolina. Out of that group, one or of them will still be there. Then, you look at the edge rushers.”
The Eagles have undersized edge rushers.
Mayock sees the Eagles looking at a bigger body there, if available.
Possibilities include Georgia’s Mykel Williams, Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, Tennessee’s James Pearce, Marshall’s Mike Green and Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, who is originally from South Jersey playing for Williamstown High School.
MAYOCK: “If the Eagles go safety, the guy I love is Malaki Starks, from Georgia. I don’t think he will get to 32, but the pairing of him and Cooper DeJean would be really cool. I don’t see the value at other safeties this year. The defensive tackle position is really deep. It lessens the need to get one in the first round. But you can get a good one in the first round, if a Walter Nolen (Mississippi) or a Derrick Harmon (Oregon) were there, they would be really good value. From a defensive perspective, Howie will have a good bunch to choose from.
“On the flip side, Howie will look at the big picture, if his pool of players gets wiped out, but I like a (interior o-line) Grey Zabel from North Dakota State was there, and I kind of like Aireontae Ersery (OT/Minnesota) more than most people, and on the skill side, Emeka Egbuka (WR/Ohio State) could be there, Luther Burden (WR/Missouri) and tight end Mason Taylor (LSU), who I think is undervalued and who I think is a first-round pick all day long.
If Mason Taylor was there, if your defensive board is wiped out, he could be there. He started as a freshman and caught a pass that beat Alabama. I think Taylor (6-5, 255) will be there at 32.”
