Each year, we lay out the Philadelphia Eagles' top 10 options with their first round pick, and we have found that while the player they have picked has occasionally been surprising, their base strategies have been predictable.
For example:
• In 2024, we had cornerback at No. 3.
• In 2023, we had a trade up for Jalen Carter at No. 2.
• In 2022, we were right about the team likely trading up for a defensive lineman (option No. 1), but it was for a defensive tackle instead of an edge rusher. We specifically singled out Jordan Davis (option No. 5). We also had wide receiver as option No. 3, and they did indeed get one with one of their first-round picks, though it was a trade for A.J. Brown instead of just drafting a rookie prospect.
• In 2021, we had the Eagles drafting a wide receiver (option No. 2), with DeVonta Smith as the most likely Eagles pick.
• In 2020, it felt rather clear that the Eagles were going to pick a wide receiver, and they did, though obviously the wrong one.
• In 2019, we correctly diagnosed that the Eagles were likely to trade up (option No. 1). They picked who they thought would be Jason Peters' successor (option No. 8).
• In 2018, it felt like a year to trade out of the first round (option No. 1), and that's what they did, eventually picking a tight end (option No. 7).
• In 2017, we were a little more specific, and had the Eagles staying put and drafting Derek Barnett as option No. 3.
Now that we've taken that little trip down memory lane, let's look at the Eagles' top 10 options in 2025. We'll focus specifically on the 32nd overall pick.
10) Wide receiver 🤨
I've seen wide receiver near the top of a few "Eagles team needs" list, and I've also seen some national folks projecting a receiver to the Birds in the first round.
Brown and DeVonta Smith are one of the best WR duos in the NFL, and Jahan Dotson is fine as the WR3 for another season.
Because Brown and Smith dominate targets to the degree that they do, WR3 is a spot where the Eagles can go cheap, both in terms of financial commitments and draft capital.
They're also young. Brown is still only 27. Smith is 26. If they were nearing their 30's and there were a potential for a dropoff in play, then sure. But when you have two star receivers signed through at least 2028, are you going to draft a WR3 in the first round? (No, you aren't.)
9) Trade for a star starter 🌠
Remember when the Eagles traded for Brown, as noted in our little trip down memory lane above? At one time this offseason, it felt a little like the Eagles' first-round pick could be part of a big swing for a star player, like, saayyyy, Myles Garrett, who since signed an extension in Cleveland.
As the offseason has progressed, it has become clear that the Eagles are in cap conservation mode. As such, it is very unlikely that they will trade for a star player, since those deals typically would also require a new contract for the acquired player.
With contract extensions on the horizon for Cam Jurgens, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and a little later down the road for Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, the front office is seeking to keep their home-grown star core in place, making it difficult to also make splash moves for outside talent.
- MORE EAGLES
- Mailbag: How do the Eagles rank the importance of each position?
- Eagles player review: CB Kelee Ringo edition
- Eagles 2025 draft: Will Howie Roseman trade up, trade back, or stay put at pick No. 32?
8) OT-only Lane Johnson successor ⌛
Lane Johnson is 34. He turns 35 in May. But the longer he plays at an elite level, the more he seemingly wants to keep going. He just had one of the best seasons of his stellar career, and he said at the end of the season that his body felt good.
Johnson signed a contract extension through the 2027 season, and he said that he thinks that he can play through the entirety of that deal. There's no reason to doubt him.
The Eagles do have a need for a swing tackle, even after signing veteran Kendall Lamm, and certainly it's never a bad idea to be ready with quality depth when a starting OT goes down. But are the Eagles going to use a premium pick on a tackle-only prospect to sit and wait behind Lane for two-three years, and only play when someone gets hurt? Doubt it.
7) Immediate need, but not a priority position (TE / S / LB) 👎
The Eagles traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson, opening up a potential hole at safety.
They are also poised to move on from Dallas Goedert this offseason, likely after June 1, when the financial impact can be distributed over multiple years.
They also have an opening for a short-term starter at linebacker while they wait for Nakobe Dean to recover from a torn patellar tendon.
In a mailbag post over the weekend, I was asked to rank how the Eagles view the importance of each position. I broke their priorities up into tiers, with QB in Tier 1, OT/EDGE/iDL in Tier 2, and WR/iOL/CB in Tier 3. Way down the list in Tier 4 were RB, TE, LB, and S.
If the Eagles placed a high priority on safeties, they'd have just kept CJGJ. If they really valued tight ends a great deal, they'd just keep Goedert.
Are they going to draft a player with a first-round pick at a position they don't care about all that much? Maybe if there's a player available who they simply can't pass on, but Penn State TE Tyler Warren isn't going to fall that far, and South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori likely won't either.
6) Cornerback 🤔
Cornerback is an interesting position on the Eagles' roster.
On the one hand, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean showed during their rookie seasons that they are ballers. The future of the Eagles' secondary has two major bright spots.
On the other hand, they released Darius Slay, and they lost Isaiah Rodgers and Avonte Maddox to free agency, putting a significant dent in their depth.
Is third-year player Kelee Ringo ready for a promotion from CB5/CB6 to CB3? Is Adoree' Jackson good enough to start if Ringo fails to prove that he can make the leap? And can the team even re-sign Ringo in a year or two if he does prove his worth, since the team is going to have to budget for eventual extensions for Mitchell and DeJean?
Corner is sneaky long-term need, and a position where it's not the worst idea to have a lot of depth.
5) Trade down ⬇️
There are a few quarterbacks in this class who draft analysts are projecting to be taken late in the first round, like Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Louisville's Tyler Shough, and if he falls further than expected, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.
In 2014, the Vikings traded up to pick No. 32 and selected Teddy Bridgewater. In 2018, the Ravens traded up (with the Eagles) and selected Lamar Jackson. Part of the value of selecting a quarterback in Round 1 vs. Round 2 is that teams have the right to exercise a fifth-year option on that player. That's not particularly valuable for players drafted at non-premium positions, but it can be valuable for a very expensive position like quarterback.
The Eagles are loaded up with picks and they don't really need more of them (we'll get to that momentarily), but if a quarterback-desperate team were to make a bonkers offer to move into that final first-round draft slot, the Eagles would at least have to strongly consider trading down.
4) Trade up ⬆️
The Eagles have 8 picks in this draft, and they're projected to have 11 picks in 2026.
They also don't have many needs relative to other teams around the league, so they are well-positioned to make an aggressive move up for a player at a premium position.
As noted in our yearly "trade up / trade back / stay put" post, there are a bunch of teams picking in the 20's that could make sense as trade partners:
- The Steelers (pick 21) don't have a second-round pick.
- The Vikings (pick 24) only have four picks this year. They could be looking to add more.
- The Texans (pick 25) make a buttload of trades with the Eagles.
- The Rams (pick 26) don't have a second-round pick.
- The Commanders (pick 29) don't have third- or fifth-round picks.
As for who could be trade-up targets? As always, think trenches. Missouri OL Armond Membou, Georgia EDGE Mykel Williams, Oregon iDL Derrick Harmon, and North Dakota State OL Grey Zabel are all examples of players unlikely to make it to pick 32 who the Eagles very likely would have interest in.
3) Plug-and-play RG 🥱
The Eagles always have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, often the best. They'd like to keep it that way. And so, they are always going to be on the hunt for offensive linemen in the draft.
If you've been paying attention to the Eagles' Top 30 visits, they have brought in a slew of offensive linemen, many of whom project to guard in the NFL.
Do the Eagles trust Tyler Steen to step into a starting role at RG? Does he have good enough competition in Kenyon Green and Matt Pryor to make the team comfortable if he isn't the answer?
If the team still has doubts about Steen, a plug-and-play OG — like North Dakota State's Grey Zabel or Ohio State's Donovan Jackson — would make sense. They could also potentially draft a "RG of the present, RT of the future," though there aren't many of those types of guys worthy of a first-round choice in this class.
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.
1) EDGE rusher 💪
The Eagles are excited about their young, talented starting duo of Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, but they lost Josh Sweat in free agency and Brandon Graham to retirement.
They added a pair of edge rushers in free agency in Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche, and they're still holding out hope that Bryce Huff will show more in 2025 than he did after a bad 2024 season.
So it's not as if the cupboard is bare, in 2025. However, Ojulari and Uche are on one-year deals, and if Huff is bad again in 2025 he won't be on the team in 2026.
The Eagles could use another edge rusher to add to the rotation immediately in 2025, and they have a clear long-term need.
It's also a loaded edge rusher draft. For example, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah has seven of them in his top 27 overall prospects:
- Abdul Carter, Penn State, 1st overall
- Jalon Walker, Georgia, 5th overall
- Mike Green, Marshall, 21st overall
- Mykel Williams, Georgia, 22nd overall
- Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College, 25th overall
- James Pearce, Tennessee, 26th overall
- Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M, 27th overall
Jeremiah also has Arkansas' Landon Jackson at 46, and Texas A&M's Nic Scourton at 49.
It's the combination of need and supply that makes edge rusher the most likely outcome for the Birds with their first pick in the 2025 draft.
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