April 23, 2026
Brett Davis/Imagn Images
Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor (74) is a popular choice among Eagles beat reporters to be the Eagles' first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The day of the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft is finally here. In case you missed our final seven-round Eagles-only mock draft or my lone full first-round mock draft, be sure to check those out. Here's who some of the other local beats are projecting to the Eagles in Round 1, submitted without commentary of my own.
National draft analysts here. Over the years, the local beats have consistently fared better with first-round predictions that the national draft experts, although none of us hit the Jihaad Campbell pick last year. One national guy (Daniel Jeremiah) did.
Other beats, if I missed yours, I just couldn't find it and I'm sorry.
On the field, this player screams Eagles draft pick. He’s a former top recruit who was a first-team All-American and is still only 20, started 40 games in the SEC, and is 6 feet 7 and 352 pounds with movement skills and athleticism (a 32 1/2-inch vertical jump at 352 pounds!). The concern might be his weight, which was also the case with Jordan Davis. If you feel comfortable betting on the player and the person, it’s worth it. The Davis pick would be a good comparison because you’re operating with the premise that there aren’t that many people with this combination of size and athletic traits.
The Eagles know they can’t keep kicking the can down the road on setting up a succession plan along the offensive line. This offseason could be considered a warning shot. Lane Johnson and Landon Dickerson both decided to return this year, so the Eagles dodged what could have been a sudden (and possibly damning) vulnerability. Proctor seems an ideal pick at this spot. At 6-6, 352 pounds, he fits the franchise’s profile for the position. He’s durable (he started 40 games in three seasons) and disciplined (18 straight starts without a holding penalty). His proficiency in the run game fits the Eagles’ needs in restoring an identity. Brugler noted Proctor needs development in his technique. The Eagles shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity for a successor to learn from Johnson, one of the best players in team history.
Proposed trade: Carolina Panthers send picks 19, 119, and 200 to the Eagles for Nos. 23, 68, and 197.
The Eagles pounce on a falling offensive tackle in Freeling, who started just one full season at Georgia but is an excellent athlete with light feet in pass protection and can move in space as a run blocker. He becomes the Eagles’ successor to Lane Johnson.
Yeah, I’m sticking with Iheanachor. In my last mock draft, I had the Eagles picking Iheanachor and I’m not moving off of that. He just feels like an Eagles pick to me. Iheanachor (6-6, 321) might be a tad raw but his ceiling is exceptionally high. And as the Eagles look to find Lane Johnson’s eventual replacement, they should be taking a big swing at a player who has great potential. Iheanachor fits that bill. He needs some refinement but he does have high-level college starting experience already and the frame and athleticism to make you think he has a very bright future.
The Eagles have injury questions surrounding 60 percent of their offensive line with Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson, and Miller becomes the heir apparent at right tackle that the Eagles have been hoping to find for a few years now. Miller might be closest to a sure thing among all the offensive tackles in this draft. A definite high-floor guy based on his experience, his refined technique and his versatility to swing inside and play guard if needed, which just could be where he starts out. Miller is just a solid, prospect who started four years at Clemson and made 1st-team all-ACC three times. As close to a finished product as there is among all the o-linemen in this draft. For all the talk about how much Howie Roseman loves drafting offensive linemen in the first round, he hasn’t taken any since Andre Dillard seven years ago, and he hasn’t even taken any offensive players in the first round since DeVonta Smith in 2021. If Miller is on the board, he makes too much sense for Roseman to pass up.
He has only been playing football since 2021 (really 2022), played basketball and soccer growing up, has a great RAS score and because of his strength projects better at guard. I can already hear Howie Roseman talking about the potential Iheanachor has in his body. He starts for Tyler Steen this year, giving the Eagles a bigger guard next to Lane Johnson and next summer we all debate if they would move him to tackle.
With trade winds swirling around A.J. Brown all offseason, the Eagles are likely to be moving on, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, from one of the greatest receivers in franchise history. They have done some work to account for his potential departure by signing Hollywood Brown and Elijah Moore to one-year deals before trading with the Green Bay Packers for Dontayvion Wicks. But general manager Howie Roseman will not be shy about adding more playmakers to complement DeVonta Smith if the draft-board value lines up.
I’m really of the mind that the Eagles prefer to trade up for an offensive tackle in this year’s draft. They’ve wanted to draft a potential Lane Johnson successor for years now but the board just hasn’t worked out that way. Maybe that’s the case again this year if there’s a run on tackles before they pick at No. 23. But I don’t think Howie Roseman is going to be so patient and will rather try to preempt such a run.
In the event that Roseman can’t reasonably move up and he has to sit tight at No. 23, that’s where I see Faulk coming into play...
The feeling here is that Faulk checks a lot of boxes; his profile is one worth betting on. The Eagles seem to be interested in acquiring a more proven commodity at edge rusher but it’s looking like that might be a costly option between contract and draft pick compensation ramifications. Faulk represents good value at No. 23 and the Eagles do appear to be interested in him; Faulk recently told the Inquirer’s Devin Jackson that Philly hosted him on a pre-draft visit.
Eagles trade 1.23 and 3.98 to the Dallas Cowboys for 1.20 and 5.180
The board begins to dry up for the Eagles, and so I have them executing the same trade I had for them last week, moving up three spots to get Freeling from Georgia. Freeling doesn’t have to play right away and can develop behind the scenes behind Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata.
Eagles trade picks No. 23 and 98 to the Carolina Panthers for pick No. 19
With a broad consensus that this year’s draft class lacks the typical volume of first-round caliber players and Howie Roseman’s tendency to be aggressive pursuing players with those grades, it’s easy to see the Eagles trying to trade up or down from the 23rd pick on Thursday.
Determining who a potential move up would be for is slightly more difficult. This type of move could have just as easily been for one of the offensive line prospects who are projected just out of reach for the team. Our draft expert Fran Duffy had the Eagles moving up three spots to take Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling last week, and Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor or a falling Spencer Fano could also be worthwhile targets with a move like this.
In this exercise, though, it’s for one of the best pass catchers in the draft and a player who can help usher in Sean Mannion’s system, which will be predicated on having multiple tight ends who can hold up in the run game in addition to being dynamic with the ball in their hands. Sadiq’s highlights mostly revolve around difficult catches and explosive runs into the open field, but he’s also flashed plenty as a blocker despite being slightly undersized for the position at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.
Shocking, huh? I know most mock drafts have this pick. I’m guessing that both Monroe Freeling and Kadyn Proctor will be off the board. Iheanachor has a higher ceiling than Caleb Lomu or Blake Miller. Iheanachor could come in and work at RG as a rookie or they could have him focus on RT to get ready for the future. He is a terrific prospect. He’s got good size and length. He ran 4.91 at the Combine, with a 10 split of 1.74. That’s excellent for a big man. Iheanachor has good feet and is a good pass protector. He faced some elite pass rushers in the Big 12 and more than held his own. He shows a real nasty streak, wanting to bury defenders when he’s got the chance. Iheanachor had a strong season. He followed that with impressive showings at both the Senior Bowl and Combine. He’s checked all the boxes and would be an outstanding heir apparent to Lane Johnson.
As much as Vega Ioane would be a home run pick for the Eagles, I don't think he's getting past the Ravens at No. 14. And I don't think Roseman wants to part with the draft capital that it would take to move up 10 spots.
That's why Sadiq is the pick. To get him, the Eagles will likely have to trade up ahead of Carolina at No. 19. That is more realistic for the Eagles, and it sets them up for the present and the future.
Ultimately, I finished where I started. Proctor was an obvious fit had the Eagles not moved on from Jeff Stoutland, a power-based player with athleticism that could start inside at guard and kick outside to right tackle when Lane Johnson walked away.
When the Eagles moved away from Stoutland and to a wide-zone philosophy, the easy mindset was to drift to Clemson’s Blake Miller or Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor, and any of that trio could be in the mix.
Howie Roseman’s insistence that the Eagles’ personnel department evaluates independently of scheme reversed me back to Proctor, who should be the pick if available, hardly a given with Detroit in the mix for the former Alabama star at No. 17 overall.
23: TRADE. Eagles move back with the Chiefs, sending this pick to Kansas City for its pick at No. 29 and a Chiefs third-round choice in next year’s draft. Roseman has only moved down once in the past 10 years, and that was the first draft after their first Super Bowl. Roseman moved out of the first round all together in 2018 rather than make a pick at No. 32.
The GM has moved up seven time in the last 10 years and stayed put twice, but again, it’s an outside-the-box zag:
29: Max Iheanachor, Offensive Line, Arizona State. If he’s not here, there will be other options available in the trenches. Howie Roseman isn’t known for trading down. The GM prefers to be aggressive and move up, and he very well could.
Iheanachor is the third different offensive tackle I’ve mocked in this space, and it was his tools and ceiling that served as the driving force in my thought process. Depending on how the board falls, offensive tackle could wind up being the position that offers the most value at 23, aligning with the Eagles’ need to identify a successor to bedrock right tackle, Lane Johnson.
Utah’s Caleb Lomu garnered consideration here — and Clemson’s Blake Miller and his 54 starts would present a safer option — but Iheanachor profiles as a player on the upswing. The 22-year-old, who arrived at Arizona State via East Los Angeles College, is still relatively new to football but logged 31 starts for the Sun Devils over a three-year span. A 2025 second-team All-Big 12 selection, Iheanachor is athletic and powerful and functions well is space. Iheanachor’s near 34-inch arm length is another positive that should aid his transition. Though he remains a work in progress and his overall game needs refinement, one can assume Iheanachor’s athleticism would be a valued commodity in light of the Eagles’ schematic changes.
• 5 projections: Max Iheanachor
• 3 projections each: Kadyn Proctor, Monroe Freeling
• 2 projections each: Kenyon Sadiq, Blake Miller
• 1 projection each: Denzel Boston, Keldrick Faulk
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