May 19, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni will have some tough roster decisions to make at the end of August.
Last month, the Eagles selected eight prospects in the NFL Draft. They made three picks in the top 70 on Days 1 and 2 and came back Saturday with five more selections.
The thing is, they might not have eight open spots on the 53-man roster thanks to Howie Roseman loading the team with several big-contract stars and replenishing depth with a boatload of veterans on one-year deals.
The Eagles will have some difficult choices to make after training camp on plenty of those veterans, let alone first-year players who will have yet to play a real snap in the NFL when it's time to whittle the roster down to 53.
Roseman prefers to keep his drafted rookies for as long as possible, even knowing some of them won't be active or contribute much in Year 1. Last year's fifth-round picks, CB Mac McWilliams and OC/OG Drew Kendall, played just 156 combined snaps, the majority of them coming in the Week 18 "resting starters" game. McWilliams was only active for 5 games, Kendall for 7.
Two sixth-rounders from the 2025 draft, offensive linemen Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams, also avoided being waived – Williams made the initial 53 before being placed on injured reserve after Week 1 (shoulder), and Hinton was placed on IR at the cutdown (back) and missed almost the entire season.
But Roseman did cut two sixth-rounders from last year – QB Kyle McCord and EDGE Antwuan Powell-Ryland – despite them both being prospects of positional value.
Which of the eight drafted rookies from 2026 is likeliest to become the next McCord or Powell-Ryland?
Let's determine that answer using the process of elimination.
Day 1 and 2 picks just don't get cut in Year 1. It hasn't happened for the Eagles in more than 30 years.
Bank on first-round WR Makai Lemon, second-round TE Eli Stowers and third-round OT Markel Bell all making the 53, even if they implode at training camp or the preseason.
The Eagles already knew Stowers needed a ton of blocking work and probably wouldn't see a huge percentage of playing time this year when they used the 54th pick on him. They also knew that Bell would be competing to be a backup when they picked him 68th overall and backup o-linemen don't play unless there's an injury.
Every Day 1/2 pick of the Howie Roseman era, including some of the worst, have made the team as a rookie. That list includes DT Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (third round, 2010), S Jaiquawn Jarrett (second round, 2011), CB Curtis Marsh (third round, 2011), WR Josh Huff (third round, 2014), CB Eric Rowe (second round, 2015), and WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (second round, 2019).
The last Day 1 or 2 rookie to get cut before the start of the season was former UCLA nose tackle Bruce Walker, the 37th overall pick in 1994.
Even though Roseman parted ways early last season with McCord, a developmental QB from Syracuse, there's no way he does the same with this year's fifth-round QB Cole Payton.
McCord, a conventional pocket QB, had a terrible training camp and preseason. He lacked any special athletic tools that could be developed and honed, thus making him expendable. The team didn't believe it made sense for McCord to occupy a spot on the 53 without any sign of a higher ceiling.
Payton has too many athletic traits that are worth the time to develop. The Eagles knew the North Dakota State prospect was more of an athlete than a QB when they used the 178th overall pick on him. They'll be committed to giving him at least one year, and probably longer, because of that potential upside.
This brings us to everyone else – a sixth-rounder and three seventh-rounders. Let's first make the case for why each should stick.
Sixth-round OL Micah Morris: The former Georgia guard has great size (6-5, 334) and elite athleticism for his position. His RAS score was 9.97 out of 10. The Eagles badly need good depth on the interior offensive line, which was banged up all last season. Second-year G/C Drew Kendall is their only interior offensive lineman who has actually played in an NFL game. Other candidates include Hollin Pierce, a mammoth 2025 rookie free agent who has an OT frame and pedigree; Willie Lampkin, a 5-foot-10 center and 2025 rookie free agent who was claimed off waivers by the Eagles after the Rams waived him out of training camp last year with an injury; and possibly Markel Bell if the Eagles decide to cross-train the third-round rookie on the inside.
Seventh-round S Cole Wisniewski: Despite having a tad too much size for the position (6-3, 219), Wisniewski played in a college scheme that resembles Vic Fangio's defense. The Eagles also have almost no depth at safety. In fact, they don't even have a starter at the moment next to Andrew Mukuba. Even if they acquire an obvious starting safety before September, the Eagles will have depth concerns at this position. Wisniewski can easily make the 53 if he can pick up the defense quickly and, more importantly, show his value on special teams.
Seventh-round DT Uar Bernard: The native of Nigeria has never played a down of football at any level in his life, but he probably has the best chance to make the 53 of all Day 3 picks. Why? Because he's got an incredible athleticism and the Eagles know he needs time to develop, and because he might be too risky to expose to waivers.
Seventh-round EDGE Keyshawn James-Newby: The Eagles cut their sixth-round EDGE prospect last year, but James-Newby comes with something that Powell-Ryland didn't – 4.5 speed. In past years, the Eagles have kept an extra undersized EDGE on the 53 for special teams – Patrick Johnson and Kyron Johnson, for example.
I had to choose between Micah Morris and Keyshawn James-Newby, and it wasn't easy. In the end, I went with Keyshawn James-Newby. Is it a copout because he was the team's last pick? Maybe, but it's more than just that.
The lack of depth on the interior o-line provides a clearer pathway for Morris, whose biggest issue is that he's inexperienced, with just 19 starts at Georgia. The biggest obstacle for him is that Roseman has stockpiled o-linemen over the past two drafts and might not be able to keep all of them but Roseman has shown a commitment in the past to go heavy on the o-line at the expense of other positions.
James-Newby's pathway is obstructed by a potential Brandon Graham return. The Eagles are already locked into Jonathan Greenard, Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith Jr. and Arnold Ebiketie into four spots. Graham would be the fifth EDGE. It'll be nearly impossible for Roseman to keep a sixth just for special teams if he's already going heavy elsewhere. Unless he winds up trading off some veterans before the end of camp, Roseman won't have enough room to keep James-Newby, who should easily be brought back to the practice squad.
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