April 18, 2026
Over the last five drafts, Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles have hit on a whole lot of Day 1 and Day 2 picks, as Roseman pointed out back in January.
"I'm proud, since coach [Nick Sirianni] has been here, of our first- and second-day draft success," Roseman said. "I think we've drafted 15 guys since Nick has been here in the first and second day, and 14 of them have been long-term starters."
The Eagles have also hit on their share of Day 3 players as well over the years, although obviously those picks are far less likely to pan out. Here we'll rank the 10 best Day 3 picks of the Roseman era.
Note: To make the list, Day 3 picks had to have had their successful seasons with the Eagles, not another team. In other words, you won't find guys like Jordan Poyer or Mack Hollins here.
10) RB Kenny Gainwell, 5th round, 2021: Gainwell was a solid RB2 who did a lot of the dirty work stuff for the Eagles. (If I'm being honest, it was tough figuring out who to put in the 10th spot, and had to reach a bit.)
9) OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, 5th round, 2016: In his four years in Philly, Vaitai ended up being a key player for the Eagles, with his high point coming against Everson Griffen and the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, followed by a starting role in the Super Bowl at left tackle. Whenever the Eagles needed Big V to fill in either for Jason Peters or Lane Johnson, obviously there was a dropoff in talent, but Vaitai mostly performed as ably as to be expected, both at LT and RT.
8) NT Beau Allen, 7th round, 2014: "Honey Beau Beau" was a good rotational run stuffer on an Eagles championship team.
7) CB Avonte Maddox. 4th round, 2018: Maddox had trouble staying on the field due to a wide assortment of injuries, but early in his career he was one of the best slot corners in the NFL.
6) QB Tanner McKee, 6th round, 2023: McKee hasn't often appeared in games for the Eagles, but in the games he has played in he has proven that he is a legitimate QB2, with upside to maybe become a starter at some point, although that would likely be with another team.
5) CB Jalen Mills, 7th round, 2016: Mills wasn't always the most popular Eagles player when he was in Philadelphia, but he was the CB1 of a championship team and he made some big plays along the way, notably his coverage on Julio Jones on the final play of the Divisional Round game against the Falcons in the 2017 playoffs. He also dyed his hair green and he wagged his finger whenever a quarterback would overthrow a receiver by 10 yards.
4) iDL Moro Ojomo, 7th round, 2023: Ojomo was a seventh-round pick who has blossomed into a quality starter who had 6 sacks in 2025. He is going to get paid in free agency next offseason.
3) EDGE Josh Sweat, 4th round, 2018: Sweat fell to Day 3 because of injury concerns, and he barely played at all his rookie season. In Years 2 and 3, he was a rotational edge rusher before becoming a full-time starter in 2021. In his four years as a starter for the Eagles from 2021 to 2024, Sweat had 33 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. He also could have very easily been named Super Bowl MVP after sacking Patrick Mahomes 2.5 times, as well as a QB hit that forced an off-target throw that was intercepted by Zack Baun.
2) OT Jordan Mailata, 7th round, 2018: The Eagles famously drafted Mailata despite him having never played American football, and he didn't play at all his first two seasons in the NFL while he developed behind the scenes. But since 2020, Mailata has played in 90 games (85 starts), and has become one of the best left tackles in the NFL as well as one of the team's leaders in the locker room.
1) C Jason Kelce 6th round, 2011: Six-time First-Team All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler, lock Hall of Famer, and he has a pretty popular podcast.
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