April 02, 2026
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Howie Roseman and the Eagles have done a good job in recent years of finding value in the draft while also addressing team needs.
Now that free agency is pretty much in the rear view mirror, let's rank the Philadelphia Eagles' positional needs in the 2026 NFL Draft.
We will be heavily weighing the team's views of positional importance below, as well as a focusing on the long-term view, which is how the Eagles typically use their early picks. In other words, the goal here is not to simply pick out the most glaring holes on the roster, like we did prior to free agency.
Though still an elite player, Lane Johnson turns 36 in May and he missed almost half the season in 2025. Now feels like the time to find his successor to groom for a starting role in the near future.
Ideal fit: Monroe Freeling, Georgia (Round 1): Freeling crushed the Combine. He has excellent feet, and can easily mirror/match opposing pass rushers. In the run game, he can execute difficult reach blocks, he's effective on combo blocks, and he has the athleticism to track down linebackers and defensive backs in space down the field. He also has some nastiness to his game, and experience playing LT and RT. Freeling could serve as the Eagles' swing tackle short-term, and eventually take over for Johnson at RT.
The downside is that Freeling is inexperienced, as he has just 17 career starts. However, he improved significantly throughout the 2025 season and played his best football down the stretch. He has the highest upside of any offensive tackle prospect in this draft, in my opinion.
Bonus ideal fit: Kadyn Proctor, Alabama (Round 1): If the Eagles are looking for optionality, Proctor is a mammoth offensive tackle at 6'7, 352, but he is also a pretty ridiculous athlete for a man his size. He came in at No. 2 on Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" list last summer. Proctor has started at LT for Bama since 2023. He could succeed Johnson at RT, assuming he could flip to that side of the line. He also could maybe be a replacement at guard for Landon Dickerson, if Dickerson's body doesn't allow him to play into his 30's.
The wide receiver position could have a wide variance on this list, depending on whether you think the Eagles will trade A.J. Brown or not.
If the Eagles trade Brown, DeVonta Smith -- who was better a better football player than Brown in 2025 -- would become the WR1, a role he is more than ready for. The Eagles would then need a WR2. (Marquise Brown is fine as a WR3, I suppose, but he's not a WR2, in my opinion.)
If the Eagles don't trade Brown, they still could use help at receiver, as Brown isn't going to play a high level forever, but it would be a far less pressing need.
Ideal fit: Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State (Round 1): Tyson is a slippery route runner, particularly for a receiver with pretty good size. He is a contested catch beast, often skying above defensive backs, and he can also make plays after the catch, with creative moves to make defenders miss. He has the most impressive highlight reel of any receiver in this class, and arguably the highest upside, but he also has a concerning injury history.
The Eagles tried hard to retain Jaelan Phillips, but they were outbid by the edge-desperate Panthers. In trying to keep Phillips for what would have been a highly lucrative payday, the Eagles signaled that they are not fully comfortable going into the season with what they have on the edge presently.
It's a strong edge class, and the Eagles have a need.
We have argued earlier this offseason that the Eagles are highly likely to address the offense with their first-round pick, but if they were to make an exception it would likely be on the edge.
Ideal fit: Zion Young, Missouri (Round 2): Young is a power rusher with good size (6'6, 262), a non-stop motor, and an aggressive temperament. He can be a successor in the Brandon Graham role, both as a player and as a talker.
Landon Dickerson is still only 27 years old, but his body has taken a beating and he is probably a year-to-year retirement candidate at this point in his career. Meanwhile, Cam Jurgens played through what sounds like a brutal back injury in 2024, and he was not fully recovered from offseason surgery in advance of a down 2025 season.
Tyler Steen was a competent starter at RG in 2025, and my understanding is that the Eagles like second-year pro Drew Kendall, but they need to add more interior offensive linemen prospects to their pipeline.
Ideal fit: Logan Jones, Iowa (Round 4): The Eagles love them some athletic offensive linemen, and Jones came in at No. 7 on Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" list last summer. The Eagles have had a habit of drafting centers when they already have a good starting center in place, and then figuring it out from there. They selected Isaac Seumalo, Landon Dickerson, and Cam Jurgens while Jason Kelce was on the team, and they all played guard with the Eagles, at least initially in Jurgens' case. Jones feels like their jam on the interior of the line, and I wouldn't rule out an eventual Jurgens move to guard at some point.
Safety is probably the most glaring need on the Eagles' roster at the moment. The top safety on the roster (Andrew Mukuba) is a 5'11, 186-pound second-year player who missed half his rookie season. The next top two safeties -- Marcus Epps and Michael Carter (?) -- were more or less discarded by their former teams.
But again, we're heavily weighing the team's views of positional importance.
The Eagles are going to add more safeties. Howie Roseman said as much a the owners meetings in Phoenix. However, he also intimated that the Eagles didn't match the modest $8.25 million/year contract Reed Blankenship signed with the Texans, because they wanted to put that money toward more important positions.
Ideal fit: Bishop Fitzgerald, USC (Day 3): Fitzgerald had 5 INTs in 2025, and 10 INTs for his career. He's instinctive against the pass and the run, and can fill Blankenship's spot on the back end, with Mukuba taking on more of the cover safety responsibilities.
For the second consecutive offseason it felt like Dallas Goedert would no longer be with the Eagles, and then they brought him back. Goedert, now 31, gives the Eagles' short-term stability at the position, but the Eagles still need a long-term solution.
It was surprising that the Eagles not only didn't draft a tight end last year, but also didn't even sign any undrafted tight ends. I can't imagine that will happen again in the 2026 draft, but by bringing Goedert back the team won't be forced to reach for positional need here.
Ideal fit: Michael Trigg, Baylor (Round 3): Trigg is a playmaker who had 50 catches for 694 receiving yards (13.9 YPC), and six TDs in 2025. He finished third in the nation among tight ends in receiving yards. He has good athleticism, outstanding hands, a huge catch radius (99th percentile wingspan), and he fights for yards after the catch. Trigg has a similar skill set as first-round prospect Kenyon Sadiq, but isn't as good a blocker. Personally, I'd rather have Trigg in Round 3 and try to develop his blocking skills than trade up for Sadiq in Round 1.
The Eagles have two young All-Pro corners on their rookie contracts in Quinyon Mitchell Cooper DeJean, and they signed the talented-but-inconsistent Riq Woolen in free agency. There's a strong argument that the Eagles have the best cornerback trio in the NFL.
However, Woolen feels like a one-year rental. If he plays well for the Eagles in 2026, he'll likely get a big contract elsewhere in 2027 free agency. If he doesn't, the Eagles won't want him back.
And so, that leaves open the possibility that the Eagles could spend a mid-round pick on a corner to develop for 2027 and beyond.
Ideal fit: Daylen Everette, Georgia (Round 3): Everette was a five-star recruit who played sparingly as a freshman on Georgia's National Championship team. He got his first taste of being a starter in 2023, and started full-time in 2024 and 2025. He has good length and 4.38 speed (an Eagles prerequisite); and he is thought of as a cerebral corner with toughness in run support. The knock on him is change of direction skills against quicker receivers, not unlike Kelee Ringo, but Everette is a more savvy player than Ringo, and thus has a better chance of working around his deficiencies.
Jordan Davis already got a contract extension this offseason, and Jalen Carter is likely to get one as well. Add in Moro Ojomo and the Eagles have as strong an interior D-line duo as there is in the NFL.
The Eagles could add another interior guy in preparation for potentially losing Ojomo in free agency next offseason, but it's hardly a pressing need.
Ideal fit: Kaleb Proctor, SE Louisiana (Day 3): Playing against weaker competition, Proctor had 9 sacks in 2025, and 39 hurries, per PFF. He is small, but with outstanding athleticism. The Eagles will likely lean toward interior linemen who can rush the passer, since they already locked up Davis long-term, and Proctor has traits to develop.
The Eagles allowed Nakobe Dean to walk in free agency because they are set at linebacker with a star player in his prime in Zack Baun and a 2025 first-round pick in Jihaad Campbell, who proved worthy of a starting spot as a rookie. The Eagles also have invested in young depth on Day 3 of recent drafts, with young players like Jeremiah Trotter and Smael Mondon carving out roles on special teams while waiting for opportunities in the regular defense.
Ideal fit: Harold Perkins, LSU: Perkins is a linebacker / edge defender tweener in the same mold as Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell. He had a monster season as a freshman in 2022, when he had 72 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and an INT. In 2023, he had 75 tackles, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an INT. In 2024, he suffered an ACL tear and only played in four games. In 2025, he had four sacks and three INTs. Perkins is a versatile defender who can drop into coverage and rush the passer from all sorts of alignments, but is being thought of as a Day 3 pick because he does not possess the same explosiveness that he had, pre-injury.
The Eagles have three quarterbacks on their roster after trading for Andy Dalton. However, the possibility for a trade of Tanner McKee lingers, and they're only paying Dalton $1.5 million, which means his roster spot isn't a certainty.
If they really like a quarterback, the Eagles have rarely hesitated to pull the trigger.
Ideal fit: Garrett Nussmeier, LSU: Nussmeier's ceiling is perhaps limited due to a lack of impressive physical traits, but he has a quick, accurate delivery, and can make throws on the move, which could be a plus in the boot game in Sean Mannion's offense.
The Eagles employ the highest-paid back in the NFL in Saquon Barkley; a quality RB2 in Tank Bigsby who they couldn't find playing time for in 2025; and Will Shipley, who had a disappointing 2025 but who the team still likes. They also added a fourth back in Dameon Pierce, who will be fighting for a roster spot.
Maybe they'll take a late-round flier on someone, or bring in an undrafted guy or two, but next year feels like the more logical time to draft a running back, especially since this running back class stinks.
Ideal fit: Kaelon Black, Indiana: Rugged tackle breaker from a National Championship team who isn't going to rip off many long runs, but who will get the yards that are there.
Jake Elliott isn't going anywhere after the Eagles guaranteed $5 million of his 2026 contract. The team is also set at punter, with Braden Mann inking a new $14 million deal.
The Eagles do need a long snapper, but I don't think you'll see the Eagles burn a draft pick on one.
Ideal fit: Beau Gardner, LS, Georgia: I'm just taking a shot in the dark here. But also, if I'm throwing darts give me the Georgia guy, who might be convinced to sign in Philly as a UDFA given the Georgia-Philly pipeline.
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