NFL Draft grades: Experts rave about Eagles haul originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles entered the 2022 NFL Draft with 10 picks.
They walked away with five rookies, one Pro Bowl receiver and impressive marks from draft graders around the country.
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As a reminder, here’s a look at the Eagles’ draft class of 2022:
1-13: Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
2-51: Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska
3-83: Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
6-181: Kyron Johnson, LB, Kansas
6-198: Grant Calcaterra, TE, SMU
“As we know it's an adjustment coming from college football to the NFL,” Eagles GM Howie Roseman said, “but I think that just if you would have even said to me, I was just thinking about it after the draft, if you had said to me that a week ago, this would have been the players that we got, I would have said, ‘What picks do we have to use in the future to go get those guys?’”
Eagles 2022 Draft
In addition to those five players, the Eagles were able to acquire veteran receiver A.J. Brown for No. 18 and No. 101 in this class. And you still have to factor in the extra first-round pick the Eagles got in a trade with the Saints earlier in April.
With all that in mind, the Eagles got a ton of high marks from this weekend:
"The Eagles get bonus points for Howie Roseman pulling off the trade for young A.J. Brown to help Jalen Hurts stretch the field and provide a big-play complement to sound all-around 2021 first-rounder DeVonta Smith. Philadelphia converted its first-round volume into immense immediate impact with the Georgia picks Davis and Dean to get much stronger up the middle defensively. Jurgens was a mild reach, but he can end up starting somewhere inside soon. Calcaterra is a good stash for help in 12 personnel with Dallas Goedert."
"We’re only giving out two A-plusses in this draft, so kudos to the Eagles for netting one of them. Obviously, the A.J. Brown trade should be factored into this haul. While teams were jockeying over unproven talent, the Eagles went out and got a player who, if he were in this year’s draft, may have gone in the top three. Jurgens, selected with the blessing of long-time center Jason Kelce, is a clone of the legendary Eagles center. Pull up some Nebraska tape from this year and watch Jurgens fly off the ball on some athletic pulling maneuver, or whip downfield on a screen pass. There is a reason Kelce has been able to thrive as a sixth-round pick for as long as he has, and Jurgens has that same athletic core in spades. Davis was one of our favorite players in this draft and, paired with Fletcher Cox for at least one season, he makes up a formidable inside-rush tandem that will haunt the quarterbacks of the NFC East.
"Dean is worth a flier despite the Eagles not really suited for taking risks at the moment. The Georgia linebacker dropped in the draft, reportedly because of a handful of injuries that he denies are serious. We’ve seen other players, such as Myles Jack, drop for similar reasons and go on to have successful careers. Dean is agile and, despite being on the smaller side, makes up for his lack of heft with some noticeable smarts. There were certainly some plays at Georgia that popped off the screen while having nothing to do with the all-star cast in front of him."
"The Eagles pulled off an excellent draft, making great trades with the Colts (last year's Carson Wentz deal) and Saints (acquiring future picks) before the event even started. They secured a beast on the defensive line in Davis to improve their run defense, acquired veteran A.J. Brown from the Titans to bolster the receiver group, secured a future starting center in Jurgens and put aside Dean's medical issues to bring in the top-50 talent in the third round.
"Adding another linebacker in Johnson was a bit of a surprise; it was at a good spot in the draft and he could be a good Sam. Calcaterra temporarily gave up football due to concussions while at Oklahoma but proved his pass-catching skills again at SMU; he'll be a valuable backup or better in the NFL."
"This was really good. It is almost impossible, by definition, to emerge from a draft with a wide receiver proven to be of Pro Bowl quality. But that’s what the Eagles managed to do with Thursday’s trade for A.J. Brown. It cost them a big contract but bought the Eagles a level of certainty not available in the draft. They also did well with their choices of DT Jordan Davis, an eventual replacement for Fletcher Cox, and LB Nakobe Dean, an amazing third-round value if he indeed is healthy."
"The Eagles came into the draft with multiple first-round picks and used one of them on a veteran player, trading with Tennessee for superstar wide receiver A.J. Brown and giving him the contract extension the Titans wouldn’t.
"Their other pick was spent on monster defensive tackle Jordan Davis. There have been concerns about Davis’ ability to play a high volume of snaps, but there are so many things to love about what the 341-pounder can bring to Philadelphia’s defense. He can single-handedly change the way a defense operates against the run, allowing the Eagles to devote more resources to coverage and creating more third-and-long situations. And Davis’ rare athleticism at his size points to the idea that he’s not just an early-down run-stuffer. He represents the future at the position, with Fletcher Cox trending in the wrong direction the past few years."
"The extent to which you’re all in on this draft has a lot to do with your view of Jordan Davis’ NFL potential. If you think he’s stuck as a two-down run-plugger, you’re likely put off by a 13th overall pick here. But if, like me, you have studied what Davis was asked to do in Georgia’s defense (hold the point more than pressure), and you aren’t worried about weight and effort stuff, and you see the flashes of total disruption against the best the NCAA has to offer, you might think the Eagles got Vita Vea with even more pass-rushing potential. I’m in the latter camp, so there you go.
"As to Jurgens, the athletic Nebraska center, Jason Kelce has already taken the rookie under his wing, and even suggested to the Eagles that they select his eventual replacement. Jurgens will lose strength battles (like Kelce), but also like Kelce, he’s a tough, smart blocker who can run any kind of zone you want, and can also beat people up at the second and that levels.
"And to get Nakobe Dean, Davis’ past and future teammate, where they did? Well, Dean had first-round tape and third-round medicals. It’s a bit of a risk, but if healthy, Dean can solve most of the Eagles’ linebacker problems in a hurry. Grant Calcaterra is a sneaky-good tight end who can excel in this offense.
"Given the future draft capital they got from the Saints pre-draft, it’s hard to dislike where the Eagles went, especially if Dean pans out."
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