The Philadelphia Eagles have been on a hot streak since they picked Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 draft. The 2022 draft, as a whole, was no different. We saw Howie Roseman dive headfirst into the Georgia Bulldogs’ defense and make some really, really awesome trades. All of that set the Eagles up for their Super Bowl LVII run, and ultimately, their Super Bowl LIX win.
The average length of a player's career in the NFL is three-ish years. That means we've seen how things have kind of played out with the guys that the Eagles drafted and the guys that the chose not to draft. Now we can somewhat accurately grade the Eagles 2022 draft.
2022: The genesis of the Philadelphia Dawgs
When we’re looking at the draft grade here, I’m taking into account if a player gets a second contract, the amount of playing time they have, and how effective they’ve been. I can only grade things that I know, and while I have an idea that all of the Georgia boys playing together now really helps them, I can’t actually quantify that, and I’m not going to grade it.
First Round: Jordan Davis (Pick 13)
Jordan Davis is excellent doing what he does. He is a gigantic dude who is awesome at stopping the run, but he doesn’t offer a whole lot as a pass rusher. Because of that, he’s not really on the field for passing downs.
In 2022, he only played 26.2% of the snaps. In 2023, he played 45.1%, and in 2024, it went down to 37.6%. When you’re talking about a first-round pick on the defensive line, you want more than that, especially if it’s a first-round pick that you traded up for.
The Eagles traded up from the 15th pick to the 13th pick to grab Davis, and it cost them that 15th pick, a fourth-round pick, and two fifth-round picks. That’s not necessarily massive, but it is draft capital, and we know how much Howie Roseman values that.
The other thing to take into account is who the Eagles didn’t pick. Right after they drafted Davis, the Ravens drafted the super good, two-time All-Pro Safety Kyle Hamilton. At that point, you could argue that the Eagles still needed a safety, and that need was more pressing than what they had on the defensive line.
Regardless, the Eagles just exercised Jordan Davis’ fifth-year option, and that makes grading this pick a whooooole lot easier. If they didn’t pick it up and let him become a free agent after this season, this pick would probably be a C…
But they did pick it up, and that means they have at least some confidence that he’ll make a jump as a pass rusher in year four. Notoriously, it takes a little bit more time for defensive linemen to hit their stride in the NFL, so that confidence isn’t unfounded. The Jordan Davis pick gets a solid B to B+.
First round trade: A.J. Brown
This won’t count towards the overall grade for the draft, but I’m not, not going to mention this. The Eagles traded the 18th overall pick in the draft to the Titans and, in return, received the best wide receiver in Philadelphia Eagles history. A+++ move. Perfetto. Buenisimo.
Second Round: Cam Jurgens (Pick 51)
This is an easy A+. Initially, the Eagles drafted Landon Dickerson to be Jason Kelce’s replacement at center. It turns out that he ended up being one of the best guards in the entire NFL. A year later, they drafted Cam Jurgens to be Kelce’s new replacement. He spent the 2022 season on the bench, the 2023 season as the starting right guard, and then the 2024 season at his rightful spot as the starting center.
The thought going into the 2024 season was that the Eagles' offensive line might take a step back since it was the first season without Jason Kelce as the starting center since 2013. It absolutely didn’t, and they were the best offensive line in the NFL.
Cam Jurgens ended up being a Pro Bowler and earned a four-year, $68 million contract extension. He’s the center of the future. This was a perfect pick, and the Eagles were able to use their own pick to get him without any sort of trade.
Third Round: Nakobe Dean (Pick 83)
All in all, Nakobe Dean has played linebacker in just 26 of a possible 51 regular-season games, so this is a little tough.
Dean was drafted to (maybe) be a starting linebacker alongside T.J. Edwards. Then Kyzir White, who the Eagles signed on a one-year $5 million deal, ended up playing unbelievably well.
Because of that, Dean wasn’t able to get on the field. You can’t blame the team for that, though. That team was Super Bowl-bound pretty much from the jump, and starting a rookie linebacker over a guy who was clearly outplaying his contract would be crazy.
In 2023, Dean was the starting linebacker, but he got hurt in Week 1 and went onto the IR. He came off the IR a little later, but went right back on it about halfway through the season. That means he only ended up playing in five games throughout the entire season. It turns out that he had Lisfranc injuries in both of his feet, which must have been miserable.
In 2024, he was healthy for almost the entire season until he tore his patellar tendon in the divisional round of the playoffs. It really stunk because he was playing at an extremely high level, and it was easy to see why the Eagles drafted him.
He’s also going to be out the vast majority, if not the entirety, of the 2025 season. That’s not good.
Unfortunately, drafting Nakobe Dean in the third round of the 2022 draft is going to have to be graded with a C+, and it’s just because of how much he’s played. If he does come back from the injury and gets a second contract with the team, that grade can be bumped up, but as of right now, it is what it is.
Sixth Round: Kyron Johnson (Pick 181)
The Kyron Johnson pick didn’t really work out for the Eagles. They drafted him with the 181st pick in the draft, but they had to trade their 188th (sixth-round) and 237th (seventh-round) picks to the Lions in order to get him.
Johnson ended up playing just 16 defensive snaps with the Eagles in 2022, and all of those were in garbage time in three games. He did have playing time on special teams (265 snaps), which is nice, but that’s not enough to give this pick a passing grade — especially when you factor in the trade up to get him.
The Eagles released Johnson in October of 2023, and as of right now, he's on a reserve/futures contract with the Titans. It’s pretty cut and dry, the Kyron Johnson pick is a D+.
Sixth Round: Grant Calcaterra (Pick 198)
By no means is Grant Calcaterra a phenomenal sixth-round pick, but he is definitely above average.
Dallas Goedert’s had some issues staying healthy over the past couple of seasons, and when he missed time in 2024, Calcaterra filled in really nicely as a pass catcher. Per Next Gen Stats, he had a career-high 766 offensive snaps, 257 routes run, 24 catches, 298 receiving yards, and one touchdown.
He’s had some pretty clutch moments too, which makes sense. When it’s an offense with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on the field, there’s going to be someone running a route who’s not going to be getting attention. That guy is Grant Calcaterra, and he’s done well with his opportunities.
It was very clear that the Eagles were comfortable with Calcaterra being part of the passing game — and when you’re talking about a backup tight end, that’s pretty good.
Another thing to take into account for Calcaterra’s draft grade is that the Eagles traded back to get him. That’s going to bump this grade up from a B to a B+.
Final Grade:
All in all, the Eagles’ five draft picks in the 2022 draft get a B+, A+, C+, D+, and a B+. It really comes down to what you value more: a not-so-great pick in the third round, or hitting pretty well on a sixth-round pick.
Overall, this draft gets a B. The Eagles drafted one of the best run-stuffing defensive tackles in the first round, found their center-of-the-future in the second round, and a good backup tight end in the sixth round. That’s a good, but not great draft.
Now, if you put in the part where they traded two first-round picks to the Saints for what ended up being A.J. Brown and the ninth overall pick in the 2023 draft (that ended up being Jalen Carter), the Eagles' 2022 draft weekend ended up being an A+.