The Philadelphia Eagles have lost seven key players on defense so far this offseason and two on offense. It wasn’t all just through free agency, either: C.J. Gardner-Johnson left in a trade with the Texans and veteran pass rusher Brandon Graham retired on Tuesday.
It’s been a gut punch seeing the best defense in the NFL get vultured, more or less. It took a minute, but the Eagles did eventually add some players, most notably edge rushers Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari, neither of whom really strikes fear into the hearts of opponents.
Luckily, the draft is coming up at the end of April, and Howie Roseman can use that opportunity to fill some of the other holes on the roster with cheaper and higher-upside talent that free agency hasn’t necessarily offered.
Mocking an offensive weapon in the first round
I’m going to assume that Dallas Goedert isn’t an Eagle in 2025 because of the free agents that they’ve signed and the recent reporting suggesting that he’s on the trade block. Goedert’s been an offensive staple since he took over for Zach Ertz in 2021, and they’ll need to grab someone who can step in without too many hiccups.
Round 1: Colston Loveland, Tight End, Michigan
Unless something weird happens where a really good, freak-of-nature edge rusher drops to a spot where Howie Roseman can trade up, the Eagles might be drafting a tight end in the first round. There’s no way they’ll go into the 2025 season with Kylen Granson, Harrison Bryant, and Grant Calcaterra as their three tight ends.
Given where the roster is at right now and how often tight ends get targeted in this offense (15.8% of targets last season, per Next Gen Stats), they’ll want a reliable pass catcher who can also block. Calcaterra does have reliable hands, but he doesn’t offer a whole lot as a blocker.
Colston Loveland, on the other hand, can be a guy that offers both. The tricky thing here is that the Eagles would have to trade up to get him, but that’s why Howie Roseman stockpiles draft picks.
Here's what NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein had to say in Loveland’s draft profile.
"Talented young tight end with the athletic ability and ball skills to become an elite talent as a pass catcher … He’s graceful in-air and catches the ball with good timing and strong hands. He will keep filling out his frame but is unlikely to ever become more than average as a blocker. Colston’s collection of athletic traits and catch talent creates a high ceiling with the opportunity to become a high-volume target and future Pro Bowler.”
An average blocker is good enough for the Eagles if it means having a tight end who can separate, high-point throws, and get yards after the catch.
Round 2: JT Tuimoloau, EDGE, Ohio State
Even though the Eagles signed Ojulari, it was only a one-year deal. Hopefully being on a good team (you know, rather than the New York Giants), playing with more of his Georgia teammates, and better injury luck will help him break out, but none of that is a sure thing.
The Eagles just lost Brandon Graham, who had been playing consistently well for the better part of a decade. They’ve also drafted Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt in the past two years, but Smith has been banged up a few times which makes you question his longevity and Hunt was a third-round pick.
It seems like it would be a smart idea to grab a bigger and younger edge rusher who has a minimal injury history with a premium draft pick. JT Tuimoloau is 21 years old, 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, just helped deliver a national title to Ohio State, and has only had a tweaked ankle that happened in the 2024 Cotton Bowl. That’s all good stuff.
Zierlein’s draft profile on Tuimoloau says:
“Rugged edge defender with the size, length and toughness to play up or down in hybrid fronts… Tuimoloau's power rush helped him tear through the expanded College Football Playoff, with 6.5 sacks over four games, but his rush plan and hand work need refinement to maintain the momentum he built as a rusher during the 2024 season. He’s unlikely to become a star but his traits and demeanor fit the profile of a good NFL starter.”
You want to draft a guy who gets described as “rugged”.
Round 3: Kevin Winston Jr., Safety, Penn State
Now that the Eagles traded Gardner-Johnson, there’s a real opportunity for Sydney Brown or Lewis Cine to step up and take the starting safety spot alongside Reed Blankenship.
Unfortunately, Brown and Cine haven’t exactly had the start to their careers that you would’ve hoped. Brown was pretty buried on the depth chart last season (which may or may not have been due to his talent), and Cine has only played in seven games in his three-year career (he did suffer a gnarly broken leg early in his rookie season).
The point is that the Eagles shouldn’t necessarily depend on either of these guys for the 2025 season. That’s where Kevin Winston Jr. comes in: The 6-foot-1, 215-pound safety from Penn State would be a solid addition to the battle for that second starting spot.
He’s big, quick, lays a hammer, and can be a good addition on special teams. The problem is that he’s very inexperienced, which is the same problem you run into with Brown and Cine. A lot of that is due to a jacked-up knee that made him miss almost the entire 2024 season.
Zierlein’s profile on Winston says:
“Talented but relatively inexperienced due to a season-ending injury in 2024 … He’s much better when he’s engaged and playing forward, where his play strength and consistency as a tackler stands out. He can cover both in-line and slot tight ends and hassle their catch space. However, he struggles with anticipation and footwork when asked to play on top of the defense … Winston might be somewhat limited unless he develops his field recognition enough to handle what NFL passing schemes will throw at him.”
If he needs to develop some of his instincts and “field recognition,” the Vic Fangio defense is a good spot to do it. The assumption here is that Winston is raw, and not that he makes the wrong decisions. If he’s raw, then Fangio can take out the metaphorical meat tenderizer and metaphorically bash him into a metaphorically edible player.
It’s not the perfect analogy, but you get the idea.