The 2025 draft class isn’t great for a lot of teams’ needs. It’s got edge rushers, defensive tackles, a boatload of tight ends, and a few offensive linemen, which is cool because that’s what the Philadelphia Eagles need.
Since Howie Roseman drafted Jalen Reagor with his first-round pick in 2020, he has hit on 12 of his next 15 picks in the first three rounds. The only players he’s missed on have been Davion Taylor, Jordan Davis, and Sydney Brown. You could argue that it’s really just been Davion Taylor, but that’s not the point here.
The point is that the Eagles are really good at getting great players in the first two days of the draft. This is Mock Draft 2.0: the pre-Free Agency version.
Draft picks don’t have to be day one starters
There are going to be holes in the Eagles' roster after free agency, and they’re probably going to be at some combination of edge rusher, defensive tackle, right guard, or linebacker. Luckily, the draft has guys that will be able to fill in nicely.
Those aren’t the only needs for the team though. At some point, the Eagles will have to draft Lane Johnson’s replacement, and Dallas Goedert isn’t getting any younger. Also, luckily, there are guys they can draft to hit those spots, too.
Historically, it would be a fool's errand to try to guess who and where the Eagles are going to pick in the draft (especially the first round) because Roseman is addicted to trading picks. But, in 2023, he stayed with the 31st pick (Nolan Smith), and last year, he stayed with the 22nd pick (Quinyon Mitchell).
Currently, the Eagles are picking at the 32nd spot. It’s technically a first-round pick, but players that are available that late in the first round typically have the grade of a second-round pick. Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about who the Eagles are going to draft. If Roseman stays again, it’s not necessarily going to be a player with a first-round evaluation.
3-round Eagles 2025 mock draft before free agency
Round 1: James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee
James Pearce Jr. is a freak of nature. He would check a lot of boxes for the Eagles: he’s one of the best players available, he plays a position that the Eagles need help at, and he went to an SEC school.
Hopefully, his performance at the combine doesn’t raise his draft stock too much. He had the fastest 10-yard split in his 40-yard dash (1.56 seconds) and the seventh best broad jump (10 feet and three inches) of all the edge rushers that ran on Thursday. Those two measurements are pretty good at showing explosiveness (which is important), and he crushed it.
If he does fall to a spot where the Eagles can trade up for him or (fingers crossed) to 32, there’s about a 10,000% chance Micah Parsons would go on his live stream to whine and cry about how dumb the NFL is because they let good players go to Philadelphia again.
If the Eagles don’t trade for Myles Garrett, picking one of the best edge rushers in the draft would be a great move.
Round 2: Cameron Williams, Offensive Tackle, Texas
For some reason, Cameron Williams’ draft stock has been falling. Maybe that’s because of his inexperience or because other players' stock is rising. During the season, ESPN’s Field Yates had the Eagles drafting Wiliams in the first round, and now he’s being projected to be a second or third-round pick. Regardless, the Eagles should still pick him if they get the chance.
The biggest knock against him is that he only started one year at Texas, which means he’s still got a whole bunch of things to learn. That works for the Eagles because he’s not going to have to play right away.
The Eagles have shown that they’re very willing to draft replacements for their franchise offensive linemen a couple of years ahead of time. Landon Dickerson was drafted in 2021 as Jason Kelce’s replacement, assuming Kelce might retire after the 2022 season. That’s not how any of that situation worked out, but the intentions were still there.
Lane Johnson has said that he’s got a year or two left in him, so Williams will be able to sit back and learn from Jeff Stoutland and then play in garbage time. Or maybe it’s another Landon Dickerson situation, and Williams shows that he could be a starter in another spot. That seems super unlikely, but hey, a man can dream.
Round 3: Jackson Hawes, Tight End, Georgia Tech
If you’re a tight end in the Eagles offense, you better know how to block. Jackson Hawes knows how to block. Unfortunately, he’s not super great as a pass catcher, but that means he’ll be available if the Eagles use their pick at the end of the third round.
Once again, the Eagles are in a spot, franchise-wise, where they can afford to draft guys who can develop. Hawes (or whichever tight end they draft) wouldn’t have to jump right into a TE1 role immediately.
That being said, if the Eagles do use 12 personnel (two tight end formations), Hawes would be a useful piece. He’s listed at six feet and five inches tall and 260 pounds, which makes him just about the same size as Dallas Goedert. He uses that weight to be a bully on the line of scrimmage and win one-on-ones against defensive ends. If you can get a tight end who can do something like that, you’re in a pretty sweet spot… especially with a run-game coordinator as creative as Jeff Stoutland.