Eagles draft grades for every 2024 draft pick: Howie Roseman is better than your GM

The Philadelphia Eagles — hold on, let me check my notes — won the NFL Draft, again. At least the first couple days. Howie Roseman continues to run circles around the rest of the league. It's hard to project the Eagles with any confidence after how last season ended, but Philadelphia should have no shortage of talent.

If there was a single position of need for the Eagles, cornerback stood out the most going into Thursday night. There was a wave of speculation about the Eagles potentially trading up for Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell. Well, Philadelphia didn't trade up and still landed their guy, with Mitchell somehow falling into their lap with the 22nd pick.

Then, Philadelphia traded up to acquire the No. 40 pick in the second round. The target there? Another highly-touted defensive back in Iowa's Cooper DeJean, who ranks 20th overall on Kinnu Singh's board here at FanSided. Mitchell ranks 11th overall.

So, in short, the Eagles landed arguably the two best cornerbacks on the board and didn't use a single top-20 pick. Great, Bob!

Howie Roseman. What a guy.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Quinyon Mitchell, A+

Quinyon Mitchell spent four years at Toledo, despite overtures from Nick Saban and Alabama to leave for greener (financial) pastures. It can be easy to fly under the radar in Toledo, but Mitchell was the best CB on the board — a strong, twitchy athlete with the speed to track NFL WRs downfield and the vertical pop to disrupt passes and create events.

He tallied 14 pass breakups last season, second in all of D-I college football. Mitchell defended 18 passes total, with one interception. He tallied five interceptions as a junior the season prior. In terms of raw production, few D-backs were better. There is obvious concern about the competition level at Toledo, but Mitchell's athletic tools popped in the Combine and he has all the fundamentals necessary to translate at the next level.

The Eagles' CB room beyond Darius Slay was extremely thin prior to the draft. Kelee Ringo inspires some level of hope and Avonte Maddox will earn his snaps, but Mitchell is a day-one starter who can handle the toughest assignments on a weekly basis. Philadelphia's defense needs to perk up under new coordinator Vic Fangio. Mitchell should help plenty.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Cooper DeJean, A+

Again, just impossible to deny the value. Howie Roseman sacrificed future assets to move up from No. 53 to No. 40, but DeJean should have been a first-round pick. He was in the same tier as Mitchell and No. 24 pick Terrion Arnold of Alabama as far as DB prospects are concerned. All three fell too far, but DeJean's tumble — all the way to the middle of the second round — was particularly egregious.

We are getting shades of last season, when Jalen Carter fell to the Eagles at No. 8 despite being the obvious best talent on the board. Roseman has a knack for making the simple, obvious calls when other front offices overthink it. We all knew DeJean was better than 40th overall, and yet 31 other teams passed on him. Whether it was fit, personality, or some mysterious other factor, the rest of the league decided to let DeJean fall. Roseman took advantage.

Can DeJean beat Caitlin Clark in basketball, as he told NFL teams? Probably not. What he can do is defend wideouts and generate turnovers. He made 41 tackles, defended five passes, and racked up two interceptions as a junior. He tallied five INTs as a sophomore. At 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds, he's a tall, explosive athlete with all the trappings of a bankable, starting-level NFL CB.

The Eagles' defense was hurting by the end of last season. This draft provides quite the boost.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Jalyx Hunt, B

Jalyx Hunt is a freak athlete with tremendous tools but needs development as an edge rusher. The Eagles have time to give him the coaching he needs, though, which is a positive.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Will Shipley, B-

Will Shipley isn't going to supplant Saquon Barkley, but has the tools to be a third-down back who challenges Kenneth Gainwell for snaps.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Ainias Smith, A-

Ainias Smith may still have untapped potential with the juice he possesses. He has a chance to crack the Eagles rotation of pass-catchers right away behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Jeremiah Trotter Jr., B+

Pretty cool to see the son of an Eagles legend come into the fold, especially at a position of need. He's still a bit unpolished but he could be an impact player in Philly.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Trevor Keegan, C+

Nothing about Trevor Keegan will wow anyone, but his upside is that of a depth piece on the interior who sticks in the league for a decade plus as a backup.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Johnny Wilson, A

Johnny Wilson is flat-out huge and may actually be an athletic tight end in the NFL, but his ability as a pass-catcher make this great value for a sixth-round pick.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2024: Dylan McMahon, B+

With Jason Kelce out of the building, Dylan McMahon seems like he could be a backup center with upside to start if needed, even if he doesn't offer much versatility.