Iowa’s Cooper DeJean could help the Eagles at one of their biggest positions of need in this month’s NFL Draft.

In just a couple of weeks, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and his cadre of NFL Draft cohorts will sit down and try to find the next crop of future stars.

Roseman’s history as a drafter has been mixed, as have most GMs. The difference is most GMs haven’t been around as long or have the job security that Roseman does, which allows him to take some risks that others may not. In 2024, the Eagles will be relying on a number of their first and second day picks to make an impact sooner rather than later, trying to keep a Super Bowl window open both for this season, and the foreseeable future as well.

Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Tyler Steen and Sydney Brown will all be expected to be major contributors this season,bbut there will also be a new wave of players coming in soon via the Draft, so now’s a good time to assess in what areas the Eagles need reinforcements the most.

Keep in mind, the Eagles’ off-season plan has clearly been to add enough pieces to weak points on the roster so that they are not required to draft for specific needs. They will take the best available player when it’s their turn to pick, but it’s likely that “best available” player will be from one of four or five positions.

To be clear, this is not a series of predictions on what I think the Eagles will do, rather, it’s a ranking of their greatest positional needs heading into the Draft, as I see them. To that end, here they are, starting from most important, to least.

Linebacker

The Eagles almost certainly aren’t going to select a linebacker with their first pick, and the addition of Devin White and Zack Baun to the roster this off-season was Roseman’s attempt to address that spot in free agency, to a degree. Dean and White are the projected starters at the moment, with special teams ace Oren Burks and Baun 3rd and 4th on the depth chart. But White and Baun are signed to just one-year contracts, and the jury is still out on Dean.

The Eagles suffered from a lack of athleticism and play-making ability at linebacker this year, and were woeful in coverage. Neither Dean nor White are considered great in those areas, although if both are healthy, both should at least bring increased athleticism to the position. Trying to spend a second round pick on a coverage linebacker would seem to be the way to go, with the hope he could be used in nickel packages against Tight ends at some point this season.

NC State’s Payton Wilson put up huge numbers in college this season, as did North Carolina’s Cedric Gray. Michigan’s Junior Colson, and Mississippi State’s Nathaniel Watson are also projected to be an early Day 2 pick, and the Eagles have reportedly met with the top inside linebacker prospect, Edgerrin Cooper of Texas A&M, as well as Texas’ Jaylan Ford and Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace.

Cornerback

How much time does Darius Slay have left as a No. 1 corner? Is he even still that anymore? Is James Bradberry washed, or did he just have a down year in a system with two bad defensive coordinators? Whatever production those players provide in 2024, it’s clear the Eagles need to go ahead and draft their next starting cornerback in this draft, and they’ll likely do that with one of their first two picks.

Avonte Maddox is back on a cheap one-year contract. It’s a no-risk, high-reward scenario. If he stays healthy, they have a very good slot corner on their hands, freeing up CJ Gardner-Johnson to focus on safety. If he gets hurt, though, the Eagles need to have a better plan in place than unproven players Eli Ricks, Zech McPhearson and Kelee Ringo ready go to.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a possibility Ricks, McPhearson and/or Ringo can be quality NFL players, but the Eagles can’t exit the draft without snagging one or two additional corners to provide options, especially if Bradberry does need to be replaced at some point this season. There’s just a lot of uncertainty here, and no real long-term plan in place.

The Birds have interviewed Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, Kentucky’s Andru Phillips and Ole Miss’ Decamerion Ricahrdson so far, and it seems obvious they are almost certain to take a cornerback early. Most mock drafts have the Eagles going in that direction.

Of course, Howie Roseman lives to mock your mock drafts, but it’s the strategy that makes the most sense right now..

Offensive Line

The Eagles’ offensive success this year largely rests on the ability of Cam Jurgens to shift into Jason Kelce’s old spot and for Tyler Steen to ascend to starting right guard. We know Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are rocks at Tackle, and Dickerson is a Pro Bowl left guard, but once you get past the starting five, you see the need to address this spot in the Draft, too.

Johnson will turn 34 years old in May. He isn’t going to play forever. Whether Steen eventually moves to tackle to replace him or not, the Eagles could invest an early pick at either guard or tackle for the eventual Lane retirement.

The Eagles have held official interviews with six offensive linemen in the weeks leading up to the Draft, three tackles and three guards. Roseman loves investing in the offensive line and, because he’s done that in previous drafts, has been able to plug in Jurgens, Dickerson and hopefully Steen into starting spots.

They’re going to draft an offensive lineman. The only questions are who, and when.

Wide Receiver

How can wide receiver be such a big need when you have Devonta Smith and A.J. Brown on your roster? Well, it’s kinda important to have a third and fourth guy to chuck the ball to as well.

Roseman signed Devante Parker to a one-year free agent deal, but my guess is he doesn’t even make the team out of training camp. After that, the next guy on the depth chart is another free agent signed to a one-year contract, Parris Campbell. There is some thought that returner Britain Covey could get some slot reps, which would be fine by me, but that’s not exactly a robust plan for ‘24 and thereafter.

So yeah, the Eagles need a slot receiver and have interviewed USC’s Brenden Rice and Ainias Smith from Texas A&M. Virginia’s Malik Washington could go in the third round, with Arizona’s Jacob Cowing another possible mid-round pick that could interest the Birds to bring more talent to an area that needs one more guy to take the pressure off Smith and Brown.

Tight End

The Eagles will almost certainly draft another defensive lineman/defensive tackle before they select a tight end, but in terms of “need,” they have to find a suitable second tight end to pair with Dallas Goedert more than they need to go grab another tackle at this point.

They have Davis, Carter, Milton Williams and Marlon Tuipulotu as part of a four-man rotation at defensive tackle, while at tight end, Grant Calcaterra and Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. are backing up Goedert. Given how Goedert almost always misses at least a month of game action every year, finding another tight end who can actually be a functional part of the offense would be ideal.

Failing that, drafting someone to replace Jack Stoll, now with the Giants, to provide solid blocking in the run game would be acceptable, if not exciting. The Eagles can likely fill a need at defensive tackle outside of the draft better than they can TE2, which is why I think they should target a useful Goedert back-up before a tackle, provided the board falls their way.