Eagles’ biggest loser from the 2025 preseason is painfully obvious

And while it’s possible that a job or two was won in the Eagles’ ugly 19-17 win, you could say the same for the other side of that coin — especially in regard to one of Philly's 2025 draft picks.

Rookie QB Kyle McCord played his way off the Philadelphia Eagles’ 53-man roster after preseason to forget

Preseason football is supposed to be ugly, but the Eagles’ offense took it to another level after No. 2 QB Tanner McKee’s work was finished in the preseason opener vs. Cincinnati.

While there were a few bright spots, the offense struggled to move the football when either Dorian Thompson-Robinson or rookie Kyle McCord were under center. In games against the Browns and Jets, with McKee resting on the sideline, the Eagles gained a woeful 287 net yards on 109 plays — an average of 2.6 yards per play.

McCord, Philly’s sixth-round rookie, failed to generate much of anything in the passing game in his three preseason appearances, including the full game against the Jets on Friday night. He finished a combined 24-for-56 passing (42.8%) for 191 yards. He tossed two interceptions to one touchdown pass, and averaged a brutal 3.4 yards per pass attempt. The Eagles scored 26 total points in McCord’s 20 drives.

Thompson-Robinson started over McKee in preseason Week 2 and got the night off against the Jets on Friday night. That’s not a good sign for McCord’s prospects of becoming GM Howie Roseman’s latest success story at QB.

Why did the Eagles burn a sixth-round draft pick on a quarterback?

It’s fair to question why the Eagles would promote McKee, swap Kenny Pickett for Thompson-Robinson in a trade with the Browns, and spend draft capital on a late-round quarterback this offseason. But when you peel back the layers, this is the kind of strategy that's kept Roseman ahead of the competition.

McCord, taken with the 181st overall pick, was one of the Eagles’ eight selections on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft. That won’t be an outlier, eith er. Roseman drafted six players within that Round 4 through 7 range in 2024, and is currently projected to have eight more in 2026.

Why have late-round draft picks become Roseman’s new obsession? Those picks are obviously valuable for trades — especially towards the end of training camp — but they become even more lucrative when a player hits. Take McKee for example. The Eagles took a sixth-round flier on the Stanford standout in 2023. He’s since ascended to Jalen Hurts’ top backup, and thanks to his current rookie-scale contract, he’ll barely make over $1 million over the next two seasons. That’s incredible value for a player who looks like one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL.

These late-round dart throws can also miss the board completely, of course, and that could be the price the team ends up paying for McCord. The rookie hasn’t done enough to justify a spot on the 53-man roster and could soon be headed for the Eagles' practice squad.