Eagles' Howie Roseman Explains His Views On Each Round Of NFL Draft

The Eagles entered the final day of the NFL Draft with just two players added to their roster thanks to two trades to back out of the third round. It was on the final day, when they finally flexed their draft muscle, selecting eight players.

More third-day picks wash out of the league than make a mark. Even fewer become impactful players.

This is how general manager Howie Roseman explained what he looks for in each round of the draft on Saturday night after the draft was in the books.

First round. “When you're talking about the beginning of the draft, you want impact. You want to find an impact player. Certainly, in the first round, our grading scale speaks to us to what we want to find in the first round. It's your chance to get a Pro Bowl player, to get a blue-chip player. So, we're looking for them in the first round.”

The Eagles traded up one spot to get linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Will he be that Pro Bowl blue-chip player? Roseman thinks so.

Second round. “We're trying to get someone who's a good starter, he's a good starter who can make a difference.”

The Eagles stayed put at No. 64 and grabbed Texas defensive back Drew Mukuba. They passed on defensive tackle Darius Alexander, edge rusher Ashton Gillotte, and tight end Harold Fannin, Jr., the three players selected right behind Mukuba.

Third round. “You’re trying to get a minimum of solid starters and same really for the fourth round and in the middle rounds. And I think for us, when we look at the later stages of the draft, we're shooting for starters. We have this meeting (Saturday) morning and I tell our scouts all the time, we can find backups. We could find backups in August, we can find backups on our team. We want to find starters.”

The Eagles didn’t make a pick in the third round. Did they find starts or consistent contributors among the eight they took on Saturday?

“You take eight guys, and you hit on three starters, I mean, you are smoking,” said Roseman. “You are doing a really good job. So, we're going to take shots on guys who have traits and we're looking for guys that can make a difference. And so, we're not worried about the guys that may not – we're not looking for the numbers.

“We're not saying, ‘Hey, 90 percent of the guys made our roster.’ We're looking for guys who can make an impact for the Philadelphia Eagles. And the draft is our opportunity to do that. So, a lot of these guys are traits guys that we think that have a love for the game that we can develop with this great coaching staff and this player development staff and the sports staff to turn into starters. And that's what we're looking for.”

FIRST ROUND

LB: Jihaad Campbell, Alabama (pick No. 31)

SECOND ROUND

DB: Andrew Mukuba, Texas (64)

THIRD ROUND
No pick.

FOURTH ROUND

DT: Ty Robinson, Nebraska (111)

FIFTH ROUND

CB: Mac McWilliams, Central Florida (145)

LB: Smael Monder, Jr., Georgia (161)

C: Drew Kendall, Boston College (168)

SIXTH ROUND

QB: Kyle McCord, Syracuse (181)

OL: Myles Hinton, Michigan (191)

OL: Cameron Williams, Texas (207)

EDGE: Antwuan Powell-Ryland, Virginia Tech (209)

SEVENTH ROUND

No pick

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