Eagles Select LB Kyron Johnson and TE Grant Calcaterra in Sixth Round

As expected, Howie Roseman did some moving around on Day 3 of the draft, first moving out of the fifth round by trading with Jacksonville for a couple of sixth-round picks: Nos. 188 and 198.

From there Roseman took that 188th pick and packaged it with a seventh-rounder (No. 237 overall) to go back to No. 181 in a deal with the Detroit Lions. The target was speedy Kansas linebacker Kyron Johnson, who runs in the 4.4 range, and could be an impactful player on special teams for Michael Clay.

They were the third and fourth trades Roseman engineered over the course of the three-day selection process.

As far as a defensive fit, Johnson (6-foot, 231 pounds) was scouted by most as an off-ball linebacker but also has some pass-rushing skills and SAM LB capabilities, topping out at 5.5 sacks for Kansas that season.

He really showed up on the NFL radar at the Senior Bowl where he performed well against first-round OT Trevor Penning.

"It was an experience because when I first got invited, it was literally two days before I was going to go to the NFLPA Bowl, and then Jim Nagy called me talking about, ‘Hey, Kyron why don't you take all your stuff from the NFLPA and bring it over here to the Senior Bowl,'" Johnson said. "I was like, oh, yeah, that's definitely a must."

Johnson is a bit on the older side, turning 24 this summer. He was at Kansas for five years after taking advantage of the extra COVID year allowed by the NCAA.

He said that extra year helped him get drafted.

"I don't really know how things would have played out because that fifth year was just another year for me to step up and actually put my foot down and actually showcase what I have," he said. "But I would say for the most part, I don't know how it would have gone, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have gone as well as it did last year."

After drafting Butkus Award winner Nakobe Dean in the third round, the Eagles' depth chart at off-ball LB is now pretty crowded with T.J. Edwards, Kyzir White, Dean, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley, and JaCoby Stevens in the mix.

The SAM spot is spearheaded by Haason Reddick and Patrick Johnson with Joe Ostman and Christian Elliss on the depth chart as well.

From a scouting standpoint, Johnson probably doesn't have the functional strength to hold up on the edge or the instincts to get near Edwards, White, or Dean on the depth chart but his track-level speed could be a boon for Clay and his special teams units which struggled in coverage last season.

With the 198th pick, Philadelphia got some help at tight end, selecting former star recruit Grant Calcaterra, who originally was at Oklahoma as a four-star recruit before finishing his college career at SMU.