Ranking all of Howie Roseman’s Eagles first-round picks

From steadily rising through the organization to Chip Kelly kicking him to the curb to nabbing two Super Bowl rings, it’s been a hell of a ride for Howie Roseman in Philadelphia.

Joining the Eagles in 2000 as an intern, Roseman became general manager in 2010, holding that title for a few seasons before Kelly’s one-year reign of power in 2015 had him cast aside. The Roseman 2.0 era, which had him become the team’s top front office executive once more in 2016, has been the best run in franchise history, featuring three Super Bowl appearances and two parades down Broad Street.

With Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft here, I’m left thinking back on the first-round picks Roseman has made while running the show and building up the Eagles’ roster. Why not rank them all?

Some qualifiers… I know Andy Reid wielded significant sway when he was still with the team before his departure following the 2012 season, but for the purpose of this exercise, I’m including the Eagles’ first-rounders from 2010-2012 while Roseman was GM. I will, however, skip over the Eagles’ 2015 first-round pick from when Kelly was in full control (though Nelson Agholor had a damn good performance in Super Bowl LII…). Otherwise, all the picks, from the great ones to the misfires, are in play.

Let’s get after it…

A pick that will live in infamy

15. Danny Watkins, OL: 2011, 23rd overall

Was it bad to draft a 26-year-old firefighter in the first round? 15 years later, the answer is unequivocally yes.

Watkins’ bizarre tenure in Philadelphia saw him be a healthy scratch for the first few weeks of his career. He started 18 total games for the Eagles at guards across the miserable 2011 and 2012 seasons before being released the ensuing summer.

The failure of Watkins is a lesson the organization learned the hard way and rectified roughly a decade later… Don’t bet on outliers. Go for big-name talent from the top collegiate programs and things will work themselves out in the long run.

Watkins’ heart never truly appeared to be in football. It’s a reminder that grinders are the guys who end up winners in this sport.

If for not finding a future Hall of Fame center in the sixth round, the 2011 draft would stand among the worst in franchise history. Honestly, even with Jason Kelce’s career being what it was, it still kind of is.

Disasters

14. Jalen Reagor, WR: 2020, 21st overall

The Eagles’ lackluster wide receiver situation during the Carson Wentz era necessitated them going after talent at the position early in the 2020 draft. Everything felt so sluggish in the Birds’ offense, so infusing the roster with some speed at wideout made a world of sense. The Eagles decided to add Reagor, the slowest “fast” player in the history of professional football, to help fix that issue. It certainly didn’t work out.

Reagor made mental mistakes during his two years in Philly and never displayed an ounce of the burst that made him a first-round pick. I vividly recall a play during the Eagles’ home matchup with the Saints in 2020, which was Jalen Hurts’ first NFL start. Hurts found a wide-open Reagor and there legitimately weren’t any New Orleans defenders that could be seen around him on the television broadcast. It looked like he was running in quick sand. It was at that moment that I knew it was over for him.

The fact that the Vikings drafted Justin Jefferson, who’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory already, one pick later made the Reagor selection sting even more.

13. Marcus Smith, EDGE: 2014, 26th overall

The Eagles traded down from the 22nd pick, which Cleveland then used to take Johnny Manziel of all people, before calling Smith’s name.

Smith doesn’t have the same overwhelming negative perception among Eagles fans as the likes of Watkins and Reagor. He sort of just… was there? He contributed nothing though and a whiff like that did little to reinforce a defense that had been languishing for far too long. He totaled four sacks over three seasons with the Birds and never started a single game in the NFL. Woof.

12. Andre Dillard, OT: 2019, 22nd overall

In contrast with the Smith selection, the Eagles traded up for Dillard. Though what they parted with was ultimately negligible in the long run (the 25th-overall pick, plus a fourth-rounder and and a sixth-rounder), Dillard was supposed to be the next great Eagles tackle.

He wasn’t.

The heir apparent at left tackle, Dillard started just four games as a rookie and missed the entire 2020 campaign due to a torn biceps he suffered late in camp. By the time he returned to the field in 2021, Jordan Mailata had already usurped him as the team’s future LT.

Dillard infamously was a left tackle-only player who couldn’t provide long-term value as a swing tackle by working on the right side of the line as well.

He hasn’t played in an NFL game since Week 16 of the 2024 season.

We’ll see…

11. Jihaad Campbell, LB: 2025, 31st overall

I’m high on Jihaad Campbell. He has a great mix of athleticism and football IQ. He flashed at times during his rookie season in 2025 while filling in for the injured Nakobe Dean. With Dean having left in free agency, Campbell will have a chance to showcase what he’s made of this fall.

He definitely has the ability to leap in these rankings sooner rather than later.

Super Bowl winners

10. Derek Barnett, DE: 2017, 14th overall

A pick the Eagles received from their franchise-altering Sam Bradford trade the September before, the Eagles selected Barnett the year the NFL Draft was held in Philly itself.

Barnett never turned into a great player in midnight green, peaking with 6.5 sacks during the 2019 season, but he was a solid contributor.

Barnett will live on in Eagles lore, however, because he recovered a game-sealing fumble late in the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LII.

9. Nolan Smith, EDGE: 2023, 30th overall

I expected Nolan Smith to become a household name during the 2025 season, but he was a relative disappointment, finishing with merely three sacks.

Still, Smith was excellent during the Birds’ 2024 Super Bowl run, racking up four sacks across the team’s three home playoff games. Banners hang forever, right?

Smith is still young enough, as he’s just 25, to rewrite the narrative of his career. I would like to see more consistency from him going forward.

The Man Who Sold the World

8. Carson Wentz, QB: 2016, 2nd overall

The Eagles, without a shadow of a doubt, would not have won their first Super Bowl if not for Wentz’s MVP-level play in 2017. He was the most instrumental figure in the Birds getting home-field advantage that postseason. Playing in front of a raucous South Philadelphia crowd, the Eagles advanced to the Big Game and took care of business.

He was a divisive figure in Philly though, particularly with how his time here burned out.

I couldn’t have been more all in on the Wentz era. I felt rejuvenated watching him as a rookie. He was going to be The Guy for the next 15 years. The highs he reached in 2017 had me floating across the city on a daily basis. Wentz was going to save the franchise and bring them to a place they had never been previously.

That remains partially true, but the torn ACL he suffered during that fateful day at the Los Angeles Coliseum changed everything for him and the Eagles. Nick Foles came in and became a Philadelphia folk hero, winning Super Bowl MVP and capturing the accolades that were supposed to befall Wentz. That injury sapped him of the athleticism that gave him an extra gear in his game and his backup’s success took a toll on him mentally. He never recovered.

Injuries that ended his seasons early in 2018 and 2019 followed, which resulted in the Eagles using a second-round pick on Hurts in 2020. Hurts replaced him late in that season after a horrific stretch of play, Wentz was traded and now Hurts has a Super Bowl MVP to his name, just like Foles.

Wentz helped the Eagles win it all once and, with the way many dominoes fell, helped them win it all in a way in 2024.

Franchise Cornerstones

7. Jordan Davis, DT: 2022, 13th overall

I was enamored with Jordan Davis as a prospect entering the draft that year and was amped when the Eagles traded up a couple spots to land the Georgia superstar.

The beginning of Davis’ career began a little rocky, as he struggled with his conditioning and ability to stay on the field. He was always a great locker room presence though and got incrementally better as a player. That culminated with a breakout 2025 season where he was the heart of the defensive line with some game-winning special teams plays mixed in for good measure.

Davis deservedly landed a three-year contract extension this offseason with $65 million guaranteed. He will be counted upon to be a leader and a key on-field figure for years to come.

6. Jalen Carter, DT: 2023, 9th overall

Jalen Carter oozes talent. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler already and was perhaps the Eagles’ most dominant defender from start-to-finish during their most recent Super Bowl-winning season. Carter’s sack on Los Angeles’ Matthew Stafford in the 2024 Divisional Round is the most underrated play of that championship run. He’s a beast.

Carter has had both on-the-field and off-the-field issues though. If he reins it in, the sky is the limit. He could be the second coming of Warren Sapp.

5. DeVonta Smith, WR, 2021, 10th overall

Draftniks were completely overthinking DeVonta Smith in 2021. Was he undersized? Sure, but the dude was and is a flat-out football player. The Eagles made a small trade up in that year’s draft for the Heisman Trophy-winning wideout and it panned out big time.

Smith balled out in both of his Super Bowl appearances for the Birds, including being on the receiving end of “The Dagger” in the team’s blowout victory over Kansas City. Smith is better than the WR2 role he’s inhabited over the last several years since A.J. Brown came to Philly, but with Brown’s inevitable departure in the coming months, Smith will have the opportunity to prove he’s a legitimate No. 1 wideout in this league. I would wager that he’s up to the task.

4. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, 2024, 22nd overall

A cornerback from Toledo of all schools? I can admit it. I was a little skeptical. It didn’t take long for Mitchell to not only prove that he belongs in the NFL, but that he was one of the best in the sport at his position.

Mitchell should’ve won Defensive Rookie of the Year, but I’m sure he’d much rather take a Super Bowl ring over that accolade. He followed that up in his sophomore season with a First-Team All-Pro nod.

He’s going to eventually reset the cornerback contract market and it will be very much earned.

Eagles Legends

3. Fletcher Cox, DT: 2012, 12th overall

Fletcher Cox isn’t quite a Hall of Famer, but the dude was incredible, playing through a variety of positions and systems while wrecking opposing offensive game plans. Given that his peak coincided with that of Aaron Donald, Cox never received the flowers he fully deserved from the NFL community at large, but anyone who watched him during those years knows what type of presence he had.

The Eagles parted with a 2012 fourth-round pick and a 2012 six-round pick to move up three slots in that year’s first round to select Cox. It’s one of the best moves this franchise has ever made.

He’s an Eagles icon.

2. Brandon Graham, DE: 2010, 13th overall

It’s unprecedented to go from a “bust” to being the franchise’s all-time leader in games played, but that sums up the unlikely path that Brandon Graham has followed in Philly.

Graham went from a disappointment to a contributor to an All-Pro to the guy who made the most important play in the history of Philadelphia sports. He might be the most beloved Eagle ever. Graham is a class act, personable with the media and great to the fan base. Given that he sent my wife and me a congratulatory video on FOX29 when we got engaged several years ago, I know I’m slightly biased when it comes to him, but the dude is the perfect embodiment of what it means to be a Philadelphia Eagle.

BG forever.

1. Lane Johnson, OT: 2013, 4th overall

In one of the worst first rounds in modern draft history, the Eagles came away with a future Hall of Famer and maybe the best right tackle of all time. Not too bad, huh?

With his mix of both regular season and playoff success, there’s an argument that Johnson is the greatest Eagle in franchise history.

‘Nuff said.

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