The Philadelphia Eagles have shown that enhancing the defensive unit was a major priority.
In recent years, Eagles GM Howie Roseman has shown an uncanny knack for stumbling across defensive talent in the NFL draft process – Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean, to name a few.
However, with the departures of safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, veteran cornerback Darius Slay Jr, and the legendary defensive tackle Brandon Graham, there is now a clear lack of depth on defense for Philadelphia and it is an area that had to be prioritised in the draft.
It appears that the Eagles’ general manager has managed to perform another miracle as he traded a fifth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for the ability to pick Alabama’s linebacker, Jihaad Campbell, with the 31st overall pick.
Media outlets – such as CBS Sports – had the dynamic linebacker going as high as number eight to the Carolina Panthers on their mock draft board.
The 21-year-old chalked up an impressive 55 solo tackles and five sacks over 13 games during his senior year – highlighting his first-rate athletic ability and effectiveness on the pass-rush.
With Nakobe Dean currently sidelined for the foreseeable future with a torn patellar tendon, the rookie could be looking at a starting berth when the curtain raises on the NFL season in September.
More help on day two
In addition to this selection, Philadelphia used their 64th overall pick in the second round to select Texas safety, Andrew Mukaba.
Mukaba is an interesting selection by the Eagles – he led the SEC in 2024 with five interceptions but was used as both a safety and a nickel during his tenure at Texas.
Philadelphia’s 2023 third-round pick Sydney Brown was being lined up as Gardner-Johnson’s replacement in the upcoming campaign, nevertheless, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has shown that he is willing to provide rookies with an opportunity to shine if they are put the hard yards in – the exciting duo, Mitchell and DeJean being prime examples of this.
