Every Christmas we check our wallets and bank account to see what we can spend. After checking, most of us realize we can't afford all the shiny things we want to buy. The Eagles have $11.9M in effective cap space (after signing a draft class) and are in the same boat. They also have a 1, 2, two 3's two 4's, a 5, and a 6 coming in the draft. With Phillips, Dean, Goedert, Blankenship, and Big Fred all for sale there will be some hard decisions. My guess - Howie resigns Phillips, Blankenship and Big Fred but don't/can't keep Dean and Goedert. Others who probably leave are Elliott, Mann, Hueglett, Pryor, A. Jackson, Ojulari, Orokonokwo, Howell, Dillon, and Granson.

Even with all the folks moving on - Howie will have to do some magic to keep Phillips, Big Fred, Uche, Blankenship, Epps, and Calcaterra.

While that wallet size will make it a bare free agent season after signing our own we stil have Christmas in April - i.e. the draft.

To make it a very good Christmas we'll have to depend on the Raiders. They'll have to decide it's not a quarterback worthy draft at the top and trade their pick for a bundle of additional picks. And here's our Christmas present - they trade a 2 and a 5 to the Eagles for Tanner McKee.

Then the Eagles continue to wheel and deal - they trade their own #1 and acquire a 2 and a 3. They trade a 5 and a 5 in 2027 for another 4. Now the Birds have 6 second day picks, 3 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd. They also have 3 in the fourth, a 5 and a 6.

So here goes -

2 - Olaivavega Ioane, G Penn State. 6'3" 348. Steen has been servicable but he is the weak ling on our line. On the roster Ioane replaces Toth (finally)

2 - DJ McKinney, CB Colorado. 6'2" 190 4.47 Ricks sure isn't the anser to replace Adoree' Jackson and we can't just bet on Carter, Bennett, or McWilliams. Replaces Jackson on the roster.

2- Demetrius Crownover OT Texas A&M 6'6" 330. A former tight end like Layne Johnson, Peters, and Alejandro Vellenueva. It's a dice roll based on rating that are allover the park, but he has the physical tolls. He can be groomed as Layne's replecement in a year or two. There's precedent, we waited for Jergens while Kelce was in his last years. Replaces Pryor

3 - Max Klare, TE Ohio State 6'4"240 4.75. With Goedert and Granson moving on the tight end room is pretty bare. Calcaterra, Klare,EJ Jenkins, and Latu will have to fill the voids.

3 - Dani Dennis-Sutton, Edge Penn State. 6'4" 266 4.73. BG will be retiring again and we n eed to fill a spot. After a monster 2024 he had a down 2025. Worth a 3rd.

3 - Jalon Kilgore, S South Carolina. 6'1" 219 4.5. Epps is a good fill in and special teamer, but does anyone think Sydney Brown has the word "starter" in his future.

4 - Nyck Harbor, WR South Carolina. 6'5" 235 4.35. A world class sprinter who can block. I'm over the Johnny williams experiment. Replaced Dotson

4 - Carson Beck, QB Miami (FL). 6'4" 220. i don't know if Howie tries to fine a cheap vet or goes with McCord and Beck.

5 - Lander Barton, LB Utah. 6'3" 236 4.67. With Nakobe gone we'll need another backer. Starters are strong with Baun and Campbell.

5 - Sam Roush, TE Stanford. 6'5" 260 4.62. Did pretty well with our last Standrd TE, let's try again.

6 - Ethan Burke, Edge Texas. 6'6" 260 4.85. Battles Uche for a roster spot.

We'll have to replace Mann, Elliott, and Hughlett from th estreet or UDFA.

Merry Christmas!!

If we remain a player on day 1, I would hope that we strive for the the best player available wherever we land. In my opinion there are only a max of 10 players that are outstanding. Beyond that. there are many good prospects that are close in their evaluations. Given that assumption, we should focus on a player that can contribute immediately and project as a future starter. Tight End is a position that cocerns me.There are plenty of prospects, but only one that seems to stand out.

I have previously dismissed Kenyon Sadiq as being undersized. I have just recently become aware of some impressive improvements in his stock. Apparently he has added about 10 lb. while loweing his bodyfat from 12% to 10% thru better nut rition. He has registered a 42" vertical and has been praised for his blocking. Thus, I would not be disapointed if he were our first pick (even if we have to move up a bit). My feelings are that the TE position is a critical weakness. Goedert should be a priority, along with new blood. The draft has little to offer and we need to focus on this area both for the short and long term.

We need to improve our quality depth on the offensive line. Keep in mind, we have around 5 rookie OL spread throughout active, IR and practice squad. We have very little idea how any of them stack up. Only the team has that knowledge and will factor that into their plans in the off-season. Planning to replace Lane is imperative, but easier said than done. Hopefully the remainder of the season will allow us to get a better perspective on what we have "in-house".

DE/Edge could use some new blood...especially if Phillips is not retained.

The defensive backfield needs recharging, with an emphasis on proficiency.

The above would pretty much exhaust our picks thru day 2.

Anything beyond that will probably fit into the category of developmental and/or special teams. A good example might be ConnerTollison C, Mizz (sounds like a Kelce clone).

We are going to have lots of decisions in the offseason for sure. I think one of the biggest choices will be between keeping Phillips or dean doubt we can keep them both the way they are playing.

16 minutes ago, Cheesteakitis said:

We are going to have lots of decisions in the offseason for sure. I think one of the biggest choices will be between keeping Phillips or dean doubt we can keep them both the way they are playing.

My fear/concern there would be suppose the Cowboys were to sign one/both? Ugh!

Phillips was the happiest he has ever been, becoming an Eagle. Dean has suffered several serious injuries. I don't really know how much that will play into negotiations.

17 minutes ago, Crazy Legs said:

My fear/concern there would be suppose the Cowboys were to sign one/both? Ugh!

Phillips was the happiest he has ever been, becoming an Eagle. Dean has suffered several serious injuries. I don't really know how much that will play into negotiations.

Yes that would suck for sure.. would love to keep them both but we have a lot of contracts coming up.

I was looking into things a little more and I’ll admit I don’t fully understand the cap but it looks like Goedert would have a cap hit of over 20million next year if we don’t extend him before his contract voids I think it’s March 8th because of that I think howie is able to work something out and extend him and kick a decent portion of that down the road.

Let me pose the following questions?

Who else might be available late in the first round beside Sidiq that could be an immediate contributer?

Can we be as lucky as we were last year?

I believe AJ Will agree to a reworked deal to be traded yielding what they originally paid for him a 1 & 3. He blossomed into a game changer with the Eagles & NFL GM'S know it & this would be a steal for a player of his caliber. His replacement is Chris Brazzel out of Tennessee. The only other thing id change is DJ McKinney to Julian Neal. Nice job I enjoy reading your drafts

23 hours ago, Eagle3171 said:

I believe AJ Will agree to a reworked deal to be traded yielding what they originally paid for him a 1 & 3. He blossomed into a game changer with the Eagles & NFL GM'S know it & this would be a steal for a player of his caliber. His replacement is Chris Brazzel out of Tennessee. The only other thing id change is DJ McKinney to Julian Neal. Nice job I enjoy reading your drafts

We definitely need to get the Maxx out of this offseason!

9 hours ago, Cheesteakitis said:

We definitely need to get the Maxx out of this offseason!

Speaking of the offseason, what if Travis Kelse retires (there goes Sadiq)?

Yeah, Sadiq seemed like a good move at the moment...until I factored in Travis possibly retiring before next season. Regardless, Dallas should be retained...he is having a productive season (perhaps his best) and has remained healthy.

That will still leave us with multiple potential starters to be replaced, but not much in the way of immediate help. If we lose any starters at TE, OT, DE or S, we might be oblidged to reach for a replacement. I believe our FAs represent better options than going outside our current roster. I would give them priority, if possible.

Anywaty, let's hope that we can choose amongst the best players available when our time to pick arrives.

P.S. I only "predicted" 1 of our 10 picks last year and absolutely none of our trades., so don't put too much reliance in my opinions.

Overall, I think I've at most predicted 3 of the last 50 #1 picks.

On 12/28/2025 at 8:44 PM, Crazy Legs said:

It looks like we will be getting a preview of our current backups this Sunday. Unfortunately, they will be playing against the equivalent talent pool, so don't get too overconfident with what you see.

Came here to see what folks were thinking.

I saw a mock draft where eagles took DLine. Hopefully we can keep Jordan Davis.

I am thinking OLine. Glad to see 2 in your mock draft above.

On 12/31/2025 at 3:27 PM, CouchKing said:

Came here to see what folks were thinking.

I saw a mock draft where eagles took DLine. Hopefully we can keep Jordan Davis.

I am thinking OLine. Glad to see 2 in your mock draft above.

I would like to see some of the rookie OL we drafted play this Sunday. We really haven't seen much of anybody we drafted, have we?

On 12/25/2025 at 11:22 PM, Crazy Legs said:

Let me pose the following questions?

Who else might be available late in the first round beside Sidiq that could be an immediate contributer?

Can we be as lucky as we were last year?

Ioane G Penn State

A TE, CB or S could also have a chance to break into the starting lineup in 2026.

Consider Sadiq, Cissie or Thieneman.