Welcome to the 2026 NFL Draft, Philadelphia Eagles fans! The Eagles and general manager Howie Roseman did what the Eagles and Howie Roseman do: They made a draft-day trade. This time, they moved up from No. 23 to No. 20 with the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles used the selection to take USC wide receiver Makai Lemon.
The Eagles have made first-round trades with Dallas in the past, most notably when the Eagles traded back out of the first round in 2007 and took Kevin Kolb in the second round. They also made a deal in 2021 for the Eagles to move up two picks to take DeVonta Smith.
By the way, make sure you check out Heavy’s live draft blog throughout the weekend.
Former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Luther Broughton offers his take on Makai Lemon
I just talked to former Eagles tight end Luther Broughton (fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 1997, also played with the Panthers).
“I’m not unhappy,” Broughton told me. “Before the draft he was one of the top 12-15 players overall talent wise. I hadn’t seen him play much, but what I do know is we’re trading A.J. Brown and we needed a wide receiver.”
He’s right, this pretty much confirms all of the Brown trade rumors. Also, Broughton said it was time to spend some high picks on the offensive side of the ball.
“We’ve spent so much draft capital on defense lately, I am not unhappy with this pick at all,” Broughton continued. “I really wanted one of those Clemson defenders, but they aren’t really a need right now.”
Philadelphia Eagles’ needs heading into the 2026 NFL Draft
The Eagles won a Super Bowl two years ago and don’t have a ton of “needs” per se. But, like every other NFL team, they could always be better. Jonny Page of Bleeding Green Nation takes a look at some of those areas.
“The three headline needs are offensive tackle, safety, and edge rusher,” writes Page. “Lane Johnson is entering what is almost certainly his final season, leaving a long-term right tackle vacancy that needs planning for now. The safety room, Andrew Mukuba, alongside Marcus Epps, is functional but not good enough, with nothing credible behind it. And after losing Jaelan Phillips in free agency, the edge rusher group of Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, and Arnold Ebiketie has promise, but nowhere near enough proven production at the top.”
Welp, they went wide receiver.
Tom Ignudo of CBS Philadelphia says the Eagles need to come away filling several positions on the roster. First, their offensive line is getting a little old and battered.
“The Eagles have only taken one offensive lineman in the first three rounds of the draft in the last three years,” Ignudo writes. “Look for that to change in 2026.”
Ignudo also thinks that wide receiver is going to be a need at some point as everyone thinks that A.J. Brown is all but going to be traded post June 1 (most likely to the Patriots. But, he also says that they should come away with another tight end.
“The Eagles brought Dallas Goedert back for a ninth season, but he’s not the team’s long-term tight end,” he says. “In fact, none of the tight ends on the roster heading into the draft will likely be in Philadelphia for the long-term.”
The Eagles already have a ton of young talent on defense (which they’ll have to pay at some point). But, they still need to improve their edge-rush situation and their safeties are super thin.
“Edge rusher is a position the Eagles prioritize,” Ignudo continues. “Whether it be through the draft, free agency or trade, Roseman will always look to upgrade at edge rusher and build an elite pass rush that could wreck games.”
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