I’ve been working on this since before the draft and then I walked away for a while. Then I came back when Lurie was named to the Eagles Hall of fame, but lost interest again. Now, with Lane Johnson retiring, it’s relative again, and I got around to finishing. So here are my ranking of every single first round pick since 1995, the first year Jeffery Lurie was involved in the draft process. I’m leaving out Jihad Campbell and Makai Lemon, as it still to early to tell. I had Campbell listed on my initial draft earlier this year, but I’m not as bullish now as I was then.
Complete Busts
Jalen Reagor
Probably the worst pick in the Lurie era. He was drafted in a position of need and was a complete whiff. And as we all know, Justin Jefferson was taken a pick later. Even at the time, analysts were panning the pick.
Jon Harris
Huge reach by Ray Rhodes with this guy. Rhodes compared him to Ed “Too Tall” Jones and that was enough to draft, at best, a third rounder with the 25th pick. He barely got on the field and ended his career with two sacks. The guy was so bad, he is normally forgotten when fans discuss bad draft picks. I guess you can’t have bad plays, if you don’t play.
Danny Watkins
The Fireman. He never seemed like he even wanted to play football and he really didn’t. He spent two years in Philly, which coincided with the team’s worst two year stretch this century.
Marcus Smith
He seemed like a desperation pick when everyone else on the Eagles radar was taken. He had a total of four sacks in three seasons in Philadelphia.
Jerome McDougle
McDougle could have been rated lower, but I was merciful due to his injuries and him being a victim of a shooting in 2005. We never really got to see how he panned out, except the time he got two 15-yard penalties in one play, by kicking the flag thrown on him for a facemask.
At Least We Got Something Out of Them
Andre Dillard
Well, we got few games out of the guy. However, in the end, he celling was an average, back up, non-swing tackle. Not the worst player, but more of the output you would expect from a seventh rounder. Fortunately, the Birds got first round left tackle output from a seventh-round pick that same year. Yay.
Freddie Mitchell
Fred-Ex wasn’t terrible in Philly, but his output did not match his diva personality. He did have 4th&26 though.
Derek Barnett
He had the fumble recovery in SB 52, but was an undisciplined player. His stock dropped considerably with Nick Sirianni, who felt “it’s always him”.
Not Too Bad, But Not What You Were Hoping For
Mike Mamula
Mamula was better than you remember. He had about five serviceable years in Philly, doing better under Andy Reid than Ray Rhodes. He probably was ahead of his time; he would be considered a pass rush specialist today. However, what really hurts him is that the Eagles traded up to take him, passing on Hall of Famer Warren Sapp who was taken by the Eagles trade partner, the Buccaneers, who then used the two 2nd round picks they got for trading back to get back in the first round to take another Hall of Famer, Derrick Brooks. So, while he had some production, it was not what you want from his draft position, and it was certainly not worth two Hall of Famers. It is fair to note that there were some pre-draft concerns with Warren Sapp, for marijuana use.
Nelson Agholor
Aggy had a mixed career with some great seasons mixed with some less than great seasons. Seemingly, he played better when a fire was lit under him, such as in 2017, when he was great in a WR3 role and having a stand out game in SB52. However, when asked to be a WR2 he didn’t step up as near as well. He did have some good seasons after leaving Philly too. But he can’t catch babies.
Got The Output You Expected
Shawn Andrews
Andrews had three really good seasons in Philly, but his other ones were marred by injury and mental health issues. His highs were great, he had two Pro Bowls, but he was basically off the field in his other years. Also, the Eagles thought it may help to bring in his brother for a season to help with his mental health, unfortunately he got hurt that year and we were stuck with a confused Stacy.
Brodrick Bunkley
Mike Patterson
I’m putting these guys together as they were drafted a year apart and played together. They were pretty solid starters although they were not spectacular. Patterson was around longer and Bunkley brought more headaches, like a rookie year hold out.
Jermane Mayberry
Solid pick, the Eagles needed Oline help in 1996 and used their 1st rounder to get a key piece for the next 9 years. Mayberry did get better in his career after Andy Reid came to town and made the Pro Bowl in 2002.
Nolan Smith
Still early on with him, but he has solidified his spot on the Eagles defense. His 2024-25 season, particularly his playoff effort, probably justifies the pick. He may get higher on the list as time goes on.
Great Picks
Jeremy Maclin
Maclin had a great run in Philly, it probably would have been better if he played more seasons with DeSean Jackson in the line up; they flip flopped injured years and then Jackson got cut, then Maclin wasn’t resigned. Fortunately, the person responsible was sacked too, eventually.
Jordan Davis
Davis had been doing some decent work for the first few years of his career before stepping up and carrying the load after a great off-season. Davis filled the void left by injured/ejected teammate Jalen Carter and emerged as a leader on the team.
Corey Simon
Simon racked up 32 sacks in 5 years in Philly, making the Pro Bowl in 2003. He went to 4 straight NFC Championship Games and was a member of the 2004 NFC Championship team.
Lito Sheppard
Another 1st rounder used for a foreseen future need. Lito was an exciting Corner for many years with Eagles. Coast to coast Pick 6s, against Dallas no less, an All-Pro and two Pro-Bowls makes this a great pick.
Carson Wentz
Ok, so this is going to be controversial. Wentz would have been the MVP in 2017 and the reason we got the #1 seed to get to the Super Bowl. He fell off hard, but we got a hell of a return for him that built the core for another Super Bowl. We did give up a lot to get him, but when you look at it, going from 13 to 8 was addition by subtraction, by jettisoning Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso. Then because Wentz was good enough, they were able to trade Sam Badford for another 1st rounder. So, Wentz was the focal point for two purges and rebuilds that led to Super Bowls.
Jalen Carter
This dude is an absolute beast, and even with a down year in 2025, he has been everything the Eagles hoped for. Sure, there was the ejection, and he gets out of control a bit, but he is the real deal. He is the reason the birds got to the 2025 NFCCG by ending the Rams hopes in the Divisional round.
DeVonta Smith
Picking a position of need and nailing it is what you want from a draft and Smitty fulfilled that. He is one of the toughest players in the league; his slim reaper build takes hard hits, and he pops back up and never shies away from contact. Oh yeah, he puts up numbers too, setting an Eagles Rookie record for receiving yards and following up with three 1,000 yard seasons, only missing that mark in 2024. He may have a bigger role next season, anyone hear why?
Tra Thomas
Thomas was a book end left tackle in Philly, playing for 11 years. Three Pro Bowls and a second team All-Pro; he was a corner stone of the Eagles early 2000s run. He was another lineman who got better with Reid and was the first Eagle OL Draft pick to go to the pro bowl in forever.
Brandon Graham
What can you say about BG? Maybe hasn’t had the eye-popping stats but he has been a mainstay on the team for a long time. Initially, he was considered a bust, he even said so himself, and people agreed, comparing him to Earl Thomas, who drafted one pick earlier. That started to change starting in 2016, moving to Jim Schwartz’s scheme and solidified in SB 52, with arguably the greatest play in Eagles history, his strip sack of Tom Brady.
Fletcher Cox
Fletch was a beast during his time in Philly. Despite seeming like he was being held on every play, he made six pro-bowls and was a first team All-Pro in 2018. A key member of the Eagles first SB team he was well worth the 12th pick in the draft, he was probably one of the top three players who came out of that draft.
Donovan McNabb
Alright, I know a lot of folks would rank him higher, probably at one. I can respect that, on and off the field he was the face of change from the bottom of the barrel to perianal contender. Once again, position of need and absolutely nailed it, in the face of popular support for Ricky Williams. I thought that during his early run he was criminally underrated and stuck in the shadow of Payton Manning, Tom Brady, and other QBs of the time. But after the Super Bowl loss, it seemed he was never the same, often injured and only one other playoff run after that. It was particularly glaring with all the offensive weapons brought in to be around him; maybe not TO level, but better options than in the early ‘00s.
Quinyon Mitchell
The best option at a position of need, Q was a home run hit by Howie. Since coming into the league, he has ranked as one of the best corners. He filled a huge hole in the SB LIX run and has emerged as a cornerstone of the defense.
Lane Johnson
The GOAT of all Eagles 1st Round picks, probably a close competition between him, Steve Van Buren, and Chuck Bednarik. During Lane’s time with the Eagles, they were 122-63-1 with him in the line up and 18-30 without him. He anchored the offensive line for 13 years, through three regimes. A 5 time All-pro (2 1st team, 3 2nd), with 6 pro Bowl selections, he is also one of four two-time Super Bowl champions in team history. Lane has proven that he is an all time Eagle.
