Eagles stock up on talent with their 3 1st-round picks – NBC Sports Philadelphia
Ava Hudson
Updated on April 06, 2026
The 2021 draft is over so the only possible course of action now is to start thinking about next year’s draft. Assuming Carson Wentz stays healthy and doesn’t get benched and assuming that Howie Roseman doesn’t unload picks – which is a big assumption - the Eagles will have three first-round picks for the first time in franchise history. They’ve only had two four times – in 1949, 1951, 1973 and 1993. Where will those picks end up? Eagles fans need to root for the Colts and Dolphins to lose as many games as possible, but most likely their own selected will be in the top 10, the Dolphins' pick will be somewhere in the middle of the first round and the Colts’ pick will be a bottom-10 pick. If the Eagles play it right, the 2022 draft will go a long way toward helping the franchise return to competitiveness. If they don’t? Well, we don’t want to think about it.
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1/32
Houston finally finds Deshaun Watson’s successor, taking a quarterback in the first three rounds for only the second time in the last 18 years. Rattler, Jalen Hurts’ backup in 2019, becomes the fourth Oklahoma QB taken with the first overall pick since 2010 (Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray).
2/32
The Giants haven’t had a big-time edge rusher since Jason Pierre-Paul, and he’s been gone since 2017. Thibodeaux is a 6-foot-5, 250-pound wrecking machine who has 23 ½ tackles for loss and 12 sacks in just 20 college games so far. With a big 2021 season, he’ll likely be the first defensive player off the board in 2022. The Giants took Azeez Ojulari in the second round Friday, but you can never have enough pass rushers and Thibodeaux is way too good to pass up.
3/32
After focusing on offense in the first round with Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne, the Jaguars take the top cornerback in next year’s draft. Derek’s dad, Derek Sr., was a 1995 Phillies draft pick and his grandfather, Darryl, was a Patriots wide receiver who was paralyzed in 1978 after a hit by Jack Tatum of the Raiders in a preseason game. Along with Tyson Campbell, a second-round pick this year, Stingley gives the Jaguars great depth in the secondary.
4/32
The Lions had an opportunity to take Justin Fields or Mac Jones Thursday but went with Penei Sewell instead. By next April they’ll be looking for Jared Goff’s replacement. Howell has already thrown for over 7,000 yards with 68 TDs and 14 INTs in two seasons in Chapel Hill and projects as the first or second QB off the board a year from now.
5/32
The Bengals drive up I-71 to Columbus for Harrison, who’s poised to be Ohio State’s next big-time pass rusher, following the likes of Cameron Heyward, Joey and Nick Bosa and Chase Young. The Bengals have taken a guard, a tight end, two WRs and a quarterback with their five first- or second-round picks in the last three drafts. They haven’t taken a defensive player in the first round since corner William Jackson in 2016 and they haven’t taken a defensive lineman in the first round since Justin Smith in 2001. They’re due.
6/32
Joe Douglas took three offensive players Thursday and Friday – QB Zach Wilson, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and WR Elijah Moore. Next year the focus has to be on continuing to rebuild the defense, and the massive 290-pound Leal could be the top defensive lineman in the draft.
7/32
The Panthers got the corner they desperately needed in Jaycee Horn, so they make the 6-foot-6, 315-pound Walker – already a two-year starter at left tackle for the Nittany Lions – the first offensive lineman off the board. Walker will be PSU’s first first-round offensive lineman since Levi Brown in 2007.
8/32
The Eagles finally get their first-round corner, and he’s the first off the board in 2022. The 6-foot-2 Banks is the latest in a long string of first-round Ohio State corners (Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward, Kendall Sheffield, Damon Arnette, Jeff Okudah). By 2022, it will have been 20 years since the Eagles drafted a first-round corner, Lito Sheppard out of Florida in 2002.
9/32
This is a deep edge rush class, and Jackson is one of the best prospects with a year to go. He’s one of only two true freshmen to start on USC’s defensive line in the last 30 years (along with Everson Griffen) and had 17 tackles for loss and 7 ½ sacks in his first two years with the Trojans.
10/32
The Broncos haven’t had a quarterback in his 20s win 10 games in a season since John Elway in 1989. That’s crazy. Unless Aaron Rodgers becomes a Bronco they’re going to have to find a quarterback. The last two they drafted in the first round? Tim Tebow and Paxton Lynch. Slovis will be better than them.
11/32
The Giants went best-available Thursday with Florida WR Kadarius Toney and added an edge and a corner on Friday, so they still need to upgrade that offensive line that was one of the worst in the league last year and give Daniel Jones a chance. Brown gives them a potentially elite offensive tackle. They go D-line at No. 2 and O-line at No. 11.
12/32
The Falcons did the right thing by taking Kyle Pitts instead of a quarterback this year, but by next year it’ll be time to start thinking about finding a successor to Matt Ryan, who’ll be 37 when the 2022 season begins. Willis is an intriguing two-way QB who’ll be ready to play whenever Ryan retires.
13/32
Harrison Smith will be 33 and facing impending free agency when next season starts, so the Vikings, who didn’t take a defensive back with any of their five picks in the first three rounds, move to replace the five-time Pro Bowler with the top safety in next year’s draft.
14/32
The top four corners were gone by the time the Saints picked at No. 28 on Thursday, so this will be priority No. 1 next April, even with the addition of Paulson Adebo in the third round Friday. With his athleticism and instincts, Jones will be one of the top corners in next year’s draft if he has a solid year in 2021.
15/32
Still hard to believe Washington took Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick just three years ago. He won just 3 of 13 starts in a Washington uniform and is now a backup in Pittsburgh. It’s time for Washington to try again, and Daniels, a USC transfer, has good size at 6-3, 210 pounds and is one of the most accurate QBs in the country – 69 percent completion percentage the last two years.
16/32
The Patriots make Wilson the first receiver off the board and get Mac Jones a first-round WR. Wilson was third in the Big 10 in receiving as a sophomore and becomes the first OSU first-round WR since Ted Ginn in 2007 and the first WR the Patriots have taken in the top half of the first round since Terry Glenn – also out of Ohio State – in 1996.
17/32
When in doubt, go with an SEC cornerback. Even with the addition of Asante Samuel Jr. in the second round Friday, the Chargers need corner help, and Jobe, who started opposite Patrick Surtain this past year in Tuscaloosa, is a tough, physical corner with good size.
18/32
Only two of the Eagles’ 10 picks in the first three rounds from 2018 through 2021 have been on defense (Davion Taylor, Milton Williams), so after selecting corner Sevyn Banks at No. 8 they get the edge rusher they need at 18. Eboigbe, a 6-5, 285-pound athletic freak, will be the Eagles’ second Alabama first-round pick in two years after they had never taken one in the first 85 years of the draft.
19/32
The Cards only had two picks in the first four rounds this year and went LB-WR, but they won’t wait to address O-line in 2022. They make it back-to-back Crimson Tide picks by selecting the massive 360-pound Neal, who’s been a starter at both guard and tackle in college but will likely be a guard in the NFL.
20/32
It was a little surprising the Cowboys didn’t address the offensive line with any of their five picks in the first three rounds this year, so they go offensive tackle in the first round for the first time since they took Tyron Smith ninth overall in 2011. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Cross is an athletic marvel who could go even higher if he waits until 2024 to declare.
21/32
The Steelers did give Mason Rudolph a new contract, but that certainly won’t stop them from looking in the draft for the heir apparent to Ben Roethlisberger, who’ll be 40 when the 2022 season begins. Ridder has already passed for nearly 7,000 yards and rushed for nearly 2,000 more in three years with the Bearcats and projects as the first Cincinnati QB to get drafted in the first round since Greg Cook in 1969.
22/32
Six picks after the Patriots take his college teammate, the Lions provide Sam Howell with an elite weapon in Olave, who goes into his senior year with nearly 2,000 receiving yards and 22 touchdown catches. Olave would have been a likely second-round pick if he came out this year. With another big year, he’ll solidify himself as a first-round talent.
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Fletcher Cox turns 32 during the 2022 season, and Javon Hargrave isn’t signed beyond 2022, so even with the addition of Milton Williams in the third round Friday, there’s definitely a need for interior line help. Vincent, the son of long-time Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent, missed all of 2019 with a shoulder injury and started last season off slowly while still rehabbing. But he’s a big-time prospect and if he continues improving this year, he’d be a terrific fit in Jonathan Gannon’s defense (and the Eagles’ first first-round pick from Ohio State since Keith Byars in 1986).
24/32
Ryan Tannehill will be 34 when the 2022 season begins, so at some point soon the Titans will have to start thinking about a quarterback. Nix is an intriguing prospect who could go much higher with a huge season in 2021. The last Pro Bowl quarterback the Titans drafted? How about that Vince Young in 2006.
25/32
The first running back off the board is Spiller, who’s rushed for nearly 2,000 yards with a 5.5 average and 19 touchdowns in two years in College Station. The Dolphins, who haven’t drafted a running back in the first round since one-time Eagle Ronnie Brown in 2005, have been one of the worst rushing teams in the league the last few years, and the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Spiller would finally give Miami a legit running back and take some pressure off Tua Tagovailoa.
26/32
The Buccaneers haven’t drafted a receiver in the first or second round since Mike Evans seventh overall in 2014, and while Evans is still playing at a high level and Chris Godwin is very good too, it’s time for Tampa to replenish the position. Pickens, at 6-3, 200 pounds and already with 14 TD catches in his first two years in Athens, will be the Bulldogs’ first 1st-round WR since A.J. Green in 2011 as long as he clears all the medicals following an ACL tear earlier this spring.
27/32
The Ravens went receiver and edge with their two first-round picks Thursday, and offensive tackle remains a huge need. Nelson is a hulking 6-foot-6, 320 pounds and after a difficult year as a true freshman starter in 2019 he really helped himself this past season and put himself into the first-round conversation as the year went on and his level of play skyrocketed.
28/32
The Browns need to get younger at wideout, and Shakir is a mult-talented prospect who would have been an early Day 2 high pick if he came out this year. Shakir had a breakout season with 719 yards in just seven games (and an 8.7 rushing average on 17 carries) despite being Boise’s only legit receiving threat. He has a chance to be a very good pro.
29/32
Hall finished sixth in the Heisman voting this past year after rushing for 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Cyclones. He’s a decent receiver, has good size and makes a lot of sense for the Jets, who’ve been ranked among the bottom 10 teams in rushing for three straight years and haven’t drafted a RB in the first three rounds since Winslow Township High grad Shonn Greene in 2009.
30/32
After trading out of the first round this year, the Chiefs go O-line in the first round for the first time since they took Eric Fisher back in 2013, Andy Reid’s first year in Kansas City. Broeker is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound athletic marvel who only allowed one sack this past year as a freshman left tackle.
31/32
This pick comes with the caveat that if the Packers do trade Aaron Rodgers, they won’t be picking at No. 31. If they do, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Burks gives the Packers a big, young, productive wideout. Burks had 51-for-820 and seven TDs as a sophomore playing in the SEC and barring a big dropoff projects as a late first-round prospect. The Packers added Clemson WR Amari Rodgers in the third round this year, but the Packers haven’t selected a receiver in the first round since Javon Walker out of Florida State back in 2002.
32/32
A true Sean McDermott type of player. Good size, smart, athletic and physical. Some expected him to declare for this year’s draft after a big junior year following his transfer from USC, but he’ll return to Coral Gables and with another big season should solidify his status as a late first-round or early second-round pick.
