Sunday, April 30, 2023

Philadelphia Eagles 2023 NFL Draft Grades Roundup

The 2023 NFL Draft is now in the rearview mirror, and we have compiled a consensus ranking using NFL draft grades from a variety of sites.

What draft grades have the media given to the Philadelphia Eagles? What are they saying about the Eagles' 2023 draft haul?

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

NFL.com - Grade: A-

Philadelphia took two Georgia players in the first round, trading up a spot for the ultra-talented Carter and then getting a bargain in quick edge/off-ball linebacker Smith. Steen meets a need at guard (and can step in at tackle in a pinch). The athletic, compactly built Brown will make plays against the run and pass as a rookie.

There were questions about Ringo, but his size, speed and playmaking ability made the Eagles willing to take the risk of trading a 2024 third-round pick to land him. Sending a 2025 Day 3 pick to Detroit for back D'Andre Swift is a win for both teams. It was a good idea to pick McKee for the backup competition. Ojomo will be a nice rotational piece at 3-technique for Philadelphia.

ESPN - Grade: A

General manager Howie Roseman has had an outstanding run in Philly, and he crushed Round 1. The Eagles had two first-rounders thanks to last year's trade with New Orleans, and they were able to maneuver the board for two prospects in my top 12, including the No. 1 overall prospect, Jalen Carter, landing him at No. 9. Carter has some off-field questions -- his draft status was clouded after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing in connection with a fatal crash in January -- but there's no denying his talent level. And if you look at this team's biggest weakness from last season, it was stopping the run; Philly ranked 24th in yards allowed per carry (4.6). As I wrote Thursday, putting Carter next to Jordan Davis again makes total sense.

The Eagles might have gotten a premier edge rusher at the end of Round 1. I thought Nolan Smith (30) could have gone as high as No. 8 to Atlanta. At 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, he is undersized, but you can't teach his physical traits. He ran a blazing 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the combine. We know Roseman builds through the trenches, and I love this addition.

Offensive tackle Tyler Steen (65) has some interesting traits if he can improve his technique, and he might also move inside to guard. I would have gone with Ji'Ayir Brown or Riley Moss over Sydney Brown (66) if I were taking a safety, but I don't have a huge issue with the Eagles preferring Brown. He is undersized, but he tested well during combine workouts and had six interceptions last season. Roseman went back to Georgia with cornerback Kelee Ringo (105) on Day 3 for a nice value. I never bought in on Ringo as a top-40 guy -- he is too inconsistent -- but he has some upside if he can take the next step. Moro Ojomo (249) is a solid depth defensive tackle late in Round 7.

With Carter and Smith filling clear needs -- and the trade for running back D'Andre Swift filling another -- I really like this class. Roseman has done it again.

SI - Grade: A+

The best way to get a perfect grade in the draft is by loading up on Georgia defenders. The Eagles might have the best defensive front in the NFL next season with the arrivals of Carter and Smith. Philadelphia also landed Brown to plug into their secondary after losing veteran safeties in free agency. Somehow Ringo was available on the third day of the draft, giving the Eagles a stacked cornerbacks rotation along with Darius Slay and James Bradberry. The Eagles also took McKee to possibly be a backup for Jalen Hurts next season.

PFF - Grade: A+

Day 1: Landing the No. 2 overall player on the PFF big board at Pick 9 is a huge win for the Eagles. Carter played 392 snaps in 2022 and earned a 92.3 PFF grade that led all Power Five interior defenders. He registered 32 total pressures from 273 pass-rushing snaps. The Eagles had to give up just a 2024 fourth-round pick to make this happen.

The Eagles land the 13th overall player on the PFF big board with the 30th pick in the draft as Philadelphia retools its defensive line once again with elite talent. Smith might be undersized at 238 pounds, but he earned a 90.0 PFF run defense grade over the past two seasons and is an incredible athlete.

Day 2: Steen transferred from Vanderbilt to Alabama to finish his college career protecting No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young‘s blindside, and he earned a 74.4 pass-blocking grade over the year. Steen's arms are under 33 inches, a common NFL threshold required to play tackle, so he may move inside at the outset. Steen was a steady riser throughout the process and is the newest student at Stoutland University in Philadelphia.

Brown is the first true safety off the board — Alabama's Brian Branch is more of a tweener — and Philadelphia gets him right around his consensus ranking. Better yet, Brown fills a position of need, as Eagles starters Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps left the team in free agency. Brown earned a stellar 89.4 coverage grade in 2022 as a rangy deep safety who can cover a ton of ground, and his testing was off the charts. His 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump were all above the 90th percentile among safeties.

Day 3: The Eagles continue in their quest to recreate the back-to-back National Champion Georgia Bulldogs defense, trading up for a straight-line athlete in a very young cornerback that showed inconsistency after a breakout 2021 season. Ringo is a bit stiff moving laterally, which may have caused his drop here, but at 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds he could line up out wide or perhaps transition to safety.

McKee isn't a great athlete and won't create much outside of structure, but his size and accuracy give him potential as a developmental backup who can win from the pocket. The scheme and supporting cast did him few favors, which contributed to his underwhelming production at Stanford.

The rich get richer in Philly. Ojomo is ranked 93rd on the PFF big board. He is an excellent run defender (91.4 in 2022) who can fill two gaps up front. An improvement to his pass-rush arsenal could make him a seventh-round gem.

Fox Sports - Grade: A+

Is there a grade higher than A-plus? GM Howie Roseman gets one of the best players in the draft at No. 9 (DT Jalen Carter), a potential top-10 pick at 30 (Edge Nolan Smith) and a potential first-round CB in the fourth round (Kelee Ringo). Plus, he trades for RB D'Andre Swift, the pass-catching back his team needed. He basically raided the best program in college football (Georgia) and it reinforced the Eagles as the team to beat in the NFC.

USA Today - Grade: A+

If you want to argue it's not all that hard to scout University of Georgia players, fine. But it's not so easy reaching the Super Bowl yet nevertheless getting into positions to stockpile Bulldog-caliber talent, either, however EVP/GM Howie Roseman manages to do it. This time, he reeled in DT Jalen Carter — perhaps the No. 1 overall talent in 2023, his off-field question marks notwithstanding — at No. 9. Twenty-one spots later, Roseman continued reloading his front seven with uber-athletic Dawgs pass rusher Nolan Smith. High upside CB Kelee Ringo arrived in Round 4, and Roseman likely found his RB1 by essentially giving Detroit a 2025 fourth-rounder (and a seventh-round pick swap) for former Georgia star D'Andre Swift as he heads into a contract year. Bottom line? Good luck keeping the NFC champs out of Super Bowl 58.

The Ringer - Grade: A+

What I wrote about the Nolan Smith pick on Thursday night —"They can't keep getting away with this"—now applies to the Eagles' entire draft. I loved what Philly did basically from start to finish, and after grabbing both Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in Round 1, they cleaned up the rest of the way: The Eagles added a solid tackle/guard prospect in Alabama's Tyler Steen and a hard-hitting safety in Illinois's Sydney Brown on day two, before taking yet another Georgia star in cornerback Kelee Ringo to open day three. Add in the trade with Detroit for running back D'Andre Swift (yes, he also went to Georgia) on Saturday, and the defending NFC champs look like one of the biggest winners of draft weekend.

Sporting News - Grade: A+

The Eagles added three more Georgia defensive stars to tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean, who will be key second-year starters on the front seven. Carter and Smith are great explosive complements to Carter and Brandon Graham. Ringo will be groomed well behind Darius Slay and James Bradberry.

Steen was a good future stash up front and Brown can help offset the loss of C.J. Gardner-Johnson. A bonus was using some draft capital to address running back with a trade for D'Andre Swift. McKee also gets them on the board with a developmental backup QB.

Touchdown Wire - Grade: A+

At this point, I think we can see what Eagles general manager Howie Roseman's master plan is. He wants to unleash every Georgia Bulldog he can on the rest of the league.

Let's start with Jalen Carter, who I believed to be the best player in this draft based solely on his 2022 tape. Carter's 2023 offseason was far less conclusive, of course, but the Eagles are betting hard that the right environment (and so many former Georgia teammates) will unlock all of that potential. It's a risk, but with the ninth pick, not a huge one, based on what Carter could be. As far as Nolan Smith — well, I compared him to Haason Reddick, and now, the Eagles have two Haason Reddicks to deploy in their five-man fronts. Unlike Carter, Smith has no off-field dings at all — his only question was injury recovery. The Eagles concluded their Georgia trio with Kelee Ringo in the fourth round, which is right where I would have had him, based on tape. Ringo has been working with Richard Sherman this offseason to clean up the things that could cause trouble at the next level, and who better?

We're not done yet, folks. Philly also stole Illinois' Sydney Brown in the third round, and I had Brown as my second-best safety in this class behind only Alabama's Brian Branch. And I don't know how the Eagles got Texas' Moro Ojomo in the seventh round, but he's a nice hybrid tackle with five sacks and 26 quarterback hurries last season. Add in the lowball trade for ex-Lions running back D'Andre Swift, and once again, we have to stand back in wonderment at how Howie Roseman is getting away with all of this.

More: 2023 NFL Draft Grade Roundups

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