Eagles Draft History Shows Philly Is Due For Successful Haul in 2023

The Philadelphia Eagles have four draft picks in the top 100. The last time they had that many was in 2012 and 2013 and six of the eight players they took helped win a Super Bowl.

It’s been 10 years since the Philadelphia Eagles had four picks in the top 100 of the NFL Draft.

That’s the number of picks the Eagles are tentatively scheduled to make when this year’s three-day draft begins on April 27.

It’s tentative because, well … Howie Roseman.

The Eagles' general manager likes to wheel and deal in the draft, moving up, down, and all around in so many previous drafts.

As it stands now, though, the Eagles will own overall picks 10, 30, 62, and 94.

In 2013, they had four in the top 100. They also owned four of the top 100 in 2012.

The Eagles drafted well in both those years, with six of the eight players playing a role in their Super Bowl LII win over the New England Patriots.

Here’s a look at the back-to-back years they were in this situation:

2013

No. 4: Lane Johnson. A home run selection, considering the three players that went before him: offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel and defensive end Dion Jordan. 

You could make the case that Johnson was the best in an entire first round alongside receiver DeAndre Hopkins (No. 27 overall to the Houston Texans) and center Travis Frederick (No. 31 to the Dallas Cowboys). Frederick’s career, however, was cut short due to injury. Johnson plays on and plays on as arguably the best right tackle in the game.

No. 35: Zach Ertz. Like Johnson, the tight end was a key piece to the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship in 2017. His 2018 season was one for the record books with 118 catches, more than any tight end in the history of the game during the regular season, with 1,163 yards and eight touchdowns. 

He makes his living in Arizona with the Cardinals now, but in nine years with the Eagles, he made 579 catches (second most of any player in Eagles history behind Hall of Fame receiver Harold Carmichael) for 6,267 yards, and 38 touchdowns.

No. 67: Bennie Logan. The defensive tackle spent four years with the Eagles, making 51 starts with 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hits. He never played more than 58 percent of the defensive snaps in a season, but he was a key contributor.

No. 98: Matt Barkley. A swing and miss, but coach Chip Kelly was so enamored with the USC quarterback he had Roseman trade up to grab him with the first pick of the fourth round.

Barkley was never more than an NFL backup during his six years in the league, two of which were spent with the Eagles. He played just four games in Philadelphia, never threw a touchdown pass, but managed to toss four interceptions.

2012

No. 12: Fletcher Cox. He is a forever Eagle, as is Johnson, and will go down in franchise history as one of its best defensive tackles. He has made 167 career starts in 10 seasons with 65 sacks and 13 forced fumbles. Like Johnson and Ertz, Cox was a key piece in the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship.

No. 46: Mychal Kendricks. In six years with the Eagles, the linebacker made 74 starts and collected 458 tackles, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, and 14 sacks. He made four tackles in the Eagles' Super Bowl triumph.

No. 49: Vinny Curry. The defensive end grew up an Eagles fan in North Jersey. He left for Tampa Bay as a free agent after making four tackles in the Super Bowl but returned for another season after it didn’t work out for the Bucs. He ended up playing eight years in Philly, collecting 30 sacks in 111 games, including 85 quarterback hits and five forced fumbles.

No. 88: Nick Foles. Ah yes, the Super Bowl MVP after outdueling Tom Brady to prevent the Patriots from winning back-to-back titles. He was with the Eagles for two different stints and just five seasons, but he did so much in that time. 

He remains the only quarterback to catch a touchdown in Super Bowl history and in 2013 had 27 touchdown passes to just two interceptions including a game where he tied Payton Manning's single-game record for touchdown passes with seven.

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Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.

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