The 2023 NFL draft is a wrap, as the rich continue to get richer in Philadelphia.
The Eagles entered the draft with six selections, including the tenth and 30th overall pick and a second and third-rounder.
After GM Howie Roseman made seven trades.
Here’s a look at the Eagles’ draft picks:
1st, No. 9: DT Jalen Carter, Georgia
1st, No. 30: LB Nolan Smith, Georgia
2nd, No. 65: OL Tyler Steen, Alabama
3rd, No. 66: S Sydney Brown, Illinois
4th, No. 105: CB Kelee Ringo, Georgia
6th, No. 188: QB Tanner McKee
7th, No. 249: DT Moro Ojomo, Texas
The draft experts have weighed in, and Philadelphia gets the crown.
PFF -A+
PFF gave the Eagles a near-perfect score for their haul.
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.
Touchdown Wire --A+
Doug Farrar and Touchdown Wire gave Philadelphia an A+.
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?
NFL.com--A-
NFL.com gave Philadelphia an A- minus and an A for each round.
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/Mel Kiper -- A
Mel Kiper gave Philadelphia the top grade out of all 32 teams.
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.
Sporting News -- A+
The Sporting News gave Philadelphia an A+ for their draft haul.
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.
CBS Sports --A
Pete Prisco gave the Eagles an A for their haul.
Howie Roseman killed it with his haul this year. Getting Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round with their two picks is an impressive draft for a team that needed to get young players up front. Third-round guard Tyler Steen is a good player, who will be a starter in a year to two. Then they traded to land running back D’Andre Swift from the Lions. Nice job.
Fox Sports -- A+
Fox Sports gave the Eagles an 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. —Vacchiano
NY Post -- A
The New York Post gave Philadelphia an A grade and the top grade out of all 32 teams.
Analysis: If Carter — rich with both talent and character concerns — hadn’t slipped to No. 9, no one would’ve blinked if the Eagles had taken Smith. Instead Smith (Haason Reddick 2.0) slipped to No. 30, so a decade of defensive-line dominance will continue into the future. Ringo was the fifth Georgia product picked by the Eagles in the last two years.
Bleacher Report -- A+
Bleacher Report gave the Eagles an A+.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman couldn’t have navigated the first round any more perfectly. He traded up one spot to secure Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, the second-ranked prospect on the B/R board. He then allowed Georgia pass-rusher Nolan Smith—the 13th-ranked prospect on the B/R board, to fall to him at No. 30.
The Inqurier --A
The Inquirer gave the Eagles an A grade.
USA Today -- A+
USA Today gave Philadelphia an 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.
