The NFL draft is just two weeks away, and with Philadelphia set to have two first-round picks, GM Howie Roseman will look to add weapons to a retooled and battered defense.
In the second round, the Eagles will have pick No. 62 overall, and they can land a Pro Bowl-caliber player at that position, with Philadelphia finding past success in rounds two and beyond.
With the draft fast approaching, here’s an early ranking of Philadelphia’s best 2nd-round picks in franchise history.
Brian Dawkins, S
A former ACC star, Dawkins was the Eagles’ second-round pick out of Clemson.
The heart and soul of some great defenses, Dawkins made nine Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro four times, finishing his 16-year Hall of Fame career with 37 interceptions, 36 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, 26 sacks, and four postseason interceptions.
Eric Allen, CB
Drafted in the 1988 selection process out of Arizona State, Allen spent the first seven years of his career in Philadelphia, logging 34 of his 54 career interceptions during his seven seasons with the Eagles.
Allen shares the franchise record in interceptions with Bill Bradley and Brian Dawkins.
The cornerback is most remembered for a pick-six in the Eagles’ 1992 playoff win over the Saints, and Allen’s 10 career INT returns for touchdowns are fifth-most in NFL history.
Randall Cunningham, QB
Cunningham spent his first 11 seasons with the Eagles, helping pave the way for how the quarterback position is played today.
A second-round pick out of UNLV in 1985, Cunningham finished his Eagles career with under 30,000 passing yards and just under 5,000 rushing yards while compiling an 82-52-1 record in 135 starts with Philadelphia.
Maxie Baughan, LB
Drafted by the Eagles in the second round out of Georgia Tech in 1960, Baughan made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and was on Philadelphia’s NFL Championship team. Baughan made five Pro Bowls in six years with the Eagles and four more with the Rams.
Baughan is one of only three players who played before the 1990s, made nine Pro Bowls, and isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
LeSean McCoy, RB
A second-round pick out of Pitt in 2009, McCoy made three trips to the Pro Bowl as an Eagle, and he’s the only Eagle ever to have four 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
During his six seasons in Philadelphia, McCoy ran for a franchise record of 6,792 yards while also catching 300 passes for 2,282 yards.
DeSean Jackson, WR
Jackson had two different stints in Philadelphia.
A second-round pick in 2008 out of Cal, Jackson will soon retire as one of the most electrifying players in Eagles history. Jackson had a four-year stretch where he averaged over 1,000 receiving yards per season from 2008 through 2013, making three Pro Bowls and averaging over 17 yards per catch.
Jackson is sixth in Eagles history with 379 catches, third with 6,512 receiving yards, and ninth in franchise history with 35 touchdowns.
2023 NFL Draft: What position will Eagles pick first?
Zach Ertz, TE
Now a member of the Arizona Cardinals’ high-powered offense, Ertz was a 2013 second-round pick out of Stanford and went on a five-year run where he logged the sixth-most catches and 10th-most yards of any tight end in NFL history to start a career. Ertz logged a career-high eight touchdowns in 2017, his first Pro Bowl season, and during the Super Bowl run, he stepped up his game, logging 18 catches for 192 yards, including a crucial fourth-down reception and TD on the game-winning drive. Ertz’s 18 catches are the third-most ever by a tight end in a single postseason.
Wes Hopkins, DB
A second-round pick in 1983 out of SMU, Hopkins spent his entire 11-year career with the Eagles, logging 11 interceptions and making a Pro Bowl during his first three seasons. Hopkins had his career derailed for two years after suffering a devastating knee injury, but returned in 1988, and logged 19 more interceptions over the next six seasons. His 30 career interceptions are third-most in Eagles history by a safety.
Guy Morriss, C
Morriss played in over 200 regular-season games during his NFL career and started at center for the Eagles in Super Bowl XV.
Morriss spent 11 seasons with Philadelphia from 1973 through 1983, starting 158 games for the Eagles at the center, including the 1980 Super Bowl run. A second-round pick in 1973 out of Texas Christian, Morriss ranks ninth in Eagles history in games played, second in franchise history in games played by an offensive lineman, eight fewer than Tra Thomas.
Sheldon Brown, CB
Brown gets the nod over Bobby Taylor in this spot because he was the better tackle.
A former South Carolina star, Brown finished his career with 19 interceptions (4 returns for TD with the Eagles) and was a starter on six playoff teams in Philadelphia.
Bobby Taylor, CB
The former Notre Dame star spent nine seasons with Philadelphia after being drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. In 2002, Taylor was named First-team All-Pro and played in the Pro Bowl, finishing his career with 19 interceptions.
Dallas Goedert, TE
The 49th pick in the 2018 NFL draft, Goedert would probably already be atop the list if it wasn’t for another tight end out of Stanford.
In 69 career games with Philadelphia, Goedert has 248 receptions for 2997 yards and 19 career touchdowns.
Miles Sanders, RB
Sanders is reuniting with Duce Staley, as the 2019 second-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles signed a deal with the Carolina Panthers. Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022, and he’ll finish his Eagles career with 49 starts in 57 career games, rushing for 3,708 yards and 20 touchdowns.
QB Jalen Hurts
A 2020 second-round pick, Hurts signed a 4-year, $6,025,171 contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, including a $1,941,944 signing bonus, $2,825,815 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,506,293. In 2022, Hurts earned a base salary of $1,082,744 and a workout bonus of $75,000 while carrying a cap hit of $1,643,230 and a dead cap value of $970,972.
Over his first two seasons, Hurts had a 59% completion percentage with 4,063 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 1,056 rushing yards.
In year three, he exploded for 3,701 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a 66.7 QBR. He added 760 yards on the ground and 13 rushing touchdowns as well.
In 2022 after an offseason retooling his mechanic, the former Alabama and Oklahoma star put everything together.
Hurts more than improved in 2022, leading the Eagles (14-3) to the Super Bowl while amassing Pro Bowl, All-Pro, and MVP nominations.
Last season Hurts led the Eagles to a 14-1 record (.933 winning percentage) as a starter, completing 306-of-460 (66.5%) attempts for 3,701 yards (8.0 avg.), 22 TDs, 6 INTs, and 101.6 passer rating, while also rushing for 760 yards and 13 TDs. In total, Hurts combined for 4,461 yards and 35 TDs.
