NFL Draft: Eagles recent draft history suggests we could see a first-round trade up

With NFL free agency dwindling, it’s almost time to turn our focus solely towards the Philadelphia Eagles plans in the NFL Draft.

As it stands, the Eagles have eight picks this year, including four in the top-150. That will probably increase in the near future, with an Haason Reddick trade looking more and more likely.

Eagles 2024 draft picks:

• Round 1, pick 22
• Round 2, pick 50
• Round 2, pick 53
• Round 4, pick 120
• Round 5, pick 161
• Round 5, pick 171
• Round 5, pick 172
• Round 6, pick 210

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Howie Roseman’s recent draft history suggests he’ll more than likely try to trade up in the first-round. It may not be by much, depending on who his target is, but all signs are pointing towards a trade-up.

In four out of the past five drafts, the Eagles have traded up in the first-round.

• 2019: Traded up from 25 to 22 for Andre Dillard
• 2021: Traded up from 12 to 10 for DeVonta Smith
• 2022: Traded up from 15 to 13 for Jordan Davis
• 2023: Traded up from 10 to 9 for Jalen Carter

For the most part, all of those trades paid off — with the exception of Andre Dillard.

The question then becomes, who would the Eagles select if they do trade up? There are a few logical choices.

Based on the team’s top-30 visits thus far, here’s a look at some of the players who would make sense:

• DB Cooper DeJean, Iowa
• EDGE Laitu Latu, UCLA
• OT Tyler Guton, Oklahoma

Of the scheduled top-30 visits the Eagles have, these are the three worthy of a trade-up. The most intriguing of the bunch has to be Cooper DeJean. Philly has not taken a defensive back in the first-round in over 20 years. You’d have to go all the way back to 2002, when the Eagles selected Lito Sheppard with the 26th overall pick.

The team’s unwillingness to draft defensive backs in the first-round would probably lead you to believe there’s no chance the Eagles will get DeJean, let alone trade up for him. But we also never thought we’d see the day where Howie pays big money to a running back — and then he signed Saquon Barkley just a few weeks ago.

Philly seems to be bucking their own trends a bit this offseason. Aside from Barkley, they’ve also signed a handful of linebackers, with Devin White being the most prominent. Trading up for a defensive back would be the cherry on top.

With the 2024 NFL Draft just a few weeks away, we’ll find out soon enough what the team plans to do.