Eagles Mock Draft: Mel Kiper has Howie Roseman going back to the trenches again

The Eagles being mocked an offensive lineman in Round 1 should surprise absolutely nobody.

Mel Kiper dropped his latest two-round mock draft and has the Eagles taking Clemson right tackle Blake Miller at No. 23, then circling back in Round 2 for Georgia tight end Oscar Delp at No. 54. Whether you love both picks or not, the thought process behind them is about as Howie Roseman as it gets.

Kiper put it pretty plainly: “The Eagles don’t typically let future needs become current problems.” That is the entire philosophy right there. That is the franchise. That is how this team has stayed ahead of the curve for years while other teams wait until a position turns into a crisis.

Eagles staying ahead of the offensive line issue

The first-round pick is Blake Miller, and the logic is obvious. Lane Johnson is still a beast, but he is also getting older, and nobody plays forever. Kiper framed the decision as choosing between the next man up behind AJ Brown or the next man up behind Lane.

His exact line was: “The value is better for the latter in this projection, and Miller is a perfect fit after playing over 3,500 snaps at right tackle in college.”

That makes sense. The Eagles have always treated tackle like a premium spot because it is. You don’t wait until the foundation starts cracking to pour concrete. You get the next guy in the building early, let him develop, and keep the machine moving.

Now, do I think Eagles fans are going to be fired up about another offensive lineman when safety and edge still stare you in the face? Probably not. That reaction is fair. But this is also the same team that has made a living by thinking one year ahead while everybody else screams about the depth chart in April.

And let’s be honest, the AJ Brown “trade candidate” stuff Kiper tossed in there is just national mock draft brain rot at this point. The Eagles do not need to draft scared because somebody outside the building keeps trying to manifest that nonsense into existence.

Eagles add another Georgia piece with Oscar Delp

In Round 2, Kiper has the Eagles taking Oscar Delp out of Georgia, which is hilarious in the most predictable way possible. Of course the Eagles got mocked another Georgia player. Why wouldn’t they?

Kiper’s reasoning here is tied directly to Dallas Goedert. He wrote: “Dallas Goedert is back for one more year, but the Eagles need more options at tight end, not to mention a succession plan for the 31-year-old if he doesn’t return in 2027.”

That part is hard to argue with. Goedert is still useful, but the long-term question at tight end is real. Delp is not some gaudy production monster, and Kiper admits that. He wrote, “Delp’s stats aren’t going to wow you … but he’s effective with the ball in his hands and has some potential to his game. And the Eagles love the Georgia pipeline.”

That’s basically the scouting report and the organizational fit in one sentence. The Eagles would be betting on upside, athletic traits, and the fact that they clearly trust that Georgia program as much as some people trust their own family.

My reaction to the Eagles mock

As a pure Howie Roseman prediction, this mock is believable as hell.

If you told me the Eagles walked out of Day 2 with a tackle and a tight end instead of a safety and edge rusher, I would not blink. That is exactly the kind of move a team makes when it believes its window stays open longer by protecting the infrastructure instead of chasing the loudest current need.

That said, I do think it would leave a lot of fans feeling a little cold. Safety still feels like a real issue. Edge still feels like a real issue. If the Eagles came out of the first two rounds without addressing either one, you would absolutely understand the frustration.

But if we are talking strictly about organizational behavior, Blake Miller makes a ton of sense. The Eagles have always valued tackle depth like sane people value oxygen. And Delp? That one feels like the kind of pick people shrug at on draft night and then talk themselves into a week later once the Georgia helmet starts doing the heavy lifting.

Final thoughts on Mel Kiper’s Eagles projection

The Eagles in this mock are not drafting for Twitter applause. They are drafting to make sure the offensive core does not age out all at once.

Blake Miller at 23 is a classic future-proofing move. Oscar Delp at 54 is a classic pipeline-and-projection move. Together, they feel very on brand for Howie Roseman, even if they are not the sexy picks.

So no, this is not the mock for people pounding the table for an immediate safety fix. But as a read on how the Eagles operate, Kiper is probably closer to the truth than some fans want to admit.