
Breaking down Eagles' 2025 NFL draft class: Best pick, head-scratching pick, best value
The Philadelphia Eagles added ten draft picks to their roster in this year's NFL draft, landing Jihaad Campbell near the end of Round 1 to cap things off. Overall, the consensus for Howie Roseman centered on draft value and landing prospects who can develop into starters regardless of the round in which they were selected.
Of course, we won't know the actual impact of this year's class until these players hit the field and have time to develop, but on paper, it does look like Roseman maintained and created another Super Bowl window.
With the rookie minicamp having concluded, we're looking at this 2025 class, where we highlight the best pick, sleeper, head-scratching pick, and more.
Best pick-Andrew Mukuba
A player who can emulate C.J. Gardner-Johnson's production, Mukuba has the coverage skills to play in the slot and the athleticism to control the deep center field as a "robber" and use his instincts, burst,, and ball skills to make plays.
Best Value-Jihaad Campbell
Campbell had a top 15 ranking on most big boards, yet he slipped to No. 31 overall because of a torn Labrum.
Sleeper pick - Antwaun Powell-Ryland
The Eagles selected outside linebacker Virginia Tech's Antwaun Powell-Ryland with their 10th and final pick. No. 209 overall, in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. A talented pass rusher who slipped in the draft due to concerns about his arm length, Powell-Ryland has spent the last two seasons with the Hokies after transferring from Florida before the 2023 season. In 2024, the 6-foot-2, 258-pounder started all 12 games he played, accumulating 43 total tackles and 16 sacks, which ranked third in FBS. Powell-Ryland earned first-team All-ACC and Associated Press All-American third-team honors during his redshirt senior season with the Hokies.
Head-scratching pick - Kyle McCord
Roseman values the quarterback position, and since taking over as GM, he has drafted signal-callers once a year, or at least every other year. Roseman drafted Mike Kafka in 2010, Nick Foles in 20212, and Matt Barkley in 2013, but then he lost power to Chip Kelly. Upon getting that power back, Roseman drafted Carson Wentz in 2016, Clayton Thorson in 2019, Jalen Hurts in 2020, Tanner McKee in 2023, and now McCord two weeks ago.
The Eagles always do their due diligence on quarterback prospects and have added far less talented signal callers to the factory since Howie Roseman became general manager. Hurts is the franchise and face of the NFL, while McKee is a talented backup and a potential lucrative asset in his own right. Still, talent is talent, and Philadelphia does a better job than every team in the NFL in addressing talent and adding it to the roster.
Position group to watch: Linebacker
Philadelphia drafted Campbell, who'll play multiple positions. Then it doubled back and added former Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. to a group that already includes Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley declines invitation to join Trump's sports council
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has declined an invitation to join President Donald Trump's council on sports, fitness, and nutrition, which is being revitalized under an executive order that also reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test for American children. Barkley, the 2,000-yard rusher for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, was on a list of sports personalities that included golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Nelly Korda, WWE executive Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and retired New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera. Barkley said Monday following Eagles' practice that he had actually declined the invitation. 'A couple months ago, it was brought to my team about the council," Barkley said. "So I'm not really too familiar with it. I felt like that I am going to be super busy. Me and my family thought it would probably be of best interest to not accept that. I was definitely a little shocked when my name was mentioned. I'm assuming it's something great, so I appreciate it but was a little shocked when my name was mentioned.' Trump last week reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people's health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. 'This is a wonderful tradition, and we're bringing it back,' Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. The executive order also reinvigorated the national sports council that could have included Barkley. Barkley won AP Offensive Player of the Year last season after rushing for 2,005 yards, eighth-best in NFL history, in his first season with the Eagles. Barkley has golfed with Trump and former President Barack Obama over the last year and the running back attended the White House celebration of the champion Eagles while some teammates — notably star quarterback Jalen Hurts — skipped the ceremony. Barkley visited Trump in April at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and caught a ride with the president to Washington on Air Force One and then to the White House on Marine One. 'He loved it,' Trump said then of Barkley's short flight on the presidential airplane. 'He's a great young guy and an incredible football player. Saquon had a season for the ages, running behind the most powerful offensive line in the NFL." Barkley, meanwhile, pushed back on social media criticism following the visit. He noted that he had already golfed with Obama, a Democrat. 'Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,' Barkley posted on X. ___ AP sports: Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shedeur Sanders remained focused on rookie season with Browns during father's cancer battle
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Shedeur Sanders didn't have time to be sad while his father battled bladder cancer during the spring. Instead, Deion Sanders' message was clear and direct as his son prepared for his first NFL training camp after being drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. Stay focused mentally. 'Dad, he's one person that he'll handle his, we handle what we've got to do. It was like, 'y'all need to focus on what y'all could focus on. Y'all can't sit here and feel sorry for me, and then that's affecting y'all doing that.' Shedeur Sanders said Monday. 'At the end of the day, you're all able to see and you're all able to understand everything on and off the field that I go through. So then you've got to be some type of human at some point in the way I'm doing everything and how I'm handling everything that's thrown at me. You've got no choice but to applaud that.' Monday marked Sanders' first time talking to reporters since his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, announced on July 28 that doctors had removed his bladder to ward off an aggressive form of cancer. Shedeur was back on the field after missing Saturday's practice because of arm soreness. To say Shedeur Sanders has had an eventful first eight-plus months of 2025 would be an understatement. There was the hype about him being a possible first-round pick leading up to the NFL draft, followed by a well-publicized drop to the fifth round, where he was taken 144th overall by the Browns. The Browns are bringing along Sanders slowly, with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett competing for the starting job. Third-round pick Dillon Gabriel has also received some first-team snaps. So far, Sanders hasn't taken any snaps with the first-team offense. He has faced the first-team defense a couple of times while taking snaps with the second- and third-team offenses. 'I view it as the defense does a great job of mixing players in. So (line)backers, you've got rookies out there. Sometimes DBs, you've got different guys out there,' he said. 'Truthfully, I don't care what O-line I go out there with. It could be ones, twos, threes, whatever the situation is. And I know Friday when the game is, if I'm with twos, if I'm with threes. It don't matter to me. I'm just ready to get down and get to doing what I could.' While Deion Sanders visited Shilo Sanders during the Buccaneers' training camp on July 23, the focus soon shifted to when Coach Prime would appear in Cleveland. Shedeur, however, asked his father to stay away because of the lack of snaps and the attention that would follow. 'I don't want him to come and see me get a couple of reps, and then he's cheering like a good dad. Like, 'nah, you can't be proud of me right now, I got to get to where I'm going,' I know there's a lot I've got to do to get there,' Sanders said. 'I just want everything that I'm doing to be focused on this time, and I don't want distractions. 'We know how everybody would take it, as taking away from the team, with my own dad showing up. It's a gift and a curse at the same time.' Coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees have not outlined how snaps will be divided for Wednesday's joint practice and Friday's game against the Carolina Panthers. Part of this uncertainty comes from Pickett and Gabriel both dealing with hamstring injuries. Both did individual drills on Monday. The recent trend throughout the league is for veteran players to receive most of the snaps in joint workouts, with rookies then playing in the preseason games. For Sanders and Gabriel, the games would be the best indicators to date on how they can adapt to things on the fly. 'You're (quarterback is) obviously not wearing a red jersey, so you're free game in those situations, whereas you're not in practice or a joint practice with another team,' Stefanski said. 'So I think those are all things that we weigh as coaches trying to figure out what our team needs for a given season, for a given week.' Sanders did have one of the best throws on Monday with a 28-yard completion to Luke Floriea on fourth-and-17 during a two-minute drill. ___ AP NFL:

Associated Press
13 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Jets' Mason Taylor and Tyrod Taylor miss practice with injuries
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets rookie tight end Mason Taylor sat out practice Monday with an ankle injury and backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor didn't participate with a knee ailment. Coach Aaron Glenn spoke to reporters before the session, and neither player's injury was mentioned. Glenn is expected to provide updates after practice Tuesday. Mason Taylor has been one of the Jets' standout performers during training camp, with the second-round draft pick out of LSU expected to play a major role in the offense with quarterback Justin Fields. Tyrod Taylor was on the field and in uniform throughout the session, but didn't take any snaps as Brady Cook and Adrian Martinez worked behind Fields during team drills. Glenn said wide receiver Xavier Gipson and cornerback/special teams ace Kris Boyd will be out this week after they both injured a shoulder during the Jets' scrimmage Saturday. Neither will play in New York's preseason opener at Green Bay on Saturday night. 'We will re-evaluate those guys going into next week,' Glenn said. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (calf) and left guard John Simpson (back) will also sit out this week. Rookie safety Malachi Moore, who has been sidelined with an oblique issue, will be worked back into practice this week. It's unclear how Glenn will approach the preseason opener, as far as who might play, after he declined to provide details on his thinking. 'I will answer that question later on in the week,' Glenn said. Shaky Fields The Jets' passing offense has struggled in the past few practices, with Fields looking out of sync at times with his receivers. It hasn't all been on Fields, who dislocated a toe on his right foot early in camp. There have been drops, bad routes and mental errors. But it hasn't been smooth lately for Fields, who was unofficially 4 of 16 in team drills Monday. 'I think he's really improving, I really do,' Glenn insisted. 'I'm excited about that player. I'm excited about the things that he is going to be able to create for us. And every day, man, he's just got to continue to keep chopping wood. And the type of person that he is, he's going to continue to do that.' Second-year cornerback Qwant'ez Stiggers echoed his coach's sentiments — and took it a step further. 'He's very athletic, he's very fast,' Stiggers said, 'and he's going to take us to the playoffs.' ___ AP NFL: