Inevitably, this story was going to be written at some point this season. Maybe the total absence of JJ Arcega-Whiteside on Sunday was the tipping point that finally turned my attention to the Eagles’ draft history and rather disappointing crop of receivers that have been brought into the program since 2010.

Intern Kirsten was good enough to spend some time this morning compiling a list of Eagle selections dating back ten years now, though she didn’t really have a choice. We made her do it. She wrote out the bullet points and added some notes for us, then I added my takeaways at the bottom of each section.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and see what we can find. Keep an eye on receivers, running backs, and corners:

2010 – Howie Roseman, Andy Reid

  • Brandon Graham, DE, 1st round
  • Nate Allen, S, 2nd round – safety who came back with a draft pick obtained in the Donovan McNabb trade
  • Daniel Te’o Nesheim, DE, 3rd round – released after one season
  • Trevard Lindley, CB, 4th round – had one INT in 11 games, cut the next season
  • Keenan Clayton, LB, 4th round – 2 seasons w/ team, only had 18 tackles.
  • Mike Kafka, QB, 4th round – backup for Mike Vick at the time, but Kafka only appeared in four games during his tenure
  • Clay Harbor, TE, 4th round – 3 seasons with the team, caught only 47 passes.
  • Ricky Sapp, DE, 5th round – cut in training camp
  • Riley Cooper, WR, 5th round – played 6 seasons, catching 18 touchdowns in 88 games, 2013 season 835 yards receiving, 8 TDs, NFC East Champs
  • Charles Scott, RB, 6th round – traded during training camp
  • Jamar Chaney, LB, 7th round – 3 seasons for Eagles, started all games in 2011
  • Jeff Owens, DT, 7th round – one game and one season with the team
  • Kurt Coleman, S, 7th round – decent career with the Birds, 59 games and 29 starts before heading to Carolina

Kinkead:

A lot of people disliked the Graham pick at the time because Earl Thomas was on the board. Both guys went on to win Super Bowls.

Ironically, Riley Cooper turned out to be one of the best WR picks of the last 10 years.

Te’o-Nesheim sadly passed away last year.

2011 – Howie Roseman, Andy Reid

  • Danny Watkins, G, 1st Round – 18 games in 3 seasons, not great games
  • Jaiquawn Jarrett, S, 2nd Round – 2 seasons and 16 tackles
  • Curtis Marsh, CB, 3rd Round – 3 seasons, didn’t do much
  • Alex Henery, K, 4th round – 2 good seasons w Birds, cut during 4th year training camp
  • Dion Lewis, RB, 5th round – totaled only 171 rushing yards in 2 seasons with the Birds, excelled elsewhere
  • Julian Vandervelde, OL, 5th round – 5 seasons with the team, played 14 games in 2013. Never started a game
  • Jason Kelce, C, 6th round – has started in every game, Pro Bowler
  • Brian Rolle, LB, 6th round – released after second season
  • Greg Lloyd, LB, 7th round – cut by the team, never appeared in a game
  • Stanley Havali, FB – Appeared in 15 games and had a TD

Kinkead:

Ah yeah, the Danny Watkins draft. Guy wanted to be a firefighter more than a football player, and the former is the more noble cause, so good for him even though it killed the Birds.

This would have been a disastrous draft if not for the unearthing of future Pro Bowler Jason Kelce.

2012 – Howie Roseman, Andy Reid

  • Fletcher Cox, DT, 1st round
  • Mychal Kendricks, LB, 2nd round
  • Vinny Curry, DE, 2nd Round
  • Nick Foles, QB, 3rd round
  • Brandon Boykin, CB, 4th round – friction between Boykin and Chip Kelly during his tenure
  • Dennis Kelly, OT, 5th round – reliable backup, started 21 games in 4 seasons at guard and tackle
  • Marvin McNutt, WR, 6th round – was good in training camp, never caught a pass in a game
  • Brandon Washington, OT, 6th round – cut after training camp
  • Bryce Brown, RB, 7th round – played well when was in, eventually traded

Kinkead:

This draft yielded four guys who went on to start for the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Of course Foles left and came back, but Cox, Kendricks, and Curry were significant defensive pieces for the Birds. The Boykin/Kelly thing was strange, but not necessarily surprising when you look back on it now.

2013 – Howie Roseman, Chip Kelly

(First draft that Howie and Chip worked together)
  • Lane Johnson, OT, 1st round
  • Zach Ertz, TE, 2nd round –  best TE in the league in 2018
  • Bennie Logan, DT, 3rd round- good run stopping DT during his tenure
  • Matt Barkley, QB, 4th round
  • Earl Wolff, S, 5th round – ok in 2013, got injured in 2014 and done
  • Joe Krueger, DL, 7th round – never played a game for Eagles
  • Jordan Poyer, CB, 7th round – released by Birds, turned out to be a decent player for Browns
  • David King, DT, 7th round – never appeared in a game. Team had depth in DT position at this time

Kinkead:

Johnson and Ertz were slam dunks, and Logan was a good player before jetting in free agency.  The rest of the picks here were misses. Wolff had a chance to do something.

2014 – Howie Roseman, Chip Kelly

  • Marcus Smith, DE, 1st round
  • Jordan Matthews WR, 2nd round – caught more passes in 1st three seasons than any other receiver in history, later traded then brought back
  • Josh Huff, WR, 3rd Round – played for Chip at Oregon
  • Jaylen Watkins, CB, 4th round – played corner and safety, went to the Chargers and tore his ACL
  • Taylor Hart, DE, 5th round
  • Ed Reynolds, S, 5th round – never really contributed
  • Beau Allen, DL, 7th round

Kinkead:

Beau Allen actually became the biggest piece in this draft, which is kind of crazy to think, but he played 423 defensive snaps and 136 special teams snaps during the Super Bowl season. He was a key rotational piece on the d-line right behind Cox and Tim Jernigan.

Taylor Hart I think was signed and waived like 37 times.

Marcus Smith was a disastrous reach, unfortunately.

2015 – Chip Kelly, Howie Roseman sent to storage closet B

  • Nelson Agholor WR, 1st round
  • Eric Rowe, DB, 2nd round
  • Jordan Hicks, LB, 3rd round – oft injured but contributed significantly when he was out there
  • JaCorey Shepherd, CB, 6th round – tore his ACL
  • Randall Evans, CB, 6th round
  • Brian Mihalik, DE, 7th round

Kinkead

Chip’s draft.

Agholor and Hicks stuck around. Rowe was another CB disappointment who ended up in New England.

2016- Howie Roseman’s revenge, featuring Joe Douglas and Doug Pederson

  • Carson Wentz, QB, 1st round – franchise QB
  • Isaac Seumalo, DT, 3rd round – starting OL this year
  • Wendell Smallwood, RB, 5th round
  • Halapoulivaati Vaitai, OT, 5th round – backup who is covering a variety of roles still
  • Blake Countess, CB, 6th round – cut after training camp
  • Jalen Mills CB, 7th round – Super Bowl winner in 2017
  • Alex McCallister, DE, 7th round – cut in training camp
  • Joe Walker, LB, 7th round – tore ACL, came back to play on Super Bowl team and covered for Jordan Hicks

Kinkead:

Big V and Mills all started on the Super Bowl team. Seumalo is now a starter.

Smallwood still disappoints me. It’s not like he didn’t have opportunities here. He was the Big 12 rushing champion. Now he’s the Redskins’ 4th string back.

2017- Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas, Doug Pederson

  • Derek Barnett, DE, 1st round
  • Sidney Jones, CB, 2nd round
  • Rasul Douglas, CB, 3rd round
  • Mack Hollins, WR, 4th round
  • Donnel Pumphrey, RB, 4th round
  • Shelton Gibson, WR, 5th round –  not in NFL in 2019
  • Nate Gerry, LB, 5th round – converted safety from his college days
  • Elijah Qualls, DT, 6th round – no longer in NFL

Kinkead:

Barnett has had his moments in Philly, but Jones has yet to pan out and Douglas has his flaws. Hollins, Pumphrey, and Gibson are/were misses, though Shelton was great in college:

2018 – Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas, Doug Pederson

  • Dallas Goedert, TE, 2nd round – been a great addition
  • Avonte Maddox, CB, 4th round
  • Josh Sweat, DE, 4th round
  • Matt Pryor, G, 6th round – now a backup
  • Jordan Mailata, OT, 7th round – project player who is currently injured

Kinkead:

Goedert and Maddox were solid additions. Sweat probably should be contributing more. Mailata was a project player and is now injured. Pryor is a backup. Slim draft, only five picks.

2019 Draft – Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas, Doug Pederson

  • Andre Dillard, OT, 1st round
  • Miles Sanders, RB, 2nd round
  • JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, 2nd round – 2 catches for 14 yards in 2019
  • Shareef Miller, DE, 4th round – hasn’t gotten in
  • Clayton Thorson, QB, 5th round – now a Dallas Cowboy

Kinkead:

We’ll see. Sanders looks like a player. Dillard could use some time and JJAW is barely even sniffing the field now. The Miller and Thorson picks look bad and are amplified by the fact that it was a five player draft.

==========

Overall, I think the takeaway here is that you look through those lists and see very few game changers when it comes to wide receivers and corners. Running back was also a weakness. And there’s inconsistency in a lot of drafts, with some solid hits followed by total whiffs.

You wonder where the Eagles might be right now if they had drafted guys who were more dynamic at catching the ball or defending the pass. It is a passing league, after all.

This has been a trip down memory lane.