With the first round of free agency officially passed, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles can turn their attention to the 2025 NFL Draft, where the next crop of Philly’s finest will find their way to the City of Brotherly Love.
Now granted, there could still be a few moves going down before the 2025 NFL Draft officially kicks off in April, as the Eagles have been hinting at trading either Dallas Goedert or Bryce Huff – or Dallas Goedert and Bryce Huff – and there could always be some out-of-the-blue signing or trade that gets fans talking. But whether the first round opens up with Goedert on the roster or Trey Hendrickson, one thing is clear: the Eagles are looking to add a few key contributors on long-term, low-cost contracts.
Fortunately, the Eagles have eight picks in the first five rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, so they will be able to get some quality performers to rebuild the ranks and charge into the future as the reigning and defending Super Bowl champion. So, let’s fire up the PFF Mock Draft Simulator and see what the algorithm thinks the Eagles should do in 2025.
1. Luther Burden III, wide receiver, Missouri
After losing key contributors at defensive end, defensive tackle, cornerback, safety, guard, and potentially tight end, if Dallas Goedert ends up being traded, the Eagles are taking a wide receiver in the first round?
Well, according to this PFF mock, yes, and frankly, the idea isn’t really a bad one.
Now, in 2024, the Eagles’ offense was good, maybe even very good, but not elite. Sure, their rushing game was among the best in the NFL in this or any year, but they just couldn’t seem to get much going through the air, partially by design, particularly because of their scheme.
With the box always loaded to slow down the run game, the Eagles found themselves routinely throwing the ball outside the hash marks to try to get something going through the air, which led to a ridiculous number of contested targets for AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and very few chances for a receiver like Jahan Dotson, who spent much of the year as the WR3.
The solution? Add a legit deep threat who can stretch the field and open things up a little bit between the tackles.
Now in the past, the Eagles tried to stick pretty true to this philosophy, with players like DeSean Jackson, DeSean Jackson, again, and Quez Watkins filling the role, but when former combine leader John Ross failed to make the team or much of an impact in 2024, the Eagles relied on their playmakers to make plays, instead of having a speedy deep threat who could force teams to play two safeties over the top to avoid a 50 yards TD on any man miscue.
Enter Luther Burden III, who just so happens to be one of the premier deep-threat receivers in the 2025 NFL Draft class, in addition to being a legit weapon in the slot.
Though his 4.41 40 time may look pedestrian when Matthew Golden is running a 4.29, Burden III tracks the ball well in the air, has great acceleration, and plays faster than he tests, as his tape clearly shows. While the Eagles could wait until Day 2 to get a speed receiver like Isaiah Bong or Tre Harris, if Bond III is their best player on the board at pick 32 – and Howie Roseman doesn’t trade down – the Eagles would likely be able to field an even more balanced offense in 2025 with the Missouri product replacing Dotson as WR3.
2. Xavier Watts, safety, Notre Dame
Turning attention to the opposite side of the ball, part of why the Eagles traded away CJ Gardner-Johnson is because they felt strongly about Sydney Brown, or at least giving him a chance to play safety this season alongside Reed Blankenship.
Could that happen this fall? Sure, anything is possible, but if the Eagles draft a player like Xavier Watts out of Notre Dame, that might muck up that plan a bit, as Watts is a great Cover 2 safety seemingly built in a lab to play in Vic Fangio’s system.
Coming off the best season of his career, with a PFF coverage rating of 89.5 and a run defense grade of 79.5, Watts played some of his best ball on college football’s grandest stages, showing fans why he can be a versatile, do-it-all safety who logged 465 snaps deployed deep, 306 in the box, and 174 more in the slot as an interior defender.
Throw that all together and what do you have? A safety who could come in and compete right away for CJGJ’s old spot and give the Eagles a cost-controlled starter for the next four seasons.
3. Harold Fannin, tight end, Bowling Green
Another key addition, this time at a position of need as well.
While Goedert isn’t technically gone just yet, the Eagles did just sign two new tight ends in 2025 and may be on the lookout for a long-term answer who can sit on the team long-term, just like number 88 and Zach Ertz before him.
Now granted, Fannin did just record a poor showing at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, with his 4.71 40 time surely set to knock him down a few draft boards this spring, but he also just had one of the best tight end seasons of any player in this year’s class, with the pride of Bowling Green catching an astounding 117 balls for 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Could the Eagles have pause about his measurables? Maybe so, but they did just hire his former head coach, Scot Loeffler, to be their new offensive coordinator, and if he can give Nick Sirianni and company some offensive advice, the results could be magical, as some tight ends never have 1,500 yards in a career, let alone a season.
4. Oluwafemi Oladejo, edge, UCLA
In the fourth round, the Eagles nab another player of need and arguably one of the more interesting prospects in this year’s class in Oluwafemi Oladejo, the edge rusher out of UCLA who did much, much more than just rush the passer during his college career.
Do you like Jalon Walker but know he will be off the board before pick 32? Well, then Oladejo is a Day 3 prospect worth watching, as he began his career as a standup linebacker before transitioning to the defensive line, where he instantly found a home. Though he never amassed more than five sacks in a season, Oladejo’s past should be interesting to a coach like Fangio, who does drop his corners from time to time from the edge spot.
While Oladejo is a question mark, he is further along than Jalyx Hunt, who will be in the mix to start opposite Nolan Smith this fall alongside Josh Uche and a few other depth pieces. If he works out as an edge rusher, the Eagles could be in a very good position moving forward, as they would have another young rusher still on his rookie deal.
5. Kyle McCord, Trevor Etienne, Nick Nash and Connor Colby
With four picks in the fifth round, the Eagles will not be picking four times no matter what happens. Roseman will move up to take his guys in 2025 like he did last season with Cooper DeJean, will trade back to get more assets, or could trade out of a round entirely if some team wants to give up a 2026 pick.
If he does decide to use all four picks, however, there are some interesting options who could be useful additions to the Eagles like Trevor Etienne, the brother of Travis and former running back from Georgia. Like Travis, Etienne is a good pass-catching back with an ability to still make plays on the group and could become a long-term replacement for Kenneth Gainwell if Will Shipley doesn’t work out.
At quarterback, Kyle McCord is an interesting option out of Syracuse, as are players like Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon and Tyler Shoughout of Louisville. While fans have their preferences, this draft chose McCord, who is an interesting enough option who could develop for four years from a QB3 to QB2 Tanner McKee-style.
Rounding out the draft, PFF has the Eagles selecting Nick Nash out of San Jose State, who transitioned from a 900-yard quarterback to a 1,382-yard wide receiver with an ability to dominate his level of competition and get to the endzone 1.25 times a game. An All-American like Fannin, Nash could be a good addition to the team with an ability to compete with Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson for a spot on the roster. They then selected Connor Colby, a zone specialty out of Iowa who could add depth at guard alongside Trevor Keegan and Kenyon Green behind likely starter Tyler Steen.
Is this draft perfect? No, not really, but it does give the Eagles four instant contributors, a few interesting depth pieces, and a player in Nash who would instantly be earning Dark Horse sleeper hype the second he steps on an NFL field. If Roseman’s goal is to get cheaper and younger long-term across the roster, almost all of these additions would do just that.
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