Howie Hustle – Blog 7 (Nick)

Howie Roseman is a thief! The Eagles GM continues to make impressive chess moves, finding quality players deep in the draft yet again. As if it wasn’t sweet enough getting our vengeance on the Kansas City Chiefs in SB 59, we traded up one spot in front of them to secure LB Jihaad Campbell, the icing on the cake.

We landed the Alabama playmaker and South Jersey native at No. 31 in Rd 1, and that is a STEAL if you ask me. 

Most scouts and analysts had him ranked in the top 15 on their big boards. As did the Eagles, who love his well-rounded style of play, which will fit right in with Vic Fangio’s aggressive front.
The next pick I love even more, simply based off one tackle alone in the SEC Championship game against Georgia.

It was the hardest hit I’ve seen in a college football game in recent memory. That was delivered by Texas S Andrew Mukuba, who was the next Eagle drafted Friday night No. 64 Overall in Rd 2. I love these two picks here for a number of reasons.

First, I love our focus on defense in this draft. Defense wins championships, plain and simple. It was important to address that first after losing so many guys on the defensive side this offseason.
I’ve noticed in recent years that Howie loves drafting players from winning programs. Bringing in quality guys with a rich winning history isn’t guaranteed a seamless transition to the next level. But experiencing a winning culture prior to the NFL sure helps from a competitive standpoint.

Next is the physicality. Both of these players fly to the ball and bring a legitimate toughness to the #1 ranked defense. I believe these two men in particular will continue to help build on that.
Adding these first few draft picks prove that we now have a very young core on defense who can grow and learn together for the next 5 years at least. I look forward to watching it all unfold.

As for the rest of the draft, the birds traded out of rounds 3 and 4 but made some splashes in the later rounds.
Throughout the weekend, Roseman’s blueprint was clear: prioritize toughness, versatility, and upside while leveraging trades to maximize the roster haul. Find steals and swap picks for both quality prospects and extra capital.

The Eagles front office reinforced its reputation for seeking maximum value, proving that Howie Roseman remains one of the sharpest drafters in the NFL.