PHILADELPHIA − It wasn’t a surprise on the positions the Eagles targeted in the draft as much as how they got there.
The Eagles went with the defensive line in the first round Thursday night with a pair of Georgia stars in tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith.
Then they went with the offensive line Friday, but they did it by trading back three spots, out of the second round and into the second pick of the third round. The Eagles used that pick on Alabama tackle Tyler Steen at No. 65. Then they went to the secondary, taking Illinois safety Sydney Brown with the very next pick.
And there was another pattern. In Steen, the Eagles drafted their fourth Alabama player since 2020. Steen joins quarterback Jalen Hurts, who finished his collegiate career at Oklahoma, wide receiver DeVonta Smith and left guard Landon Dickerson (2021).
The Eagles have drafted four Georgia players in the last two drafts in Carter and Smith in the first round, and defensive tackle Jordan Davis in the first round in 2022, along with linebacker Nakobe Dean in the third round.
In fact, the Eagles could have kept the Georgia streak going Friday night as both cornerback Kelee Ringo and tight end Darnell Washington were still available when the Eagles picked.
“I felt like they’d relegate us to the SEC if we took more Georgia guys,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said with a laugh.
But the two third-round picks in Steen and Brown do accomplish what the Eagles wanted in the draft.
To get Steen, the Eagles traded with the Houston Texans, gaining a sixth-round pick (No. 188) and a seventh-round pick (No. 230). That leaves the Eagles with four picks on Saturday for Rounds 4-7 − the sixth-round pick and three seventh rounders (No. 219 and 248 are the others).
The Eagles had acquired the No. 66 pick on Thursday night from Arizona, a result of a tampering case when the Cardinals hired ex-Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be their head coach. The Eagles went from No. 94 to No. 66 in the deal. The Eagles also gave the Cardinals a fifth-round pick in 2024.
Roseman called Brown “a passion player,” someone the Eagles scouts felt strongly about after the 5-foot-10, 211-pounder had 6 interceptions last season for the Illini.
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Steen, who’s 6-6, 321 pounds, began his college career as a defensive lineman at Vanderbilt before switching to tackle his sophomore year. After two more years at Vanderbilt, going from right tackle to left, Steen transferred to Alabama for a graduate season, where he played left tackle on a perennial national power.
That included going against the four Georgia players on the Eagles’ roster.
“I know we played them pretty consistently on a yearly basis,” Steen said. “I think it’ll definitely make me better. It’s iron sharpens iron at the end of the day. I think at Alabama, obviously, we had great players on the defensive line and the defense in general, and getting a chance to practice against them every day made me that much better of a player. So, I can’t wait to get (to Philadelphia) and practice every day against those guys.”
The Eagles see Steen as a guard, too, even though Steen had never played there until the Senior Bowl in January. It’s conceivable that Steen could challenge Cam Jurgens for the starting job at right guard, then perhaps move out to right tackle whenever perennial Pro Bowler Lane Johnson is ready to retire.
Johnson has said in the past that he plans to play another 2-3 years.
And the Eagles need the offensive line depth after starting right guard Isaac Seumalo and swing tackle Andre Dillard left in free agency, going to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans, respectively.
“We think he has good flexibility,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said about Steen. “He’s been able to play, and we feel like he can play both positions.”
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The Eagles feel strongly about Brown, too. He was the first true safety drafted, and he could battle for a starting job with Reed Blankenship next to Terrell Edmunds, whom the Eagles signed in free agency.
Brown, who ran a 4.47 in the 40, is known as a physical safety who could make an immediate impact.
Roseman said Brown was strictly a “box” safety at Illinois, often near the line of scrimmage, whether it was blitzing, stopping the run or covering a tight end over the middle. Like Steen, the Eagles saw more at the Senior Bowl when Brown also covered receivers going deep on post patterns.
“You saw the athleticism, and I think that really helped complete our process,” Roseman said about the Senior Bowl. “Sydney Brown was a passion player for a lot of people in this organization. He was a red-star guy, and I think just a tremendous person with obviously really good athletic tools, leadership ability.”
The Eagles feel that way about Steen, too.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
