ClutchPoints
With the 2025 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, the Philadelphia Eagles are about to load up on new talent to help them mount an arduous defense of their latest Lombardi Trophy.
That’s right, while the Birds will be returning most of their starters from 2024, they do have a few holes that need to be addressed, especially with cost-controlled pieces that can remain on cheap deals for the next few years.
But who should the Eagles pick? Well, the fine folks over at Pro Football Network have a draft simulator that provides a glimpse into how things could happen, including the potential for Philly to trade down and load up on even more assets.
Trade!
As the title suggested, the PFN simulator has the ability to trade picks, and much like in 2018, the last time the Eagles had the 32nd overall pick in the NFL draft, Howie Roseman has decided to forgo closing out the round with a selection of his own – while forgoing the fifth-year option that goes with it – to accumulate more assets in the team-building equation.
Fortunately, at pick 57, one of the three selections Roseman amassed in the deal alongside pick 74 and pick 113, the Eagles landed a player they likely would have considered in the first round in Ole Miss edge rusher Princely Umanmielen.
A long, speedy edge rusher with an athletic build and an eye for the quarterback, Umanmielen looks like an ideal upside play alongside Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, and Bryce Huff – assuming he isn’t traded – with the potential to earn important snaps right from the jump.
Princely Umanmielen possesses the physical tools and flashes of technical brilliance that suggest star potential. With natural bend, strength, and length, he has the traits of a disruptive pass rusher. While consistency has been elusive, his late-career surge hints at untapped upside. If he can put it all together at the next level, Umanmielen has the foundation to develop into a force on the defensive front.
Originally joining Ole Miss in 2024 after three alright seasons at Florida, Umanmielen broke out in 2024, recording 10.5 sacks, 13.5 tackles for a loss, and 37 tackles during his final collegiate season. Standing 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, if Umanmielen turns in elite testing numbers at the combine, he likely won’t still be on the board at pick 57, or maybe even pick 32, if he can run a sub-4.5 40 time.
With Philadelphia’s biggest short-term need addressed, the PFN simulator turned an eye to the future in Emery Jones, who played some darn good football for LSU.
A right tackle who bookended a line opposite future first-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr., Jones may not earn accolades as his soon-to-be former teammate, but he more than makes up for that perception with a combination of measurables and production. Standing 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, Jones only allowed three sacks over the...
