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The Philadelphia Eagles pulled the aggressive draft night tactic to land DeVonta Smith four years ago. The Super Bowl LIX champs will echo something similar come April, one draft analyst said Monday.
Philadelphia gambled in moving all the way to No. 10 to nab the Heisman Trophy winner in the 2021 draft. The Eagles have since played in two Super Bowls with the Alabama Crimson Tide star. Only this time, Smith walked out a champion on Sunday.
Smith racked up four catches for 69 yards and scored on a deep 46-yard touchdown in the 40-22 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs. His electric downfield speed has proven to be perfect for Philly.
Philadelphia doesn’t look satisfied with its explosive offensive output down in New Orleans. The Eagles are now projected to move up from their No. 32 spot on Monday. Chad Reuter and his post Super Bowl mock draft on NFL.com has Philly adding a teammate for Smith.
Philadelphia will add to the past national title winner representation per Reuter. He has Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State coming over to join Smith — plus give Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Jalen Hurts a new weapon.
The Eagles move out of the final pick in night one of the draft to create this move. They swap with the Baltimore Ravens in this scenario. Again, the move mimics how Philly grabbed Smith to build its championship roster.
“The Eagles often focus on the trenches early in drafts, but GM Howie Roseman did trade up for receiver DeVonta Smith four years ago,” Reuter mentioned.
Smith is starting to hit his prime. A.J. Brown is also still young as he’s yet to hit 28. But the champs need WR depth for 2025. This doesn’t just repeat the Smith move of ’21, but follows the blueprint of another past Super Bowl winner.
“With the team’s depth at receiver lacking, Roseman swaps his third-round pick for the Ravens’ fourth-rounder — similar to what the Chiefs did last year to land Xavier Worthy — to grab a reliable playmaker in Egbuka,” Reuter said.
Egbuka is the next surefire first round WR talent from Columbus. He’s joining past Buckeyes greats Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the league soon. Egbuka is a natural route runner equipped with strong ball tracking skills regardless of the route he’s running. Egbuka helps expand Hurts’ dynamic field options by coming over to the reigning champs.
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