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PHILADELPHIA − The grades are coming in for the Eagles' haul in the NFL draft.
And it's easy to see that the Eagles' picks are either on the cusp of far exceeding their draft slots or perhaps ending up as busts who never developed.
Here, then, are the grades for every Eagles' pick in the 2026 NFL draft:
Pick: Round 1, No. 20
Grade: A-
Why: The Eagles traded up three spots to take Lemon, a high-volume receiver from Southern Cal who rarely drops the ball. He had 79 catches for 1,156 yards and won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver. Yet Lemon played mostly as a slot receiver at USC, and he's not particularly big (5-11, 195 pounds) or fast (4.47 in the 40). If the Eagles are trading A.J. Brown as expected, Lemon will have to produce.
Pick: Round 2, No. 54
Grade: B
Why: Stowers is a freakish athlete who set a Combine record for tight ends with a 45.5 inch vertical leap. But Stowers has only played tight end for two seasons at Vanderbilt after coming to Texas A&M as a quarterback. In other words, Stowers has a lot to learn. Fortunately, he's in the right place behind veterans Dallas Goedert and Johnny Mundt. Unfortunately, it'll be hard for Stowers to find a niche this season in an offense that's deep and prefers to run the ball. That could change in 2027, though, as Goedert and Mundt are on one-year contracts. It'll need to.
Pick: Round 3, No. 68
Grade: B-
Why: Bell is 6-foot-9, 346 pounds and the Eagles believe he has tremendous upside. He didn't allow a sack last season while playing for the national champion runners-up at Miami. The problem is that Bell is not refined as a run blocker. Like Stowers, Bell has the luxury of learning behind stars Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. If Bell can take advantage of that, the Eagles will have something special.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the "Eye On The Eagles" newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Philadelphia Eagles draft grades, analysis for NFL Draft 2026
Continue reading...
And it's easy to see that the Eagles' picks are either on the cusp of far exceeding their draft slots or perhaps ending up as busts who never developed.
Here, then, are the grades for every Eagles' pick in the 2026 NFL draft:
Makai Lemon NFL Draft Grade
Pick: Round 1, No. 20
Grade: A-
Why: The Eagles traded up three spots to take Lemon, a high-volume receiver from Southern Cal who rarely drops the ball. He had 79 catches for 1,156 yards and won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver. Yet Lemon played mostly as a slot receiver at USC, and he's not particularly big (5-11, 195 pounds) or fast (4.47 in the 40). If the Eagles are trading A.J. Brown as expected, Lemon will have to produce.
Eli Stowers NFL Draft Grade
Pick: Round 2, No. 54
Grade: B
Why: Stowers is a freakish athlete who set a Combine record for tight ends with a 45.5 inch vertical leap. But Stowers has only played tight end for two seasons at Vanderbilt after coming to Texas A&M as a quarterback. In other words, Stowers has a lot to learn. Fortunately, he's in the right place behind veterans Dallas Goedert and Johnny Mundt. Unfortunately, it'll be hard for Stowers to find a niche this season in an offense that's deep and prefers to run the ball. That could change in 2027, though, as Goedert and Mundt are on one-year contracts. It'll need to.
Markel Bell NFL Draft Grade
Pick: Round 3, No. 68
Grade: B-
Why: Bell is 6-foot-9, 346 pounds and the Eagles believe he has tremendous upside. He didn't allow a sack last season while playing for the national champion runners-up at Miami. The problem is that Bell is not refined as a run blocker. Like Stowers, Bell has the luxury of learning behind stars Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. If Bell can take advantage of that, the Eagles will have something special.
Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the "Eye On The Eagles" newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Philadelphia Eagles draft grades, analysis for NFL Draft 2026
Continue reading...
