Eagles were the cream of the NFC East crop in the draft

Eagles Nation, tell me, please: What’s it like to have a front office that actually seems to know what it’s doing?

While the Cowboys appeared to be throwing darts at the wall and picking whoever the dart hit on the final day of the draft, the rest of the NFC East got a lot better.

Six of the Eagles’ nine picks in the 2024 Draft came on Day 3. And GM Howie Roseman made the most of them.

He even landed Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at linebacker with one of his three, fifth round picks.

As much as it galls me to admit it, it looks like the Eagles were best NFC East team in the draft. Again.

The Commanders also had nine picks and did well with them – landing Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback.

They even managed to get him a solid receiver in Rice’s Luke McCaffrey to throw the ball to.

The Giants only had six picks, fewest in the division, and still out drafted the Cowboys. Yes, it was that bad.

The Cowboys had eight picks.

They made three solid picks despite reaching badly with Marshawn Kneeland in the second round over the first two days.

Their final pick was the only one that was solid. And that was for a player that is a prospect and likely won’t see the field this year.

Let’s take a look at the teams’ picks:

Dallas Cowboys

• 1 (29) — Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma, OT
• 2 (24) — Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan, EDGE
• 3 (9) — Cooper Beebe, Kansas State, OG
• 3 (24) — Marist Liufau, Notre Dame, LB
• 5 (39) — Caelen Carson, Wake Forest, CB
• 6 (40) — Ryan Flournoy, Southeast Missouri State, WR
• 7 (13) — Nathan Thomas, Louisiana, OT
• 7 (24) — Justin Rogers, Auburn, DT

Guyton and Beebe will be starters right off the bat. Liufau should see significant playing time in 2024.

But the rest? Whew, lad.

Kneeland was drafted to replace DeMarcus Lawrence so he won’t contribute until next year.

The remaining four are special teamers at best. Practice squad is a more likely destination for them in 2024.

New York Giants

• 1 (6) — Malik Nabers, LSU, WR
• 2 (15) — Tyler Nubin, Minnesota, S
• 3 (6) — Andru Phillips, Kentucky, CB
• 4 (7) — Theo Johnson, Penn State, TE
• 5 (31) — Tyrone Tracy Jr., Purdue, RB
• 6 (7) — Darius Muasau, UCLA, LB

Many expected the Giants to grab a quarterback this year. Instead, they stood pat with Daniel Jones and tried to give him some help.

New York shored up its defensive backfield, addressing a huge need in the draft. (Attention, Jerry Jones, this is what you do in the draft!)

They were handcuffed with just six picks, but the Giants did as well as could be expected.

Philadelphia Eagles

• 1 (22) — Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo, CB
• 2 (8) — Cooper DeJean, Iowa, CB
• 3 (31) — Jalyx Hunt, Houston Christian, EDGE
• 4 (27) — Will Shipley, Clemson, RB
• 5 (17) — Ainias Smith, Texas A&M, WR
• 5 (20) — Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson, LB
• 5 (37) — Trevor Keegan, Michigan, OG
• 6 (9) — Johnny Wilson, Florida State, WR
• 6 (14) — Dylan McMahon, NC State, OG

Before the draft began, I had the Eagles winning the NFC East in 2024.

After this draft? They might clinch the division by Week 13.

Thank goodness the NFL doesn’t draft head coaches.

That’s the only position on the Eagles that’s keeping them from winning another Super Bowl right now.

Washington Commanders

• 1 (2) — Jayden Daniels, LSU, QB
• 2 (4) — Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois, DT
• 2 (18) — Mike Sainristil, Michigan, CB
• 2 (21) — Ben Sinnott, Kansas State, TE
• 3 (3) — Brandon Coleman, TCU, OG
• 3 (37) — Luke McCaffrey, Rice, WR
• 5 (4) — Jordan Magee, Temple, LB
• 5 (26) — Dominique Hampton, Washington, S
• 7 (2) — Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Notre Dame, EDGE

Washington has a lot of work to do going into the 2024 season.

But their first draft in the post-Dan Snyder era was an important first step. New head coach Dan Quinn got a lot of help on both sides of the ball.

They may not win the division this year, but they’ll be back in the mix sooner rather than later.