The hopes and dreams have come true for many young men. They’ll forever cherish the moment they got the call. The NFL is one of the most physically demanding sports. Some make it big, some flame out before their first preseason. Every team is open to skepticism when they make future investments in the young men they choose on draft day. With that said, let’s continue with the NFC East (Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants).
The Philadelphia Eagles
Round 1 • Pick 9 • DT Jalen Carter
Round 1 • Pick 30 • EDGE Nolan Smith
Round 3 • Pick 65 • C Ricky Stromberg
Round 3 • Pick 66 • DB Sydney Brown
Round 4 • Pick 105 • DB Kelee Ringo
Round 6 • Pick 188 • QB Tanner McKee
Round 7 • Pick 249 • DT Moro Ojomo
Philly Dawgs sounds catchy right? Call it lazy scouting, call it drafting winners. Doesn’t change the fact they had an awesome draft. Adding Jalen Carter, one of the top talents, being added to Philly? A team that had a league leading 44 sacks last season, talk about overkill. Later they added Nolan Smith, one of the higher rated Edge defenders. In the third round, they patched any potential holes by selecting OL Tyler Steen. Later, they got an absurd steal with CB Kelee Ringo in the 4th. Yes, three Georgia Bulldogs in the top four rounds. This appears to be another Howie Roseman masterclass. It’s unfair that the other 31 teams allowed this to happen!
Pro Football Debate draft grade: A+
The Washington Commanders
Round 1 • Pick 16 • CB Emmanuel Forbes
Round 2 • Pick 47 • CB Jartavius Martin
Round 3 • Pick 97 • C Ricky Stromberg
Round 4 • Pick 118 • G Braeden Daniels
Round 5 • Pick 137 • EDGE KJ Henry
Round 6 • Pick 193 • RB Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Round 7 • Pick 233 • EDGE Andre Jones Jr.
The Commanders had a boring draft with weird reaches. Emanuel Forbes is the lone bright spot. He’s a physical CB that is more than capable of handling the outside. Doubling up on CB with your top 2 picks doesn’t feel right. Both times there were higher rated players still on the board. It’s been revealed the league was higher on Forbes than most experts. But I believe Joey Porter Jr. will haunt them for years to come. Later they doubled down again, making two interior OL picks in the third and fourth. Never been a fan of the double down, never will be. Maybe they know better, maybe they blew the draft, time will tell. For now it looks mediocre at best.
Pro Football Debate draft grade: C-
The Dallas Cowboys
Round 1 • Pick 26 • DT Mazi Smith
Round 2 • Pick 58 • TE Luke Schoonmaker
Round 3 • Pick 90 • LB DeMarvion Overshown
Round 4 • Pick 129 • DE Viliami Fehoko Jr.
Round 5 • Pick 169 • OT Asim Richards
Round 6 • Pick 178 • CB Eric Scott Jr.
Round 6 • Pick 212 • RB Deuce Vaughn
Round 7 • Pick 244 • WR Jalen Brooks
A reach with their first 2 picks followed up by non-impressive moves. While this draft is underwhelming, I believe they picked day 1 contributors and addressed team needs. They did take their guys with no regard for projected positional value. DT Mazi Smith should’ve been available in the late second, if not the 3rd round. There’s no real justification for selecting him at 26. In the late second, they went with TE Luke Schoonmaker. 58th overall for a player considered by many analysts and experts to be mid day 3 selection. Yes they did address team needs but when grading drafts, positional value need to be factored in.
Pro Football Debate draft grade: C-
DT Mazi Smith
The New York Giants
Round 1 • Pick 24 • DB Deonte Banks
Round 2 • Pick 57 • C John Michael Schmitz
Round 3 • Pick 73 • WR Jalin Hyatt
Round 5 • Pick 172 • RB Eric Gray
Round 6 • Pick 209 • CB Tre Hawkins III
Round 7 • Pick 243 • DT Jordan Riley
Round 7 • Pick 254 • S Gervarrius Owens
Let’s just say the Giants draft is just average. They did prioritize team needs with good positional. Deonte Banks fills a glaring hole at DB. He’s one of the top more versatile DB prospects in the class. Julian Love has been that guy for them and he was lost in free agency. C John Michael Schmitz is amongst my higher rated interior OL prospects. This has been an area of concern for their newly paid QB’s development that showed significant improvement last year. Hyatt appears to be another solid piece to their already speedy offense. More toys never hurt. Especially after overachieving in the previous year.
CB Deonte Banks
Pro Football Debate draft grade: B-
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