Philadelphia Eagles: 2021 draft haul receiving mixed reviews

Whether you appreciate post-draft grades or not (they tend to be meaningless), they can still be a rather fun exercise this time of year. Following a Philadelphia Eagles draft haul that was headlined by the likes of WR Devonta Smith and IOL Landon Dickerson at the top of the process, the team’s overall rookie class has been receiving rather mixed grades from analysts and writers around the league.

In a recent Draft Report Card article on footballoutsiders.com, the site put together average grades for each team’s draft class based on evaluations handed out by 20 different writers.

This list of writers includes the likes of Mel Kiper Jr., Sheil Kapadia, Mark Schofield, the Pro Football Focus staff, and others – so a rather reputable group of football reporters when it comes to stuff like the NFL Draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles 2021 draft haul got mixed grades.

While plenty of fans were rather high on the Philadelphia Eagles haul this year due to the Devonta Smith pick at the top, the team actually received rather poor results from the pool of writers that Football Outsiders pulled grades from. They ranked 17th in the NFL in terms of total “draft GPA” (3.05) – a below average grade.

What I found most interesting about these grades, however, is just how split people were on the Eagles overall rookie class. Philadelphia ranked fifth in the NFL in terms of standard deviation (0.81), with only the Cowboys, Raiders, Packers, and Rams having a wider array of grades.

The Eagles highest grade was that of an “A” from USA Today’s Nate Davis, and their lowest was that of a “C+” from CBS’ Pete Prisco.

It’s not super surprising to see people split on the Eagles draft haul, as so much of it is set to be defined by the team’s first two picks, both of whom have injury/health concerns tied to them. Dickerson has already suffered four major lower body injuries, and Smith has the physical build of someone who may struggle to stay on the field in the NFL.

While the talent is obviously there with both Alabama prospects, the whole draft gets thrown out the window if either of them fail to play consistent reps for the Eagles moving forward. The team desperately needs to be hitting on first and second round picks at the moment as they attempt to rebuild their roster.

Only time will tell if the Eagles deserved an “A” for this year’s draft class or if they deserved a “C+.” Personally speaking, I wasn’t all that impressed with their haul this past weekend, so I tend to agree with the people who gave the Eagles a lower-than-average grade.