Ranking the Philadelphia Eagles Last 10 First-Round Picks, Worst to Best

5. Derek Barnett, EDGE, 2017

Oddly enough, there was a debate entering the 2017 NFL Draft surrounding Myles Garrett and Derek Barnett. Garrett was an impressive defensive end coming out of Texas A&M and was seen as the consensus No. 1 pick. But some analysts, including Bucky Brooks, thought Barnett could be the better pass rusher at the next level.

Barnett was unstoppable for the Tennessee Volunteers. He had nine sacks as a freshman and then put up 23 more over the next two seasons. He forced three fumbles and had an impressive 52 tackles for a loss during his three-year career as well.

Garrett had similar numbers with 31 sacks, 47 tackles for a loss, and seven forced fumbles. But once they got to the league, it was clear Garrett was the better player.

The Cleveland defensive end already boasts the franchise record with 88.5 career sacks — and won the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. Barnett, on the other hand, has 24 sacks — with 21.5 coming with the Eagles. His best campaign was in 2019 when he had 30 tackles and 6.5 sacks but outside of that, there were some disappointing seasons and a lot of flags.

Barnett continued to stick around but during the 2023 season, the Eagles finally decided to move on. He was released in late November and finished the year with the Houston Texans.

4. Jordan Davis, DT, 2022

At one point, the Philadelphia Eagles had three picks in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft. They traded two of those which led to them having two selections in the 2023 NFL Draft — and also landed them A.J. Brown. The Tennessee Titans decided they didn't want to pay Brown a premium contract and they've since been ridiculed.

Brown has hauled in 194 passes for 2,952 yards with 18 touchdowns in two seasons. That production is near what he had in three years with the Titans. Not only did Tennessee fail to get him the ball enough but they also have whiffed in trying to replace him and have now overpaid Calvin Ridley out of desperation.

While Brown was their top addition on draft night, the Eagles still felt great about the one rookie they added in Round 1 — Jordan Davis. One of many Georgia Bulldogs on the roster, Davis turned heads with his immense size. The 13th overall selection is an imposing 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds. Despite his size, he's very athletic and even ran a 4.78 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

As a rookie, Davis rotated in off the bench and had just 18 tackles. He was used more in year two, starting all 17 games. He saw his snap count increase from 224 to 519 which led to an uptick in stats as well. Davis finished with 45 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

There's still room to grow and he did only play in 45 percent of the snaps. He wasn't seen as an option on passing downs but perhaps with Fletcher Cox retired, he will get the chance to prove he can handle that in 2024.