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

1. DeVonta Smith, WR, 2021

The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys did something rare in 2021 when the divisional rivals decided to swap picks in Round 1. Dallas reportedly had their sights set on Pat Surtain but when the Denver Broncos took him at No. 9, they decided to trade the 10th overall selection. Philly was sitting at No. 12 and needed a wide receiver as did another NFC East rival, the New York Giants.

With the Giants owning the 11th pick, Philadelphia gave Dallas the 84th pick in Round 3 to swap with them. Dallas hit a home run with Micah Parsons at No. 12 and took Chauncey Golston with the 84th pick. Golston has been a decent reserve but it was worth essentially giving him to the Cowboys to secure the rights to Alabama's DeVonta Smith.

The 6-foot-0, 170-pound wideout had a strong rookie season with 916 yards and five touchdowns on 64 receptions. Once paired with A.J. Brown, he proved to be a perfect complement to the powerful pass catcher and has topped 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons.

Smith enters his fourth season in the NFL with 240 receptions for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns. He's more than capable of being a WR1 but has no problem being the second option to Brown — a rare quality in a wideout. He's also proven to be the team's best selection in Round 1 in recent history.

Making this pick even sweeter is knowing the Giants decided to trade down after missing out on Smith. They wound up landing Kadarius Toney, who was an absolute bust. They also used the first-round pick Chicago sent to them in 2022 on Evan Neal who was one of the lowest rated tackles in the NFL last season. So while Dallas was happy with Parsons, their plan to ruin the Giants' draft worked like a charm.

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