10 biggest first-round draft busts in Philadelphia Eagles history

Jerome McDougle never justified the Eagles’ decision to trade up and get him.

It’s one thing to believe in a guy. It’s another to believe in a guy so wholeheartedly that the franchise decides to trade up in any given selection meeting to go get him. It’s undeniably disappointing to see all of that happen and have close to nothing positive result after all of those actions take place.

The Eagles traded up 15 spots to land McDougle as the 15th-overall selection in 2003’s version of the NFL Draft thinking he’d thrive in a Jim Johnson-led defense that already featured Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Corey Simon, and Troy Vincent,

What’s sad is he didn’t even have to star in his role. All he had to do was be effective. He failed at both tasks.

McDougle was a BCS National Champion and a First-team All-Big East selection in 2001. None of what the Eagles saw to influence their decision to invest so much in him ever materialized on the NFL playing surface.

He appeared in eight games as a rookie and didn’t bring the opposing quarterback down once, and for the remainder of his career in Philly, he appeared in 31 more games (including five playoff contests) and was only able to manage three career sacks. One of those was overshadowed by 30 yards worth of penalties that he was flagged for. Thankfully, the Birds released him in 2008.