When it comes to the NFL Draft, you’re not going to find many better than general manager Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philly’s hit rate over the past five years is off-the-wall. Zooming in specifically on Rounds 1 through 3, there isn’t a single Eagles draft pick who isn’t currently starting for the team or playing a pivotal role; the one outlier is defensive end Milton Williams, who landed a $104 million contract from the New England Patriots in free agency this offseason.
With that said, this is the NFL Draft we’re talking about. Draft regret is unavoidable, even for the best in the business.
In 2025, the Eagles only made two selections in the first three rounds — linebacker Jihaad Campbell and safety Andrew Mukuba. Both players have been heavily involved right out of the chute, ranking fifth and sixth on the team in total snaps for Vic Fangio’s defense, per Pro Football Focus.
Yet there’s an obvious Eagles second guess from this year's draft hat’s been hard to ignore through the first two weeks of the regular season.
The Philadelphia Eagles could regret passing on tight end Harold Fannin Jr. in the 2025 NFL Draft
The Eagles are fine at the tight end position as long as Dallas Goedert can stay healthy. The issue is that the eight-year veteran missed a career-high 10 games in 2024, and was already out in Week 2 of this season with a knee injury.
Philadelphia not-so-subtly tried to move on from Goedert via trade this offseason, including on draft weekend. It wasn’t until early May that the two sides agreed on a restructured contract to keep him in Philly for at least one more run at a Super Bowl.
The Eagles entered this year’s draft with a clear need at tight end, considering the uncertainty surrounding Goedert's future and the team having zero tight ends signed beyond 2025. The most logical Day 2 target this year? That would be Bowling Green standout Harold Fannin Jr.
Philadelphia had already hired Fannin’s former college head coach, Scot Loeffler, as its new quarterbacks coach during this year’s hiring cycle. The need for their pass-catching TE of the future was obvious (and still is), and Fannin set single-season FBS records for the position in 2024 for both yards (1,555) and receptions (117).
This one made too much sense, but Roseman and the Eagles surprisingly passed on it. They selected Mukuba at the end of Round 2 and opted against trading up for Fannin despite their treasure trove of draft capital. Fannin wound up flying off the board quickly in Round 3, pick No. 67 overall, and per Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay, Fannin already ranks among the NFL’s six biggest draft weekend steals for the 2025 class.
“Despite having to contend with entrenched veteran David Njoku for snaps and Cleveland's plethora of talented wideouts such as Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman for looks, Fannin has reeled in a team-high 12 receptions while ranking No. 2 in both targets (14) and receiving yardage (111).”
The Eagles had options to land Fannin Jr. on Day 2 of the 2025 draft
Fannin hasn’t only looked the part of a mismatch nightmare at the tight end position in the NFL, but he’s outpacing the Eagles’ entire tight end group combined as a pass catcher through two games.
As for the big second guess? The Eagles had two clear options. They could have traded back up into the second round, or the early portion of the third. The other route was selecting Fannin over Mukuba at pick No. 64 overall.
That might sound like a terrible take to Eagles fans, as Mukuba flashed in the preseason and has looked good playing alongside Reed Blankenship in Fangio’s defense so far. However, it’s worth noting that the Eagles traded out of the third round completely this year, giving up pick No. 96 overall in the process. In that spot, the Atlanta Falcons took Xavier Watts, the former Notre Dame star who PFF has ranked as a top-10 safety in football; Mukuba is ranked 31st.
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There’s no such thing as a perfect draft, and it goes without saying that Roseman and the Eagles have been the gold standard in recent years. Draft regret is definitely real, though, and Roseman and company could be feeling it with Fannin in a few years.