Ranking every Eagles draft class of the Nick Sirianni coaching era
We've seen some talent drafted during the Nick Sirianni coaching era, but how are those guys doing?
And, just like that, we enter another season of the Jeffrey Lurie-Howie Roseman-Nick Sirianni regime. How are we feeling exactly? At this point, it seems like overkill to mention Nick's first presser as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. It is, however, a huge part of the tale. Yeah, he butchered it, but who would you rather have as Philly's head coach right now? Are you sticking with the guy that led the Birds to three consecutive playoff appearances since that day or some of the guys that landed in other cities?
Four of the seven new head coaches hired in 2021 have been fired: David Culley (Texans), Arthur Smith (Falcons), Brandon Staley (Chargers), and Urban Meyer (Jaguars). Meyer didn't even make it out of his first season.
Some viewed Sirianni as the worst hire of the bunch, yet he has had a more successful tenure overall than Dan Campbell (Lions) and Robert Saleh (Jets). Ask any of the guys hired in 2021 if they'd take Sirianni's resume over their own, and if they were being honest, they'd tell you they would.
Say what you will. Call him a 'CEO head coach' or whatever, but Coach Sirianni has done well. He also has much to prove, especially seeing as how he has a lot of talent to work with.
Let's rank every Eagles draft class of the Nick Sirianni era.
Success is often attributable to someone landing in the right situation. It hasn't hurt Nick that he's joined an organization with one of the NFL's best owners (Jeffrey Lurie) and executives (Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman). Each year, they have placed him in the best position to win by stacking his roster with talent.
One of the ways they have done that has been through the NFL Draft. Key contributors have been found there. Let's hope others are as well as the time for another draws closer.
While no draft class is perfect, the prospects Philly have all added during Coach Sirianni's era are all impressive in their own right. Let's rank the classes of Nick's era as Eagles head coach.
1. 2021 Eagles draft class
The picks:
DeVonta Smith
Landon Dickerson
Milton Williams
Zech McPhearson
Kenneth Gainwell
Marlon Tuipulotu
Tarron Jackson
JaCoby Stevens
Patrick Johnson
Grade: A-
So far, this is the only draft class of Sirianni's era that has added a Pro Bowler (Landon Dickerson). Frannkly, they should have two.
DeVonta Smith has seen two snubs already, and it feels like, despite having the stat line to suggest he's a Pro Bowler, he's punished for having A.J. Brown as a teammate.
Maybe voters have felt it's overkill to send two Eagles wide receivers on the Pro Bowl roster. Maybe that's another story for another day, but seeing as how JaCoby Stevens is the only member of a nine-man draft class that still isn't on this roster three years later, we'd suggest that's a sign of selecting the right guys.
Was it a perfect class? No, it isn't, but it is impressive.
2. 2023 Eagles draft class
The picks:
Jalen Carter
Nolan Smith
Tyler Steen
Sydney Brown
Tanner McKee
Moro Ojomo
Grade: B+
This crop of Eagles was taken during the 2023 selection meeting. One seems destined for superstardom barring injury (Jalen Carter). The rest of the group is mostly exciting but still has much to prove.
Overall, we give the six players taken in 2023 a B-plus grade. Much of the reason for that is because we're judging them off the potential we see rather than grading them based on results, but true indeed, the results are also important and were factored in.
3. 2022 Eagles draft class
The picks:
Jordan Davis
Cam Jurgens
Nakobe Dean
Kyron Johnson
Grant Calcaterra
Grade: C
Kyron Johnson is no longer on the team, and if we're being honest, his selection confused us in the first place. He's fast, but past that, there isn't much there.
Jordan Davis needs to prove he can be the consistent dominant force teams are looking for when they take prospects on night one of the draft. Cam Jurgens might be the best player in this class, but that's yet to be seen
Nakobe Dean and Grant Calcaterra are on our hot seat. We haven't given up on either, but if things don't change soon, we may have to.
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