Ranking Howie’s 1st Round Picks
Howie has gotten a lot of shit from fans for his draft picks over the years. He has had some great franchise changing picks in the first round over the years, along with some we all want to forget. On one of the most important nights in Eagles recent history, I’ve decided to rank all of Howie’s first round picks.
1) Fletcher Cox, 12th overall in 2012
A potential hall of famer at the twelfth spot was Howie’s finest first round move to date. Fletcher’s been one of the best defensive lineman in the league over the past few years and a leader on the Eagles defense. Aaron Donald is viewed by most people as the best defensive tackle in the league but Fletch isn’t too far behind. He’s had 48 sacks in eight seasons, with 35.5 of them coming in the past five years. He’s made five straight pro bowls, which lands him on a short list of Eagles players to accomplish that. Chuck Bednarik, Reggie White, Pete Pihos, Mike Quick, Troy Vincent, Donovan McNabb, and Tommy McDonald were the only other Eagles to make five straight Pro Bowls. Fletcher’s been one of the most important and valuable players on the roster over his tenure here. Getting an Eagles all timer towards the middle of the first is what lands you at the top of this list.
2) Carson Wentz, 2nd overall in 2016
One of the most important draft picks in franchise history wasn’t easy to pull off, but changed the trajectory of the franchise. The Eagles original pick was 13th but they were able to move up to the 8th spot in a deal with the Dolphins. They sent the 13th pick along with Kiko Alonso and Bryon Maxwell in exchange for the 8th overall pick. The day before the draft the Eagles were able to move up again by trading the 8th pick,a 3rd and 4th round pick in 2016, a 1st rounder in 2017, and a 2nd round pick in 2018 to the Browns in exchange for the 2nd overall pick and a 2017 fourth rounder. Howie came out swinging in his first draft back in charge after Chip was fired. He was able to get rid of multiple guys from the Chip era and land the Eagles next franchise quarterback. We all know what happens next, Carson goes off in 2017 and helps lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl title and is now one of the best quarterbacks in the league. While the Eagles got their franchise QB, the Browns weren’t able to get much out of the deal. The picks were exchanged multiple times but the final haul from that 2016 trade landed the Browns Corey Coleman, Shon Coleman, Spencer Drango, Cody Kessler, Derrick Kindred, DeShone Kizer, Ricardo Louis, Jordan Payton, Jabrill Peppers, Chad Thomas, and Denzel Ward. One of Howie’s best moves to date.
3) Lane Johnson, 4th overall in 2013
In a draft that had three tackles go in the top four picks, Howie had the last of those picks but was able to get the best guy. Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel went first and second before Lane Johnson fell into the Eagles lap. Lane is one of the best right tackles in the league, making the past three pro bowls. He was a key member of the Super Bowl team and was one of the guys who started the whole underdog theme in 2017. The picture of him and Chris Long walking off the field in dog masks after the Falcons game is an all time Eagles moment. Lane’s been at the core of the offensive line and one of the reasons the Eagles have had one of the best units over the past few years. One of Howie’s best draft picks.
4) Brandon Graham, 13th overall in 2010
Howie’s first draft pick looked like a complete bust for a while. I remember thinking for years about how the Eagles could have gotten Earl Thomas or Jason Pierre Pual, but instead were stuck with this bum Brandon Graham. After only having 11.5 sacks in his first four years Graham completely turned his career around and has become one of the best and most important guys on the defense. Over the past six years Graham’s had 39.5 sacks and has made plenty of big time plays. He’s become beloved in the city, being at the heart of one of the most famous plays in Eagles history helps that. Howie’s first selection as GM turned out to be a good pick.
5) Derek Barnett, 14th overall in 2017
Pretty easy to decide on the top four picks from Howie. Barnett has underachieved as the 14th overall pick but has been a solid player the past three years. He’s put up decent numbers, 14 sacks over the past three seasons, and was also a part of that 2017 run. He also was involved in that famous BG strip sack on Brady when he recovered the fumble. After breaking Reggie White’s sack record at Tennessee, Eagles fans were hoping to get even a half version of Reggie in Barnett. We haven’t seen that level of production yet. At this point I think we kinda know what Barnett is, he’s not a top tier pass rusher, and unless he improves shouldn’t be the team’s best option at defensive end if the Eagles want to win. He’s shown some flashes and hopefully he can develop more this season.
6) Andre Dillard, 22nd overall in 2019
Too early to really tell much with Dillard. He’s looked good in some spots and has looked really bad in others. Dillard was one of the best tackle prospects coming into the draft last year and was looking like a for sure top 10-15 pick. When he started slipping Howie decided he could be Jason Peter’s replacement and moved up to grab him. Hopefully Dillard can develop into something close to Jason Peters and protect Wentz’s blind side for the rest of his career.
7) Marcus Smith, 26th overall in 2014
This part of the list is what Howie and Eagles fans want to forget. Smith never did anything in Philly. He never started a game for the Eagles and finished his career here with four sacks in three seasons. There were some really good players drafted in the second round in 2014 that I’m sure Howie wishes he took.
8) Danny Watkins, 23rd overall in 2011
I still can’t believe the Eagles took a 26 year old fireman in the first round. This was one of the worst picks in Eagles history. Watkins contributed even less than Marcus Smith which says a lot about this pick. Watkins wasn’t strong or athletic enough to compete in the league. He was released by the Eagles before the start of the 2013 season and was out of the league by 2014.
Let’s all pray the Eagles pick tonight falls closer to the top of this list, and Howie doesn’t even think of drafting a 26 year old fireman