Philadelphia Eagles NFL Draft Picks & Grades 2022: Jordan Davis Fortifies an Already Stout Defensive Front

The Eagles came into this draft with a relatively ambiguous set of needs. They’re solid in the trenches and have used their first round picks to draft receivers in each of the last two years. They’re committed to Jalen Hurts at quarterback, at least in the short term, and are fine in the secondary though they would certainly benefit from upgrading. Ultimately, they ended up using two of their first round picks to trade up for a highly touted defensive tackle prospect in Jordan Davis and then went after a C and a LB in rounds 2 and 3 with Cam Jurgens and Nakobe Dean, respectively. They also acquired star receiver AJ Brown in a trade with Tennessee that for all intents and purposes highlighted their night. For a full breakdown and analysis of the Philadelphia Eagles 2022 NFL Draft, check out the grades and descriptions below.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Picks 2022

Round 1 No. 13 DT Jordan Davis
Round 2 No. 51 C Cam Jurgens
Round 3 No. 83 LB Nakobe Dean
Round 6 No. 181 LB Kyron Johnson
Round 6 No. 198 TE Grant Calcaterra

Overall Draft Grade: B+

Analysis: The Eagles reinforced one of their strengths by picking up Jordan Davis to go alongside Fletcher Cox at defensive Tackle. They got a serious discount on one of the top LB prospects in this draft class and picked up the second best center in Cam Jurgens — a solid player at an increasingly important position. They didn’t, however, address their issues in the secondary by picking up a cornerback. I didn’t love their move to trade up for Jordan Davis when he likely would’ve been available for them at 15, though I understand it in the context of the AJ Brown deal. To me, it would’ve made more sense to trade up for a guy like Kyle Hamilton or stand post and grab Davis along with a corner. Doubling down on the trenches, however, feels like par for the course with this franchise and, if anything, this draft cemented their identity. Failing to address their issues in the secondary will catch up with them at some point, though, and it’s hard to believe they passed up on some great prospects like Hamilton, Hill, and McDuffie who would’ve alleviated some of their defensive woes. If it weren’t for the AJ Brown deal and the picks they accrued in the process, this grade would likely be closer to a C.

Philadelphia Eagles Draft Grades 2022

Round: 1 Pick: 13 / Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia

The minute Jordan Davis threw down a 4.78s 40 time no one knew what to do. We’ve never seen a prospect over 340 lbs who can move like that. His size alone has garnered eyeballs since the day he stepped foot on Georgia’s campus. As a NT, he used this size to clog any holes and effectively neutralized any sort of edge a team had on the interior of the offensive line. He was great at taking on double teams and could almost always swat an offensive lineman’s hands. Despite his 40 time, however, he rarely showed quickness on his first step. He also is limited in the amount of downs he can play and is even more limited in his ability to change direction. Overall, I don’t love this pick for the Eagles. Only the Jaguars allowed a higher completion percentage than Philly in 2021 and they’ve done nothing to address their secondary in free agency. Between Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave, this team is already solid at the tackle position. At the very least I wouldn’t have traded up for a guy like Davis who is relatively limited in reps when you could’ve hung onto both your first rounders and likely gotten Davis along with another corner. If they hadn’t secured AJ Brown for nickels and dimes amidst it all, this would go down as one of my least favorite picks of the draft.

Grade: C-

Jordan Davis is dancing his way to Philly. 😅

@jordanxdavis99 | @Eagles

📺: 2022 #NFLDraft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/PWq1l9z4TU

— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2022

Round: 2 Pick: 51 / Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska

Jurgens is a physical, yet highly cerebral player up front with great hands and a strong core. He isn’t huge, but what he lacks in size he can somewhat make up for in athleticism. He’s versatile as far as scheme goes though he is limited to the center position. Unlike Linderbaum who could make the transition to guard, Jurgens is constrained by his length and his frame. The pick is a little curious given that Jason Kelce is still at an All-Pro level, though I get the need to prepare for the future. I’m just not sure if getting a formidable backup for your center is the move in round 2.

Grade: C

Round: 3 Pick: 83 / Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

Some have made the case that this pick was the steal of the draft. For months, Dean was touted as a top 2 linebacker prospect alongside Utah’s Devin Lloyd. The 2021 recipient of the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in college football, Dean likely fell because of his refusal to run the 40 in the combine in tandem with his overall average measurables. Initially I thought Dean was a little overhyped, but once he fell out of the 2nd round it became clear that one team was going to get a steal. He’s got great tape which highlights his twitchiness, phenomenal ball awareness, and strong pursuit. He’s physical enough to be a punisher in the run game and has had success as a blitzer. Going into the draft, the Eagles were painfully average at the linebacker position and it was apparent when they played teams with good quarterbacks. With one selection in the 3rd round, they improved this unit significantly.

Grade: A+

RT if you think Nakobe Dean was the biggest steal of the Draft 🤩 pic.twitter.com/wTrYehwccu

— PFF PHI Eagles (@PFF_Eagles) May 2, 2022

Round: 6 Pick: 181 / Kyron Johnson, LB, Kansas

At 6’0” 235, Johnson brings 4.40 speed and a nose for the QB to the table. He comes into the NFL as a 5 year college player with 51 college games under his belt. As a starter at Kansas, Johnson primarily lined up on the edge. Because of this, he doesn’t have a ton of experience playing in coverage, which is something that will certainly work to his detriment when it comes to making the roster. He has fine awareness, though he has been known to make bad reads in zone schemes. On strength and speed alone, though, I think this is a solid pick for the Eagles. Johnson possesses certain physical qualities you can’t teach and at the very least he’ll bring a level of physicality to every snap.

Grade: B

Round: 6 Pick: 198 / Grant Calcaterra, TE, SMU

Rounding out this draft class for the Eagles is the Oklahoma-turned-SMU TE Grant Calcaterra. After leaving football due to concussion issues in 2019, Calcaterra opted to return for the 2020 season where he put together an impressive stat sheet. Overall, he’s an intelligent player with good ball tracking ability and solid blocking skills. He has a tendency to catch with his body rather than high point it and, while he isn’t quick enough to create consistent separation, he has shown flashes of athleticism. Overall, I think Calcaterra could turn into a consistent backup behind Dallas Goedert in an otherwise below average TE room.

Grade: A-

Here is the moment SMU TE Grant Calcaterra @grcalcaterra was drafted by the Eagles

He left football for a while after his third concussion and wanted to be a firefighter but he is chasing his NFL dream with the Birds

🎥 Claire Calcaterra pic.twitter.com/CXE9ziJspM

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 30, 2022