2024 NFL draft: Eagles take edge rusher Jalyx Hunt, defensive back Cooper DeJean; trades land Birds two extra fourth round picks

The Eagles bolstered their edge rusher rotation Friday night, drafting Houston Christian edge rusher Jalyx Hunt with the 94th pick in the NFL draft.

After moving up 10 spots to take Iowa defensive back prospect Cooper DeJean early in the second round, the Eagles made two separate trades to move back in the third round before taking Hunt, a 6-foot-4, 252-pound developmental pass rusher.

Georgia defensive back Tykee Smith, a West Philly native and former Imhotep star, was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 89th overall in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. Smith becomes the second Philly native selected in the draft, after Marvin Harrison Jr. was selected fourth overall to the Arizona Cardinals in the first-round.

The hybrid defensive back spent five seasons in college, his first two at West Virginia, and the final three at Georgia. His first season with the Bulldogs was cut short with a knee injury in 2021, but became a key contributor for a talented Georgia defense the last two seasons.

When Quinyon Mitchell strolled across the draft stage on Thursday night as the newest member of the Eagles, the cornerback exuded an even-keeled energy. Calm and collected, the No. 22 overall pick pointed out a cluster of exuberant Eagles fans in the Detroit crowd, dapped up Roger Goodell, then cracked a smile when the commissioner unfurled his “Mitchell”-emblazoned Eagles jersey for a photo op.

Justin Wentworth, his former high school coach at Williston, watched the moment unfold on television from nearly a thousand miles away in Madison, Fla. The 22-year-old Mitchell he observed was the same kid who made the jump to his varsity program as a sophomore back in 2017.

When you watch Cooper DeJean, the first aspect of his game that is alluring is instincts, which allows him to break quickly on short game routes out of zone coverage. Like Quinyon Mitchell, there’s a level of smoothness and patience he displays.

Iowa’s defense didn’t ask DeJean to play press man coverage often, but he trusts his long speed and ability to run stride for stride with wide receivers.

The Eagles entered Friday night without a third round pick, but acquired one – No. 78 – in a trade with the Washington Commanders that allowed the Birds to move up and draft Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean.

So what happened to the Eagles original third round pick?

The Eagles continued revamping their secondary on Friday, trading up 10 spots to take Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean with the 40th overall pick to start the second day of the NFL draft.

DeJean, widely considered a first-round prospect going into the draft, played primarily as an outside cornerback with the Hawkeyes but has the versatility to play slot cornerback or safety as well.

I had Quinyon Mitchell as the Eagles’ most likely first-round pick in The Inquirer draft meter and their pick in my mock draft. It would be disingenuous for me to pan the selection, especially when I thought it would require a trade up to No. 16 to acquire the Toledo cornerback. Howie Roseman stood pat at No. 22 and took a defensive back in the first round for the first time as general manager. On paper, it was a sound choice.

But the obvious qualifier for all draft picks, even first rounders, applies: No one knows, including the Eagles, how Mitchell will fare once he’s playing against NFL competition. He had a few pre-draft strikes against him, the most prominent being his small-school credentials. He seemed to answer those concerns at the Senior Bowl. But no offense to Florida’s Ricky Pearsall — another first-round selection — or the other wide receivers in Mobile, the jump to the pros will be significant.

When coming from a smaller school, showcasing your talent against players from big programs can help prove you belong in the NFL. New Eagles defensive back Quinyon Mitchell, from Toledo in the Mid American Conference, had questions early in the draft process about the competition he faced in college. In going through the process of electing to sign with an agency, many recommended Mitchell opt not to compete at the annual Reese's Senior Bowl, which gathers the top draft-eligible juniors and seniors from across the country.

Instead, Mitchell chose to compete down in Mobile, Ala., and dominated against top talent, competing and winning against players like Florida's Ricky Pearsall, this year's 31st-overall pick for the San Francisco 49ers, Michigan's Roman Wilson, among others.

After taking a defensive back in the first round on Thursday night, here's a look at some options for the Eagles at two of their other areas of need, edge rusher and linebacker:

LB Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M

The Eagles are slated to make two picks — Nos. 50 and 53 overall — on Day 2 of the NFL draft. Here are some offensive players they could target with those picks:

OL Cooper Beebe, Kansas State

Reed Blankenship could feel it — the tingling, the puncture. He couldn’t bring himself to look, but he knew it wasn’t good, and immediately called out for help. For a perpetually persistent, hard-working kid from northern Alabama farm country, Blankenship was confronted with a major hurdle. In the months ahead, it would only get more daunting. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure whether the dream he always envisioned for himself was possible to attain.

Fast forward a few years later, and Blankenship, who went undrafted in 2022, has staked his claim on a pivotal role in the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense. What helped Blankenship overcome adversity? Which factors in his life shaped his character? How did the 25-year old go from undrafted rookie free agent to starting safety?

Day two of the 2024 NFL draft begins tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern, but you won’t be able to watch it on ESPN.

That doesn’t mean it’ll be hard to find. ESPN will air its normal draft coverage on ESPN2, with Mike Greenberg hosting alongside Mel Kiper Jr., Booger McFarland, and former Eagles front office executive turned NFL analyst Louis Reddick.

Both Toledo head coach Jason Candle and defensive coordinator Vince Kehres played at Mount Union and are close with Nick Sirianni, who was a wide receiver at that Division III school and got his start in coaching there. Candle was Sirianni’s roommate, and Kehres is the son of legendary Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres (11 national titles), who is one of Sirianni’s most influential mentors.

Perhaps Sirianni asked his old roommate about his star player. If he did, what might Candle say?

The second and third rounds of the 2024 will take place tonight, and the Eagles have two picks — No. 50 and 53.

As of now they'll have five more picks on Sunday, though general manager Howie Roseman is known for making draft-day moves.

Especially after extending star wide receiver A.J. Brown on Thursday, the Eagles have a strong offensive nucleus in place for the foreseeable future. Still, one of their biggest needs comes along the offensive line, with the potential to add an immediate starter at right guard and/or a successor for Lane Johnson at tackle sticking out as one of the main priorities for Day 2.

Even with Smith under contract through 2028 and Brown’s new deal stretching through 2029, adding a No. 3 wide receiver to complement the pair would also make sense.

Before the 2024 NFL scouting combine, The Inquirer did a deep dive into the Eagles draft history, identifying the top seven draft needs, which included: defensive back, safety, linebacker, edge rusher, wide receiver, offensive tackle, and interior offensive line.

Using previous draft picks at those positions, specifically ones who were measured at and participated in the combine, while using NFL.com and Sports Reference’s databases, The Inquirer stacked the data of players selected during Howie Roseman’s tenure as general manager, which dates back to 2010, to see if there is any commonality in the traits and physical measurables the Eagles value.