Eagles at No. 23: The Combine Is Telling Them Exactly What to Do

The NFL Combine is in full swing in Indianapolis, and if you are Howie Roseman sitting in that front row with your notepad and your poker face, the message coming off that field is impossible to ignore. The Eagles hold the No. 23 overall pick, they have eight total selections, and the two biggest needs on this roster are screaming at you from the defensive line drills and the offensive line measurements. Edge rusher. Offensive tackle. Pick your poison — because you need both.

The Edge Rusher Crisis Is Real

We talked about this in our salary cap breakdown earlier today, but it bears repeating: the Eagles rank 31st in the NFL in edge rusher spending. Thirty-first. Nolan Smith Jr. is the highest-paid edge on the roster at $3.8 million. Jaelan Phillips is a free agent. Brandon Graham is staring down the end of a legendary career. If you walk into 2026 expecting Vic Fangio to manufacture pressure out of thin air, you are delusional.

So what did the Combine tell us? The edge class is deep but weird. Rueben Bain Jr. out of Miami was supposed to be the headliner, but his arms measured at 30 and seven-eighths inches — the fourth-shortest among edge rushers at the Combine since 1999. He did not do any athletic testing or on-field drills. For a guy who was projected as a potential top-15 pick, that is a red flag the size of the Linc jumbotron. He may have lost ground to other edge rushers who actually showed up and competed.

The name to watch for the Eagles at 23 is T.J. Parker out of Clemson. Multiple mock drafts have Parker landing in the Eagles range in the second round if they address another need at 23. But here is the thing — if the Eagles can get a legitimate pass rusher at 23, they should not overthink it. Keldric Faulk out of Auburn is another name that keeps surfacing. He is 6-foot-6, 270 pounds with traits that make scouts drool, even though his production dipped last season. Faulk is exactly the kind of high-upside edge rusher Roseman has historically been willing to bet on.

The Offensive Line Insurance Policy

Now here is where it gets interesting. Two separate mock drafts — from NBC Sports and Fox Sports — have the Eagles taking Kadyn Proctor out of Alabama at 23. Proctor is a former five-star recruit with three years of starting left tackle experience in the SEC. He is 6-foot-7, 366 pounds of pure power, and PFF graded him as a top-five tackle in the country this past season.

Why does this matter? Lane Johnson turns 36 in May. He is still elite, but Father Time is undefeated, and the Eagles need a succession plan yesterday. Jordan Mailata is locked in at left tackle, but if Johnson retires after 2026 or 2027, having a guy like Proctor already developed and ready to step in is the difference between continuity and chaos. Roseman has always been a hog-mauler-in-the-trenches guy. If Proctor is sitting there at 23, the temptation will be enormous.

The Wild Card: Wide Receiver

NFL.com mocked the Eagles trading up to No. 18 for Jordyn Tyson out of Arizona State, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver with big-play ability who dealt with durability issues in college. The logic? Even if A.J. Brown is back, Jahan Dotson is a pending free agent and the Eagles need a third weapon. If Brown is NOT back? Wide receiver becomes a five-alarm fire.

But here is my take: trading up for a receiver when you rank 31st in edge spending is criminally irresponsible. You do not trade draft capital to upgrade WR3 when your pass rush is being held together with duct tape and Nolan Smith highlights. Fix the foundation first.

The Roseman Blueprint at 23

Here is what I would do. If an edge rusher like Faulk or a falling talent like Bain is available at 23, take him. Do not think twice. The pass rush is the single biggest hole on this roster and the Combine just confirmed that this class has the depth to address it in the first round. If the edge rushers are gone, take Proctor and invest in protecting Jalen Hurts for the next decade. Either way, you are building in the trenches, which is what Roseman does best.

Then use the second round on whichever position you did not address at 23. T.J. Parker at edge, or an offensive lineman with starting upside. Use the middle rounds on tight end — this roster desperately needs one after the Dallas Goedert departure left a $20 million dead cap crater and E.J. Jenkins as the de facto TE1.

The Combine is not just about 40 times and arm length. It is about confirmation. And what Indianapolis is confirming right now is what we already knew: this Eagles roster is loaded, but the edges — literally — need reinforcement. Roseman has eight picks and a $301 million cap to work with. The path is right there. Edge at 23, protect the trenches, and let Fangio keep cooking with a defense that finally has the pass rush to match the coverage.

Do not overthink this, Howie. The Combine just told you the answer.