Obligatory post-draft grade article!

This annual exercise is among the more useless but most enjoyable projects I get to write each year. A quick comment on what I believe to be the best methodology for issuing these admittedly too-early grades: spend less energy on the player alone and look more at where the player was taken, and the context of where the team's roster stands (both immediate and long term need). On to the grades!

(31) Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama: A-. Initially I had this grade a bit lower until I learned a bit more about how the Birds plan to use this kid; he will take the as-yet-unseen position of "flat defender"; a Vic Fangio creation that plays on the edge, assists in run support, rushes the QB and can help in pass D in the sot. This is Fangio's version of Nick Saban's old Jack LB (jack of all trades); Connor Barwin did something like this for Philly back in the day. Check out Campbell's snap counts from college:

LB: 1,104

DE: 156

Slot: 57

Safety: 4

CB: 3

The versatility stands out, as does this athletic profile.

(64) Andrew Mukuba, S, Clemson: C. Mukuba is an undersized but really fast safety who loves to hit but projects as a post safety, something this team needs. He'll need to put on some good weight (not as easy to do as some think), and possibly represents an overdraft as Mukuba carried a round 3 grade, but this kid does fill a need at free safety.

(111) Ty Robinson, DT, Nebraska: B+. Robinson is a big (6-5, 288) athletic (4.8 40) defensive lineman that will slot in nicely into that Milt Williams-Moro Ojomo portion of the rotation. He's a smart high character guy who the Nebraska staff just loved.

(145) Mac McWilliams, CB, UCF: D. An undersized but speedy corner who will likely need to bump inside to slot due to his lack of size (5-10, 30" arms). Carried a 6th round grade but was taken in the 4th. Hard for me to see the value here, frankly. Prove me wrong, Mac!

(161) Smael Mondon Jr, LB, Georgia: A. Another hyperathletic Georgia defender drops to the Birds! Philly needs more at off ball LB, especially if Campbell doesn't line up there and/or if Dean's return takes too long. Enter Mondon, who's played enough football (51 career games) to plug in right away. I expect Mondon to compete with Trotter for the chance to take snaps beside Zach Baun.

(168) Drew Kendall, C, Boston College: B. Kendall is another plus athlete with tons of experience (37 career starts). A team captain who's father was an NFL veteran, Kendall likely won't play any other position but that's OK: the Birds haven't had a true reserve center in years.

(181) Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse: A. The Birds needed another QB and have had good luck with late round quarterbacks lately (most recently Tanner McKee). McCord himself doesn't offer much in terms of raw physical ability but is accurate and has great vision. The Philly native is a great long term investment.

(191) Myles Hinton, OT, Michigan: B-. Another kid with an NFL father, Hinton has great size (6-7, 325) and played at two programs known for producing top shelf OL (Dave Shaw's Stanford and Jim Harbaugh's Michigan). He's played both sides of the line and may be in line for the swing tackle role that Fred Johnson just vacated. Hinton needs some more work but is a fine long term project.

(207) Cameron Williams, OT, Texas: A+. Williams has elite size and strength to go with plus athleticism. He easily could have gone three rounds earlier, hence the grade. He'll be on the same trajectory as Hinton above, as a project for Stoutland to develop and see what he can be made into.

(209) Antwaun Powell-Ryland, DE, Virginia Tech: B+. Another plus athlete who should work into the rotation on the edge. He weighed in at around 260 pounds, possibly allowing him to profile as a Brandon Graham replacement.

Undrafted free agents: B. Here's the list so far:

WR Darius Cooper

WR/PR Taylor Morin

LB Lance Dixon

S Maxen Hook

RB Montrell Johnson

OT Hollin Pierce

S Brandon Johnson

RB ShunDerrick Powell

CB BJ Mayes

No major names here, other than Hollin Pierce, who's a massive (6-8, 340) OT who worked himself from high schooler with no scholarship offers to All B10 OT in just five years. A kid to root for who will be in the mix with the drafted tackles to be a potential Lane Johnson replacement candidate in three years.

Overall, this draft class gets a solid B grade from me. I found it to be fairly uninspiring, and Howie's track record with large draft classes is concerning (previous classes of 10 or more players: 2010, 2011, 2020). Those classes yielded Graham, Jason Kelce and Jalen Hurts but that's three big hits out of 34 picks total. Still, the Birds seemed to get decent value on the whole and did backfill the roster in a few spots (OT, LB, DB).

As far as trends go, a few stand out:

1. Athleticism (again). The Birds seem to love RAS, as most of their picks scored very highly in that metric (Campbell included). This occurred last year as well.

2. Leadership/character. Most of these players were well regarded by their coaching staffs, or were team captains, or have noteworthy backstories of overcoming various difficulties. Character matters and the Birds have gone out of their way to build a strong locker room.

3. Depth. The Birds really stuffed the OL and DB rooms. I don't anticipate too many of those guys getting big roles, but that speak to the strength of the existing players at those positions.

4. Speaking of existing players, it was notable that the only offensive skill position player that got picked was QB McCord, who will be third string this year. Philly didn't feel the need to add and WRs or RBs, and didn't like the tight ends that fell to them. I think that bodes well for Dallas Goedert's chances to stay on the roster this year, which I think is a positive.

Just another four months and we'll be through cutdown day and anticipating the start of the 2025 season. Go Birds!