Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has built his reputation on delivering when the heat is turned all the way up. Right now, the 2026 NFL Draft class he put together isn’t delivering much of anything. That’s becoming a real problem for an Eagles roster that needs reinforcements today, not three years from now.

Look, I’m not here to pile on Howie. When he’s been under the most pressure, he has come through, and I’ll defend that track record all day. But it’s worth asking what actually changed during his best drafts. The answer is simple, and it points straight at what went wrong this year.

The ‘Philadelphia Bulldogs’ blueprint worked

Think back to how Roseman rebuilt this roster into a champion. He went to the best programs in the country and took their players. People were literally calling them the Philadelphia Bulldogs because he kept grabbing Georgia guys one after another. And he grabbed a bunch of Alabama players on top of that.

There was a reason for it. Those programs churn out players who walk into an NFL building ready to compete. They’ve practiced against future pros every day and played in the biggest games college football has to offer. You know what you’re getting.

So here’s my take, plain and simple. The Eagles need to go back to that drafting philosophy, because this current class isn’t helping them at all.

And I’ll be honest, we all bought into the opposite idea. We kept saying Philly had so many draft picks that Howie could afford to play around a little and take some swings. Well, guess what? They can’t. This team needed some of that help right now, and it isn’t getting that.

The quarterback miss nobody is talking about

Now, this is the part that has me completely mind-blown, and nobody seems to be talking about it. The Eagles need another quarterback. Tanner McKee doesn’t look good. Andy Dalton signed with the Atlanta Falcons, so that option is gone.

And what did Philadelphia do in the draft? It took a lefty quarterback in the fifth round in Cole Payton who is on the field playing special teams.

That’s an all-time miss of a draft pick. This guy can’t play quarterback, so he’s covering kicks instead. How does that help a team with a shaky backup situation? Philly could have used a real quarterback who can sit in the pocket and throw the football. Or maybe an offensive lineman. Honestly, almost anything would have been more useful than a quarterback who isn’t playing quarterback.

The rest of the class isn’t picking up the slack

To be fair, Makai Lemon has shown potential, and that pick still looks like it can pay off. But it gets thin in a hurry after that.

Tight end Eli Stowers isn’t even on the field. Then you ask Markel Bell, a third-round pick, to step in and be your starting tackle. That’s a lot to put on a rookie who was viewed as more of a developmental piece coming out.

When you add it all up, it feels like Howie just messed around in this draft. He took fun swings, he chased upside, and he got cute. Meanwhile, the team in front of him needed players who could contribute right away.

I’m not saying Roseman can never hit outside the big programs. He absolutely has. Quinyon Mitchell came out of Toledo and Cooper DeJean came out of Iowa, and both of those picks look brilliant. There have been a few others, too. Those outside hits are real, and they deserve credit.

But those should be the exceptions, not the plan. The foundation of this roster came from Georgia, from Alabama, and from the schools that consistently hand you Day 1 talent. That’s where the Eagles built their identity in the trenches and beyond.

Howie needs to get back to that, because a draft class like this one isn’t going to work for the next several years. Go back to the big schools, take the proven guys, and let the rest of the NFC East worry about the Philadelphia Bulldogs again.