FIRST ROUND
BEST AND WORST BETS
The First Round of the NFL Draft has everyone just brimming with excitement. Imagine - out of the thousands of eligible Division I football players, the 32 selected in the First Round are the best of the best. The cream of the crop. Each one a future NFL star in his own right. Right?
Wrong.
The fact is that of all the First Rounders selected in the past 10 years (2015-2024), barely more than third have made it to the Pro Bowl.
When we break it down even further, we discover something very surprising - the likelihood that a First Rounder will make it to the Pro Bowl varies significantly by position:
In the First Round, running backs, tight ends, and quarterbacks are good bets for future Pro Bowlers. But wide receivers are not. And offensive linemen are the worst of all.
If you examine the Eagles' First Round drafting history over the past 30 years, it is a mixed bag when it comes to wide receivers. Jeremy Maclin was a Pro Bowler. Freddie Mitchell, Nelson Agholor, Jalen Reagor, and Devonta Smith were not (although we fully expect Devonta will make it at least once in the years ahead.)
Our advice to the Birds, other things being equal - steer clear of picking wide receivers and offensive linemen in the First Round.
Or maybe not.
When it comes to offensive linemen, the Eagles have actually bucked the trend. Andre Dillard and Danny Watkins never made it to the Pro Bowl. But Jermane Mayberry, Tra Thomas, Shawn Andrews, and Lane Johnson did. And two of the all-time greats, Chuck Bednarik and Bob Brown, were both Eagles First Rounders.
