The Philadelphia Eagles traded up with the Dallas Cowboys to select wide receiver Makai Lemon in the 2026 NFL Draft, jumping ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This move has become a significant storyline in the draft discussions.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 8: Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman walks the field prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on December 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 8: Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman walks the field prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on December 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
***Letās get to the Philadelphia Eagles news and links ā¦***
New Details Emerge About Eagles Trade-Up For Makai Lemon ā Yahoo! Sports
Even more details have emerged about how the Philadelphia Eagles jumped the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Philadelphia Eagles trading up with the Dallas Cowboys to jump the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Makai Lemon is arguably the top storyline coming out of the 2026 NFL Draft, and now, even more details have emerged about how it all went down. The Cowboys were actually the team trying to move down in the first round and pinpointed the Eagles as a top trade partner. āJust call Howie [Roseman], Steve [Jones],ā someone in the Cowboys draft war room said during ESPNās The Pick Is In. āIām hoping heāll call and say, āWeāll do it for it for two fourās.ā We got time,ā Jones responded. āItās not like weāre down to 20 seconds.ā
Eagles Film Review: Eli Stowers could end up being a very good football player ā BGN
I had Stowers as my TE2 pre-draft (Round 2 grade), but I told myself I did not want a tight end who could not hold up inline. I get it. We are obsessed with blocking tight ends after last year. But you canāt watch Stowers film and not be excited about what he could be. Not every tight end has to be a great blocker. You can scheme around tight ends with blocking limitations, but the issue last year was that the Eagles didnāt even try to scheme around it. Hopefully, that changes this year. Stowers is not a traditional tight end. He is not yet, anyway. At 239 pounds with blocking limitations, he profiles as a move tight end, rather than someone who can play inline. What most people picture when they think about the position. But framing this pick purely through the lens of what Stowers cannot do misses something important about what he actually is and what this Eagles offense might be able to do with him. Stowers arrived at Texas A&M as a highly touted quarterback recruit. He transitioned positions, eventually transferred to Vanderbilt, and rebuilt his career as a pass-catcher. I think this is a big part of his game!
Not everyone buys into Bell as a future NFL starter. Greg Cosell doesnāt like him. But Howie likes big guys and sees a lot of potential. The Eagles did a lot of pre-draft work on Bell to make sure they believed in his ability to reach his potential. Remember that potential isnāt always a good word. If a player has it, but canāt figure out how to realize his potential, you have a wasted move. The Eagles believe in Bell. They have a plan for him. That doesnāt mean it will work, but this wasnāt a random pick. Bell was someone they targeted.
A.J. Brown is on the Eaglesā roster, but the expectation remains that the wide receiver will be traded after June 1 and that move would impact his running mate for the last four years. DeVonta Smith would become the unquestioned No. 1 wideout with the Eagles when and if Brown is sent to another club. The 2021 first-round pick was asked about that prospect and the Brown trade chatter in general at his charity softball game over the weekend. āI just go out there and ,ā Smith said, via Zach Berman of TheAthletic.com.
Lemon, 21, can be penciled in as ās No. 2 wide receiver this season. The award-winning wide receiver profiles as an early-season flex starter with late-season WR1/2 breakout potential. Stowers is an award-winning receiving tight end whose high-end ball-in-hands skill set shows up in his 74.1 PFF rushing grade, which he earned on 34 career rushing attempts. Eagles starting tight end , 31, accepted a pay cut in May 2025, keeping him on the roster last season. The former impending free agent agreed to an extension through the 2026 season after drawn-out negotiations last month. Stowers is the Eaglesā intended starter in 2027 and has a chance to break out late in the 2026 season. Goedert earned a 69.1 PFF receiving grade in 2025, the second-lowest grade of his career.
Jeff Stoutlandās honesty over his view of last yearās Eagles offense only underlines the issues that existed last year in Philly. Itās also the risk of patchworking a staff together like the Eagles have the last few years. Sometimes it leads to having an all-star team of coaches, as Philly did in 2024. Other times, it looks like 2025 (or 2023).
4) It was weird to see someone other than Jeff Stoutland running offense line drills. Stout had a very particular way of doing things over the last 13 years and it looked noticeably different with new OL coach Chris Kuper on Friday. Instead of lining up the line five at a time like Stout would do during individual drills, Kuper incorporated medicine balls, repped the players two at a time, and didnāt have the group surface blocks together. The last offensive line coach the Eagles had before Stoutland was Howard Mudd in 2011-12.
27 ā PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ā T NIKI PRONGOS ā STANFORD. Prongos has the ability to be next yearās Max Iheanachor. I had him graded in the same exact tier last fall as he pondered entering the 2026 Draft. Standing 6-foot-7, 315 pounds, Prongos didnāt play football until his senior year of high school, where he promptly tore his ACL three games into the season. He walked on at UCLA with no offers (obviously), and spent three seasons there as a backup before transferring to Stanford last fall and taking over on the left side. This guy is an effortless mover. He has great range with really impressive flashes in both the run and pass games. Development needed? Yes. But they donāt make a lot of guys with his tools. Iheanachor had up-and-down tape but flashed so well during the process that he got drafted just outside the Top 20 in a weaker draft. It wouldnāt shock me if Prongos challenged for a similar spot in a stronger year, but for now Iāll just plant my flag at this point in Round One.
In the lead-up to the draft there were many an analyst who theorized that the Cowboys could trade up with the Cleveland Browns. This was when Cleveland sat at six, but early in the draft they traded down with the and then held the ninth overall pick. This is where the Cowboys wanted to move up to. ESPN released a documentary on Sunday night, āThe Pick Is Inā, where they chronicled all sorts of happenigns throughout the 2026 NFL Draft. Stephen Jones was shown calling Browns GM Andrew Berry and discussing sending picks 12 and 20 to Cleveland in exchange for 9 and 24. Cleveland declined.
Real-world expectations: Croskey-Merritt and White will take a significant carry chunk, especially early this upcoming season. Those two were expected to be the primary runners, though Allen could well work into the mix. As Newmark mentioned (above), Allen provides something unique to the Commanders backfield. That suggests Allen will get some early work, and could be most active early in short-yardage situations. That could lead to a high touchdown count. If he makes the most of those opportunities, he could earn more work on early downs. While most Day 3 picks should come with tempered expectations, running backs buck that trend and could put a solid stamp on this campaign.
Could the New York Giants have a quarterback competition on their hands? Definitely not at the top of the depth chart, but former Temple QB Evan Simon is hoping that a UDFA contract is a foot in the door for the NFL. Simon hails from Manheim, Pennsylvania, a small town of just over 5,000 in south-west PA, and started his collegiate career at Rutgers. He played sparingly for the Scarlet Knights, appearing in just 16 games from 2021 to 2023. He then transferred from Rutgers to Temple in 2024 and became the first Temple player to have a 6-touchdown game in just his second start. Simon started nine games his red-shirt junior year, going 3-6 and throwing for 2,032 yards, 15 touchdowns to 9 interceptions.
And then on Day 2, this is just personal preference, but if Iām taking a corner top 40 Iād like to see some INT and/or FF production. I also personally prefer receivers with explosive athletic traits, as opposed to bigger receivers who really only won in college because they could bully smaller guys. Neither Hood nor Fields were my kinds of players. That doesnāt mean they wonāt have good careers. Just not my personal aesthetic preferences at their respective positions. I do like two of the three players they selected in the sixth round, as noted above. I liked what the Giants did in free agency, and their draft was overwhelmingly praised. I was less impressed by their draft. Certainly, the players they selected will make them a better team. Buuuuut also, if you have two top-10 picks youāre hoping you can land a couple of players who can transform your team. Walking away with an off-ball linebacker and a guard probably isnāt going to do that.
It has been a tough stretch for major Boston sports teams. Not that they are due any sympathy, weāre not here for that, but over the past few months we have seen the Boston Red Sox limp out of the gate and fire their entire coaching staff, the Boston Bruins get bounced out of the first round of the NHL Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres, the get embarrassed in Super Bowl LX ā and we will come back to them in a moment ā and now the Boston Celtics blow a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers. How historic was that Celticsā collapse? Until their loss in Game 7 on Saturday night, Boston was 32-0 all-time when holding a 3-1 series lead. As for the 76ers, they were 0-18 in their franchise history when trailing 3-1 in a playoff series.
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Q&A
Why did the Philadelphia Eagles trade up for Makai Lemon?
The Eagles aimed to secure Makai Lemon as a top wide receiver prospect, believing he could significantly enhance their offense.
What details emerged about the Eagles' trade with the Cowboys?
The Cowboys were looking to move down in the draft and identified the Eagles as a prime trade partner, leading to the deal for Lemon.
What impact will Makai Lemon have on the Eagles' roster?
Makai Lemon is expected to be penciled in as the Eagles' No. 2 wide receiver, with potential to become a key offensive player this season.
Who else did the Eagles target in the 2026 NFL Draft?
In addition to Makai Lemon, the Eagles also focused on tight end Eli Stowers, who they believe has significant potential for their offense.
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