PHILADELPHIA − The Eagles do not see what you see in their 2026 draft class.
First-round pick Makai Lemon, a wide receiver, missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and seemed to struggle when he was in there. Second-round pick Eli Stowers, a tight end, was mostly with the second and third teams during training camp, and now he has a hamstring injury.
Third-round pick Markel Bell, a tackle, was impressive, but he’s not supplanting left tackle Jordan Mailata or right tackle Lane Johnson. Heck, he might not even be the first tackle in should Mailata or Johnson get injured.
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Fifth-round pick Cole Payton is the fourth quarterback. Sixth-round pick Micah Morris is the third-string guard. And all three seventh-rounders − safety Cole Wisniewski, defensive tackle Uar Bernard and edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby − are on the practice squad after they were waived on the NFL’s cutdown day on Aug. 30.
So it’s easy to already label this class a non-factor this season. But that would be mistaken, as Eagles GM Howie Roseman explained.
“This is the only business that you look at how guys are doing right away, and sometimes there are early judgments made,” Roseman said. “Any other business, there’s a long-term view, and we see it on our roster, how [guys] developed over two, three, four years.
“I understand there are big resources into those guys, first- and second-round picks. Tremendous confidence in who those guys are as players, what their skillset is.”
As the Eagles prepare to open the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Washington Commanders, it’s likely that only Lemon could see the field. And he’s getting a crash course after returning from his hamstring injury. Still, it’s hard to see Lemon matching fellow wide receiver DeVonta Smith’s rookie year in 2021, when Smith set a franchise record for receiving yards in a season for a rookie with 916.
And yet, the Eagles are counting on this class becoming productive in the coming seasons. All you have to do is look at the trajectory of the 2022 class.
How Eagles’ 2022 class became stars
In 2022, the Eagles drafted defensive tackle Jordan Davis in the first round. He had 2½ sacks and played 20% of the defensive snaps that season. His playing time dwindled over the final month of the season and into the playoffs, once the Eagles signed veterans Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh.
Davis didn’t play much more, or better, in 2023. That continued into the first half of the 2024 season. But Davis became a valuable player over the second half of that season, helping the Eagles’ Super Bowl run. Then last season, his game took off.
Davis signed a three-year extension worth as much as $78 million this spring.
Second-round pick Cam Jurgens was drafted as a center to become Jason Kelce’s replacement. Kelce set a franchise record for starting 156 consecutive games. So Jurgens played just 35 snaps that season, or 3%. When Kelce decided to return for the 2023 season, Jurgens moved to right guard.
Kelce retired after that season, so Jurgens got his first crack at center in 2024. He was selected to the Pro Bowl that season and again in 2025.
You could even look at third-round pick Nakobe Dean, a linebacker. He played 3% of the snaps on offense as a rookie while contributing on special teams. Dean was injured and played in only five games in 2023. Then he finally got his chance in 2024 and had a career year. Dean battled through injuries last season, but still was a key player on defense.
Dean turned that into a three-year contract worth as much as $36 million with the Las Vegas Raiders.
In fact, you could make the argument that sixth-round pick Grant Calcaterra, a tight end, was the most productive of the Eagles’ rookies in 2022. He had five catches for 81 yards and played 19% of the snaps.
What can Eagles expect from Makai Lemon, Eli Stowers?
It certainly wasn’t encouraging when Lemon had just three receptions for 3 yards in the preseason finale against the Bengals on Aug. 28. Or when he deflected a Tanner McKee pass that turned into an interception.
To his credit, Lemon took responsibility, saying that “was a drop.” But that was Lemon’s first NFL game (he missed the two previous games with a hamstring injury), and his coaches have been impressed with how he has learned despite missing so much time on the field. In addition to the three weeks, Lemon also missed the final two weeks of spring practices with the same hamstring injury.
“He’s staying after practice with [quarterback] Jalen [Hurts] for the last couple weeks,” Eagles wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said. “That has been really good for him, just having that verbal communication … and throwing, throwing and catching, with Jalen helping Makai and saying, ‘Hey, this is where I need you here. This is where I need you there. I know you can’t run the route full speed yet, but when we do ….'”
It’s similar in a way for Stowers, who was a quarterback coming into college and new to the tight end position. He’s had to learn how to block, handle his assignments while trying to work in behind veteran Dallas Goedert. Stowers’ injury set him back a bit as well.
But there is time for him to learn with Goedert and top backup Johnny Mundt in the final year of their contracts.
“I’m really excited about Eli’s development,” tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey said. “We knew coming in, highly intelligent, has very good football character, good athlete, who had transitioned from a different position and now was playing tight end. I’m very pleased with the progression that he’s made. … I think he’s going to continue to get better just as he gets more time on task.”
Bell, who’s 6-foot-9, 346 pounds, could be seen as the successor to Lane Johnson, who plans to retire after this season. Johnson has raved about Bell throughout training camp, as has offensive line coach Chris Kuper.
“He’s really surprised me with his aptitude for football,” Kuper said. “Some of the questions he asks are very detailed. So that struck me pretty early in the process. And the physical part, what we wanted to see was is he going to be able to hold up against these pro players, and he’s done a good job at this point.”
But all of this is really for the future. Just like it was for the 2022 class. Back then, the rookies were coming in to support a veteran team that ended up reaching the Super Bowl. Eventually, Davis took over for Fletcher Cox, Jurgens replaced Kelce and Dean developed into a starter.
That can certainly be the case with these rookies as Lemon becomes the eventual No. 2 receiver to DeVonta Smith, Stowers ends up replacing Goedert, and Bell replaces Johnson.
“I don’t have any doubt about what they’re going to be in the NFL over time,” Roseman said. “I still believe that they’re going to contribute to our 2026 team.”
That would be a bonus − as long as they become key parts of the 2027 and 2028 teams, and beyond.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the “Eye On The Eagles” newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why ‘early judgments’ on Makai Lemon, Eagles draft class are wrong
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