Now that Philadelphia Eagles 2025 training camp and the preseason are in the books, let's review the performances of each of the Eagles' drafted rookies throughout the summer.
Round 1: LB Jihaad Campbell
During the spring, Vic Fangio stated that we likely wouldn't see Campbell practicing until August, but when we showed up on Day 1 of training camp in July, Campbell was out there almost as a full participant. His blend of size and athleticism was immediately apparent.
Throughout the summer, Campbell was fun to watch, as he gets to where he's going in a flash. But also, as the summer progressed, he made more and more plays as his read and react skills improved along with his comfort in Fangio's scheme. There were notable improvements against the run, in coverage, and his timing on blitzes. Campbell is highly likely to start Week 1. The feeling here is that he'll be a good player from the jump, even if far from a finished product. The sky's the limit.
On a side note, Campbell was not particularly impressive when he lined up as an edge rusher. Once he has a foundation as a very good off-ball linebacker in Fangio's scheme, the Eagles could look to coach up his pass rush repertoire, but that's probably on the back burner for now.
Round 2: S Andrew Mukuba
Mukuba missed time early in camp with a shoulder injury, missing about a half dozen days of team drills. When he returned to the field, Mukuba had a monster preseason game, when he had a 75-yard pick-six against the Browns, plus a heads up fumble recovery. He seemed to wrestle the lead for the empty starting safety job away from Sydney Brown temporarily, but then injured his hamstring, and will probably begin the season as a reserve.
Mukuba has a slight frame, but plays a physical brand of football. That combination should be worrisome for his ability to stay on the field, and as noted above he has already been injured twice this summer. However, when he is healthy, he has shown that he is a savvy, smart safety, just as all the scouting reports on him said he was.
There could be a point this season in which Mukuba becomes a starter, but this latest hamstring injury will probably preclude that from happening in Week 1.
Round 4: iDL Ty Robinson
Robinson displayed impressive quickness from his interior D-line spot, and he consistently won his one-on-ones, although they unfortunately always seemed to come against international exemption player Laekin Vakalahi. However, in the preseason games, Robinson didn't often generate his own pressure, and there were times when he got moved in the run game. And that was mostly against backups. I think the Eagles would have liked to have seen more from him in those games.
While he is a lock to make the 53-man roster, Robinson could initially be buried on the depth chart behind the starters (Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo) as well as the the other reserves (Gabe Hall and Byron Young).
Round 5: CB Mac McWilliams
McWilliams began camp playing mostly in the slot, but he started getting more reps outside when none of the other cornerbacks on the roster definitively claimed the starting spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell. McWilliams played well enough that he became a lock to make the roster and get a chance to win that starting spot, but not so well that he actually got it.
Because of his inside-outside versatility, McWilliams will likely be active on gameday, and feels like a good bet to play some meaningful snaps this season.
Round 5: LB Smael Mondon
Mondon was one of my favorite players to watch throughout the summer. He's fast, tough, physical, and has some coverage chops. However, in the Eagles' first preseason game against the Bengals, he missed a bunch of tackles and lost some of the media buzz surrounding him. I do think he rebounded and played better in the Eagles' next two preseason games.
Mondon isn't likely to get much playing time as a rookie, as he is behind Zack Baun, Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter, and whenever he is able to return from the PUP list, Nakobe Dean. I do think Mondon could contribute immediately on special teams as a rookie because of his positive traits mentioned above.
Round 5: C Drew Kendall
Kendall began camp as the third-team C, and by the end of the summer he was splitting time at second-team C and LG. That's an indication that Jeff Stouland views Kendall as a versatile lineman who is likely to be active on gameday as a rookie.
Throughout camp, I thought Kendall displayed impressive footwork and hand-fighting skills, which probably shouldn't come as a surprise since he is the son of Pete Kendall, who played in the NFL for a dozen seasons. He is advanced technique-wise for a rookie, and should be equipped to play competently, if needed.
Round 6: QB Kyle McCord
McCord had a good spring, in my opinion, at least during the practices the media were allowed to attend. But he did not perform well in training camp, and he was downright bad in the preseason games. We already knew McCord lacked mobility, but he also made poor decisions with the football and threw inaccurately.
When the Eagles traded for fourth-year vet Sam Howell, the writing was on the wall that McCord was not long for the 53-man roster, and sure enough, he was released on Monday.
Round 6: OTs Myles Hinton and Cameron Williams
We'll lump these two guys together because they were both drafted with the same premise in mind. They were both late Day 3 linemen who were thought to possess some intriguing traits, but needed refinement.
Neither player ever played consistently well enough to get consideration for the swing tackle job, and if we're being honest, they both had disappointing camps. Hinton showed more flashes of talent than Williams, who indeed showed that he needs a lot of work, but also didn't look all that athletic, as originally billed.
Round 6: EDGE Antwaun Powell-Ryland
Coming off a pair of college seasons in which he had a combined 25.5 sacks, Powell-Ryland showed absolutely nothing throughout the summer. He was pretty much the only guy Cameron Williams could block. And then out of nowhere, albeit against the Jets' third-team offense, he had a monster performance in the Eagles' final preseason game.
We'll find out today if Powell-Ryland did enough to persuade the Eagles to keep him on their initial 53, or at least scare them enough thinking some team out there will claim him because of that performance.
If the Eagles do indeed hang onto Powell-Ryland a little while longer, he is highly unlikely to see the field anytime soon.
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