Eagles draft projection lands ascending safety, 28-sack EDGE at high-grade values

NFL Draft pundits are often left mystified over GM Howie Roseman, the Philadelphia Eagles and their propensity for landing elite prospects who were projected to be outside of their range.The Eagles stole a pair of franchise defensive backs in the 2024 draft, stopping Quinyon Mitchell’s slide at pick No. 22 before moving up to No. 40 overall in the second round to draft Cooper DeJean at an insane value. In 2023, they might have stolen the best overall player in the draft in a trade with the Chicago Bears to land DT Jalen Carter with the 9th overall pick.So who will Roseman and Co. be swiping this month, when the 2025 NFL Draft arrives on April 24? Draft analyst Thor Nystrom recently predicted a pair of early-round steals, as usual, for the reigning Super Bowl champs.Nystrom projects star Georgia Bulldogs safety Malaki Starks to fall into Philly’s lap at pick No. 32 overall. In the second round, he has elite EDGE prospect JT Tuimoloau of Ohio State sliding all the way to the Eagles at pick No. 64, filling arguably the team’s biggest need entering draft weekend. “Philadelphia’s BPA ethos once again returns a pair of players who probably each should have gone a little higher,” Nystrom wrote.Landing Starks without trading up in Round 1 would be a major score for Philly, which created a need at safety following its decision to trade C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason. ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had Starks in this range as well, recently mocking him to the Baltimore Ravens at pick No. 27 overall.Tuimoloau has major upside as a pass rusher after racking up 51 total pressures and 15 sacks last season for the Buckeyes, per PFF’s metrics. He amassed 28 sacks over his four years at Ohio State and would be a fine replacement for Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham. He’s Kiper’s No. 2-ranked defensive end in the class, so pick No. 64 overall would qualify as yet another Roseman heist.