Eagles analysis

A detailed look at Eagles 53-man roster facts, figures and trends

Here's a look at the Eagles' initial 53-man roster by the numbers.

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Now that the Eagles have settled on their initial 53-man roster – but most likely not the final 53-man roster – we thought it would be fun to break down the roster in every way imaginable.

By age, draft round, how they were acquired, how long they’ve been here and anything else we could think of.

How many current Eagles were never drafted? How many played for a different team last year? How many remain from the 2017 Super Bowl team?

Let’s take a look:

Undrafted: The current Eagles’ roster includes 10 players who were never drafted: Rick Lovato, Fred Johnson, Sua Opeta, Olamide Zaccheaus, Christian Ellis, Jack Stoll, Reed Blankenship, Mario Goodrich, Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks. That means 21percent of the roster was never drafted. Lovato, Opeta, Ellis, Stoll, Blankenship, Goodrich, Jobe, Sills and Ricks all began as undrafted rookies with the Eagles. 

By Draft Round: Eight players on the 53 are former Eagles’ 1st-round picks: Brandon Graham (2010), Fletcher Cox (2012), Lane Johnson (2013), Derek Barnett (2017), DeVonta Smith (2021), Jordan Davis (2022), Jalen Carter (2023) and Nolan Smith (2023). Other 1st-round picks on the roster are Marcus Mariota (Titans 2015), Haason Reddick (Panthers 2017), Rashaad Penny (Seahawks 2017) and Terrell Edmunds (Steelers 2018). The roster also includes 10 players taken in the second round, four in the third round, six in the fourth, two in the fifth, sixth in the sixth and three in the seventh. 

Super Bowl holdovers: There are only seven players remaining from the 2017 Super Bowl championship team: Graham, Cox, Johnson, Jason Kelce, Barnett and Jake Elliott. 

How they got here: The current roster includes 30 players the Eagles drafted, eight they signed as free agents, two signed from other teams’ practice squads, four acquired in trades and nine signed as undrafted rookie free agents. Nobody on the current roster was awarded on a waiver claim.

New Players: Of the 53 on the roster, there are 17 who weren’t on the team last year: Rookies Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Tyler Steen, Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo, Tanner McKee, Moro Ojomo and Eli Ricks plus free agents Terrell Edmunds, Justin Evans, Rashaad Penny, Kentavius Street, Olamide Zaccheaus, Zach Cunningham, Marcus Mariota and trade acquisitions D’Andre Swift and Albert Okwuegbunam

Say Goodbye: Some 25 players who got into at least one game for the Eagles last year are no longer on the roster: T.J. Edwards, Miles Sanders, Marcus Epps, Javon Hargrave, Isaac Seumalo, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Linval Joseph, Josiah Scott, Kyzir White, Gardner Minshew and Zach Pascal all started at least one game. Others who played in at least one game are Britain Covey, Kyron Johnson, Arryn Siposs, Andre Dillard, Ndamukong Suh, Andre Cachere, Robert Quinn, Tyree Jackson, Tarron Jackson, Brett Kern, Trey Sermon, Noah Togiai, Cameron Dicker and Marvin Wilson.

Most and Least Experienced: Seven current Eagles have played in at least 100 career games: Graham (178), Kelce (176), Cox (173), Slay (151), Johnson (127), Bradberry (109) and Lovato (105). Six have started 100 or more games: Kelce (176), Cox (167), Slay (141), Johnson (127) and Bradberry (108). The only other current Eagle who’s started at least 50 games in an Eagles uniform is Dallas Goedert (52). Those on the 53-man roster who’ve never played in an NFL game are the seven rookie draft picks plus Ricks. An additional six have played in fewer than 20 games: Marlon Tuipulotu (14), Reed Blankenship (10), Grant Calcatera (15), Christian Ellis (7), Josh Jobe (11) and Cam Jurgens (17). 

Recent Drafts: The only former Eagles draft picks who were released Tuesday were K’Von Wallace (4th round in 2020), Tarron Jackson (6th round in 2021) and Kyron Johnson (6th round in 2022). All seven 2023 draft picks made the initial 53: Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Tyler Steen, Sydney Brown, Kelee Ringo, Tanner McKee and Moro Ojomo. Four of five picks from last year remain on the roster (all but Kyron Johnson) and seven of nine from 2021 (including Zech McPhearson, who’s out for the year). That means 18 of 21 players the Eagles have drafted over the last three years remain with the team. All but Tarron Jackson, JaCoby Stevens (6th round in 2021) and Kyron Johnson.

By Position: As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the roster included three quarterbacks, four receivers, four running backs, four tight ends, nine offensive linemen, seven interior linemen, six edge rushers, three off-ball linebackers, seven cornerbacks, four safeties and two specialists.

Drafted by Other Teams: The current roster includes 11 players drafted by other teams: Rashaad Penny [1st round, Seahawks, 2018], Haason Reddick [1st round, Cardinals, 2017], Marcus Mariota [1st round, Titans, 2015], Zach Cunningham [2nd round, Texans, 2017], Justin Evans [2nd round, Buccaneers, 2017], Darius Slay [2nd round, Lions, 2013], James Bradberry [2nd round, Panthers, 2016], A.J. Brown [2nd round, Titans, 2019], Albert Okwuegbunam [4th round, Broncos, 2020], Jake Elliott [5th round, Bengals, 2017] and Boston Scott [6th round, Saints, 2018].

How long have they been here? There are 18 players remaining who were here under Doug Pederson, four who were here under Chip Kelly and three who were here under Andy Reid. So 35 players on the 53 (66 percent) became Eagles after Nick Sirianni became head coach in 2021.

Oldest and Youngest: The youngest player on the roster is 21-year-old Kelee Ringo, who doesn’t turn 22 until June 27. He was born five months after the Eagles lost to the Rams in the 2001 NFC Championship Game. The oldest player on the roster is Jason Kelce, who turned 35 on Nov. 5. He’s five months older than Brandon Graham.

Alma Maters: Not surprisingly, Georgia and Alabama are represented the most on the roster, with six players from Georgia (Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Kelee Ringo, Nakobe Dean and D’Andre Swift) and five from Alabama (Landon Dickerson, Josh Jobe, Eli Ricks, DeVonta Smith and Tyler Steen – six if you count Jalen Hurts). Other schools with multiple players on the 53 are Louisiana Tech (Milton Williams, Boston Scott), Memphis (Jake Elliott, Kenneth Gainwell), Mississippi State (Fletcher Cox, Darius Slay), Nebraska (Cam Jurgens, Jack Stoll), Oklahoma (Lane Johnson, Hurts), In all, 20 players on the team played football at SEC schools – 38 percent of the roster.

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