PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - Three Early Eagles NFL Draft Prospects To Watch, Starting With Jeremiah Smith

Episode Date: October 28, 2026

ALLCITY's NFL Draft expert Fran Duffy breaks down three of the prospects Eagles fans will need to know if the season ends up going the way it looks for the 2-5 Birds. If they have a top-five pick in the NFL Draft, could Ohio State's all-world WR Jeremiah Smith be a possibility? What about the best offensive lineman in the draft? Or the best pass rusher? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, as the two and five Eagles and their fans wonder what's going to happen the rest of this season, it is probably not too early, Fran Duffy, are all-city NFL draft expert to dream a little bit about what a potential top 10, top five pick could look like for the Eagles. So let's talk about three guys who are like the guys who you would just pluck and put on this team and all of a sudden the future would feel a little bit different. And I think we can start with the guy who everybody knows about already, just in general,

the best wide receiver in college football and Jeremiah Smith. Yeah, I mean, this is a guy that's been on the radar since he first stepped on campus in 2024 when they went on the national championship run, Ohio State. He was the best player on that team

as an 18-year-old freshman. And so, you know, you're talking about a guy who's 6 foot three, over 220 pounds. And Beau, it's still early, so we'll see. I think he will have the highest grade I've ever given a player.

Any player, period? Period. Like, in terms of just like overall, like quarterbacks will always have a higher positional value, but just in terms of there's like raw grade. Really? Because there's literally nothing

I could say bad about the player. The only thing to keep in mind. Tell people how long you've been doing this. I mean, I first started writing reports in 2005. Okay. And really started writing reports in like,

2011 like right like you know start right in the weather draft in 2005 draft uh the first reports in 2011 so it's been a while so somewhere between 15 and 20 years essentially this is the highest grade you're going to give a player most likely yeah I think so that's wild why I mean he it's Julio Jones like that's he he's he's Julio Jones um and you can see that he's he's Julio Jones yeah he's coming now right oh he uh he's big he's fast he's high character. He could separate. He's not a bad route runner. He's good after the catch. He's excellent at the catch point. You're doing a great

job with him this year as the officer coordinator. I think when you're Arthur Smith, the new office coordinator for Ohio State, I think when you're looking at Jeremiah Smith, he just checks every box and there were people that were like, oh, like yards after catch, you know, is that great? Not like he's checking that box this year.

There's the only thing I've got as a negative is that, and it wasn't like he's missed a lot of time, but he was dealing with like some soft tissue stuff at the end of each season. So in 2024, down the stretch of the national title run

and then in 2025. That's literally the only thing I've got from a negative standpoint. So kind of hard to imagine given all of that that he's not going to be the first non-quarterback off the board? I would imagine he will be the first

non-quarterback off the board. Okay. So the Eagles will have to like, you're talking maybe they win one more game. Yeah. I think you've got to be like, You've got to be like two, three wins to get a shot at it. Or you're trading up.

Yeah. And I don't, I mean, we got a long way to get there. Right. I'm not sure. Well, you know, Howie's always looking at trade up. Yeah. To get his guy. But given their multitude of needs.

Yes. Like if you're, for instance, at sitting at five, I can move up to three and pay a real premium to get a wide receiver instead of a tackle. Yep. I don't know. I would be surprised by that. But this is a guy who fits anywhere. Yeah.

I mean, he's, like, I just, me like as good as advertised like you know nothing much you need to say i've seen some people like oh like you know he's it'll be like Marvin harrison junior this is not the same conversation uh he very rarely would i ever say like oh yeah like this guy could be a hall of famer i'm watching him like this guy looks like he'd be like it's a full hall of famer you said something on the show the other day about uh the evaluation of of like especially elite players just to see if they have ever dealt with adversity yeah what kind of adversity we're talking about here um So the best I've got, because I try and make a note,

so if you become a diehard, you get access to the draft guide, I do try and put those stories into the bio. So I'm going to pull up. If you're watching this video, if you're listening to this, I cannot imagine that you are not already paying attention to the diehard draft guide, but if you are thinking about the draft in any capacity, it is an absolute no-brainer. Fran has already written a ton of reports on some of the most important players.

So Jeremiah has been asked about this. Okay. And I actually, I forgot. I got it until I opened it and I remember laughing to myself about this in like May as I'm sitting by myself. I remember you telling me about this. I think I did. Yeah.

I was like, you know, what do you think if I were to ask a player, what's the worst thing that's ever happening in your life? He said, worst thing that's ever happened was when he was cut from his youth football team as a seven year old, which the fact that he's still talking about that when he's like 19. Yeah. I do think that that's kind of like telling and, you know, you point to us say like, all right, well, he's had a pretty good. life if that's the case.

But he was literally like he got cut as a seven year, which my son is seven. So I'm like thinking of my son like being the same head. And hearing this with him for 12 years. He said he literally he got cut and he went out and was running hills on his own the next day to put himself in position to be able to make the team the next team. Crazy. It's crazy. Yeah.

Built different. All right. Built different. Yeah. Probably. Probably off the board. Out of reach. Yeah.

I think so. If I ask you who's the best offensive linemen as the Eagles try to rebuild this offensive line. You got Jordan Milana. You probably have Drew Kendall in some capacity. Yeah. You got Markell Bell, whether he's a starter or a swing tackle. You got

some spots open. Who's the best guy? So the tackle class took a little bit of a hit this past week. Trevor Goosby, the left tackle from Texas, went down with a season ending injury. And now he does have another year of eligibility where he can go back to school. He was a top

15 player for me coming into the year. and I would say was the safer of my top two tackle prospects in terms of like, oh, he's more polished, but there's no question that the ceiling was higher with this player that I want to talk about. And there's also like, who's had the better year? It is Jordan Seton from LSU. The left tackle, you put on the tape,

and it's just like right off the bat. You see, oh, yeah, this guy's got special traits. The feet, the athleticism, the strength, the power. You're checking all the boxes there. He was the number one, tackle recruiting the country coming out of high school from the DC area. So, you know, regionally local here, you know, from, from the mid-Atlantic, goes to Colorado, plays for Dion Sanders for his first two years. And obviously the first year, that was like

Chador's year, Leon Travis Hunter, like, you know, it was a good team, a lot of talent. Last year, not so much. And there's been a lot that was like talked about. I was like, oh, he's not a good run blocker. And I'm watching him in the summer. I'm like, this guy's powerful. He is tough and physical and looks to finish everything. He's like, yeah, like there's technique things, like footwork, hand placement, like pad level, like things you got to work on. But he's got every single trait.

And then he goes in the portal. He goes to the LSU this year. And they're not like running the ball with a special authority this year. But like you see, oh, he's, he's gotten better in the run game and he's doing it in the SEC. It's like, one of the first guys I thought of

when I first plugged the tape in was Laramie Tunsell. And I'm like, okay. Yeah, like Laramie Tunsel was, And he was one of the top players in his draft coming out. And his turn to, he's one of the best tackles in football. But he's like nastier and more physical than tonsil. And so like if I'm saying, okay, he's got upside. The upside there is a run blocker plus what he is in past pro.

There's a lot to get excited about with Jordan Seaton. I think we can overstate this is probably not a concern. But let's say that the Eagles really love Markle Bell. Yeah. Can Seaton play hard early in his career? I would rather move somebody else there. but I think he probably could. Tommy Tunsell played guard

his rookie year for Miami. Right. You know, we have seen that. I do think he could do it, but. Seems like a waste. Yeah,

I'd probably put him a tackle. I think it's more, he's only played left tackle. So does, would Jordan Milaa move to right tackle? Or can he, you know,

some guys, some guys make the transition just fine. Not everybody does. So it would just be a matter of like, is he able to make that move? And presumably when the Eagles make this draft,

Like they've hired Jeff Stoughtland to return and you hand him over and it's an easy development plan. He, I will say like he's awesome. He's really, really fun to watch. Worthy of a top five pick. Yeah. I think he is, he is like a blue chip tackle prospect, like Penny Sewell, like that level of player. Now I think we both agree that the Eagles would probably prefer and should focus on rebuilding the offense.

Yeah. In next year's draft, however, if there's a dynamic pass rusher. that would always be interesting to Harry Roseman, who was the top guy for you as we close out this top three? Yeah, there's two edge rushers that a lot of people are really excited about the top. It's, there's the kid from Tennessee,

or from South Carolina, rather, that was suspended for a chunk of this team. Coming back late from injury, Dylan Stewart, junior, third year player. He's intriguing, he's fun. I prefer Colin Simmons from Texas. Okay. So Simmons, 6-3, 240 pounds.

So the scheme is like, all right, is he going to be a fit for everybody? He's kind of, be like Von Miller. Okay. So, like, that's the thing is that when I'm watching Simmons, okay, he's young, extremely productive. Yeah. And not just this year, like, all the course of his career, extremely productive. Pretty high character. Now, he went viral this year after a sack in a five, or after a say,

Five-sack game against Tennessee. Celebration where he pretends to pee on the ground and gets flagged for an unsportsman. One of the funniest things that I've ever seen on a football field. Stock up for a lot of people, including you. I would not have to know. But it's known for like he's got an autism foundation, like known for like a lot of work in the community, like things like that. The athleticism is there. The past rush chops are there.

Toughness, physicality are there. There's really not a lot of like holes in the profile. it's literally just like, all right, at that size, is he going to be a fit for every single scheme? But when I'm looking at like comps for him, and I'm like, all right, like, I think this kid's a dynamite rusher. I think he's awesome.

Who are the guys that are built this way? You really only can come up until like guys are, I'm like, oh, like this guy's really, really good. Because I try to stay away from the lofty comp. And I had already thrown like Julio Jones on Jeremiah Smith. And I'm like, oh, what I'm gonna do? Call this guy Von Miller? Like, people are gonna think I'm like drinking.

Well, I'm sitting there watching these guys. I think they did. So I compared him to Yanukkah, like a souped up Yanuk and Gakwe, who was a really good rusher for a long time. He's better than that. He's, his profiles are great. The film is really impressive. He only carried it through this year.

He's a good player. I am just feeling from you. Okay. That this is a much more exciting top of the draft than the past few years. No question. And so not that the Eagles want to be bad. Yeah. But if you were going to have a bad season,

this might not be the worst year to do it. The talent at the very top. Just from a draft. Yeah, the talent at the very top is way better than what we have seen in recent years. Now, this is the part that remains to be seen and will greatly impact. Now, the Eagles fans should be paying attention to this.

A lot was made about the quarterback class. And it's not about, oh, will the Eagles take a quarterback? They might, but will the Eagles take a quarterback? It's more, you want more of these talented quarterbacks to be in the draft to then, you know, push some other players down the board. Looks like Arch Manning was good, was probably going to be in this class. I don't know that he's going to be in this class. Yeah. Dante Moore from Oregon, he's out for the year. He's announced last night on Monday night that he is not, he is not going to play the rest of the year after taking that hit against USC with the concussion, like nasty work.

And he's, he's done. So he could come out, but maybe not. He could go back to school. That clouds the picture a little bit into. terms of like the talent that is available at the top where the, where the Eagles was sitting that pecking order will be very big. All right. So root for quarterbacks to come out.

Keep an eye on those three players, Jordan Seidon, Colin Simmons, Jeremiah Smith. We've got a long way to go in the lead up to the draft. And there is nobody in the world better to take you through it than the great friend Duffy.