Will the Eagles swap picks again in the draft? Here’s what history shows for teams picking last in the first round.

Picking last in the first round of the NFL draft often is a crapshoot, and the Eagles are tasked with closing this draft’s initial round after winning Super Bowl LIX. But how often has the reigning Super Bowl champion or the team picking last in the first round actually stayed put?

The last time the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after the 2017 season, they traded out of the first round altogether. The Baltimore Ravens traded up from the second round with the Eagles to take Lamar Jackson 32nd overall in the 2018 draft. The Ravens sent their second- and fourth-round picks, along with a 2019 second-rounder, to the Eagles in exchange for Pick 32 and their fourth-round selection.

» READ MORE: As the NFL draft approaches, Howie Roseman discusses the Eagles’ prospects, trade possibilities and more

The Eagles ended up making an additional trade up to take Dallas Goedert 49th overall in that draft, but there is a precedent for teams at the end of the first round trading up or back.

In the 2024 draft, the Kansas City Chiefs traded up four spots from No. 32 overall with the Buffalo Bills, who entered the draft selecting 28th. Buffalo received picks Nos. 32, 95 (Round 3), and 221 (Round 7) in exchange for Nos. 28, 133 (Round 4), and 249 (Round 7). The Chiefs drafted wide receiver Xavier Worthy, while the Bills traded down again one spot out of the first round with the Carolina Panthers, who took Xavier Legette at 32, while the Bills took Keon Coleman at 33.

Going back the last 10 drafts, just half the teams selecting last in the first round actually made their picks without trading: the New England Patriots and Chiefs twice apiece and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Of those five drafts that included trades at the end of Round 1, two of them were for quarterbacks: The Broncos traded up from No. 31 to No. 26 overall with the Seattle Seahawks to take Paxton Lynch in the 2016 draft, and the aforementioned Jackson trade in 2018.

That context is important, considering the potential trade-up candidates for the Eagles in this draft. The Cleveland Browns and NFC East rival New York Giants are quarterback-needy teams and pick second and third overall, respectively, on Thursday. Could they target a quarterback at the end of the first round to get the fifth-year contract option if they pass on a quarterback early?

The New Orleans Saints, who have traded draft picks with the Eagles in the past, also could move up from their second-round pick at 40th overall to take a quarterback at the end of Round 1 if they target another position with their first-round pick. New Orleans has two third- and two fourth-round picks.

» READ MORE: Eagles draft: Miami’s Cam Ward, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders headline a quarterback class that features local talent

That trio of teams would make sense as trade-back partners, especially if quarterback prospects Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe still are on the board. But an offensive tackle falling also could entice a team to trade up. In back-to-back drafts in 2016 and 2017, the Seahawks and Saints traded up for tackles: Germain Ifedi, who started four years for Seattle, and Ryan Ramczyk, a perennial starter for the Saints until he experienced knee issues last season.

In a tackle-needy league and with this year’s class thin at the position, teams could be willing to throw a dart at a falling offensive tackle. Players like Oregon’s Josh Conerly, Ohio State’s Josh Simmons, and Texas’ Kelvin Banks don’t have a consensus regarding where they will be picked and could be available late in the first round.

The Chicago Bears, who have two second-round picks (Nos. 39 and 41), could make sense as a trade-back partner if they don’t address their left tackle spot at No. 10 overall.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is known for making trades during the draft, and by the end of the 2024 edition, he had made 41 draft-day trades in the last decade.

Since trading out of the first round in 2018, Roseman has traded up in the first round four times: in 2019, moving from No. 25 overall to No. 22 to select tackle Andre Dillard; in 2021 from No. 12 overall to No. 10 to select wide receiver DeVonta Smith; in 2022 from No. 15 overall to No. 13 to select defensive tackle Jordan Davis; in and 2023, moving from 10th overall to No. 9 to draft defensive tackle Jalen Carter.

» READ MORE: Howie Roseman and the Eagles want value in the NFL draft. They have to make tough choices to find it.

Roseman was extremely active during last season’s draft and made eight trades after the first round. With a talent drop-off after the top half of the first round, he could get aggressive to move up for a falling player.

With four picks in the fifth round, the Eagles’ Day 3 picks could prove valuable, along with next year’s potential compensatory picks. Ahead of the draft, three teams have five or fewer picks: the Minnesota Vikings (four), Atlanta Falcons (five), and Washington Commanders (five).

The Falcons have the highest pick of the three teams (15th overall), but the Commanders and Vikings could add extra picks later in the draft and serve as potential trade partners with the Eagles.

The Vikings have their first-round pick (24th), third-rounder (97th), a fifth-rounder (No. 139), and a sixth-rounder (No. 187), while the Commanders have picks in the first (No. 29), second (No. 61), fourth (No. 128), sixth (No. 205), and seventh rounds (No. 245). Even the Falcons have a big gap between picks, as they don’t have a third-, fifth-, or sixth-round selection this year.

» READ MORE: Eagles draft prospect tracker: Minnesota DB Justin Walley, Navy S Rayuan Lane make predraft visits

The Eagles and Commanders have a recent trade history in the draft, with the Birds moving up to 40th overall to select defensive back Cooper DeJean while parting with both of their second-round picks (Nos. 50 and 53) last year.

Beyond those teams, there are a few others picking in the 20s who are low on early-round picks: the Los Angeles Rams, who don’t have a second-rounder after picking at No. 26, and the Steelers, who pick 21st and don’t have a second-rounder.

If the Eagles, who have eight picks (five after Round 3), do strike a trade-up deal, drafting a trench player seems like the most logical result.

Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen appears to be on the Eagles’ radar and is unlikely to make it to the end of Round 1, although he hasn’t been brought in for a top-30 visit yet. Edge rushers Mike Green (Marshall), Mykel Williams (Georgia), and Williamstown’s Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College) could be trade-up candidates as well. Ezeiruaku made a predraft visit to Philly.

A small trade-up for Georgia safety Malaki Starks also could be in the cards for the Eagles, who also brought him in for a predraft visit, though his position isn’t typically valued that early in the draft across the league.