Eagles GM Howie Roseman Breaks Down Philadelphia’s 2026 NFL Draft Class

Howie Roseman returned to The Rich Eisen Show to walk through the Philadelphia Eagles' top draft pick, wide receiver Makai Lemon, and tight end Eli Stowers, the seventh-round flier from Vanderbilt.

Rich started with the obvious question. Why does Howie like Lemon as much as he does?

The Eagles GM ran through the scouting profile. Lemon is a natural separator, with the ability to win at the top of routes from the slot or out wide. He's got strong hands, real play speed, and the kind of run-after-the-catch ability that translates immediately. But Roseman kept coming back to one word.

"We talk a lot about instincts," he said. He extended the point past football, telling Rich that any career rewards instinct, including hosting a sports show. The Eagles believe Lemon has elite instincts on the field, and that's the backbone of why he was the pick.

Roseman was careful, though. The vision is good and the role is mapped, but Lemon will be judged on what he does going forward. The fit as a person, he added, is equally important to the organization.

Rich then set up a transition, noting that Philadelphia already has a Heisman winner in DeVonta Smith and now adds an academic Heisman winner in Eli Stowers from Vanderbilt. Roseman jumped in with what he called the irony of the day. Both of his Biletnikoff Award winners, Smith and Lemon, came to Philadelphia via trades with NFC East rivals. Smith arrived through one. Lemon arrived through a deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

Rich could not let the Cowboys connection sit. He pointed out that the choice Dallas used to move down, and that Philadelphia used to move up, traced back to the Micah Parsons first-round pick that Green Bay had originally sent to Dallas. Full circle.

"I'm on it. I'm on it, Howie," Rich said. Roseman acknowledged the receipt with a laugh.

Then Rich pulled the conversation back to Stowers. The Eagles had Stowers on the show a month earlier. Smart kid, insanely talented. How does Stowers fit the offense?

Roseman opened with the league context. There's a lot of 12 and 13 personnel showing up across the NFL right now, which makes the tight end position about matchups. Stowers, in his estimation, is an unusual athlete with an unusual skill set. Great hands. A real route runner. Tough.

The Eagles are also leaning on the path Stowers took to get to this point. Roseman walked Rich through it. You don't get recruited as a four-star quarterback at Texas A&M, transfer to New Mexico State, lose the job there, and then convert to tight end without being mentally and physically tough. He called Stowers an elite character person.

Then Roseman dropped the family detail. Both of Stowers's parents were college athletes. His father had a brief shot at the NFL. His sister is a national championship volleyball player and was the most valuable player in that tournament. The whole crew came on the visit.

Roseman closed with a wink. Maybe that, he said, is the next non-football background the Eagles draft in the seventh round.