The 2026 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away and the Philadelphia Eagles are putting the finishing touches on their draft board. The Eagles will host their last round of prospects on 30 visits and their local pro day over the coming days. We’re in the final stretch of a long, exhaustive pre-draft process that each NFL team approaches differently.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman began working for the franchise in 2000 and worked his way up from a front office intern into the general manager in Philadelphia. Throughout Roseman’s tenure, his approach to the pre-draft process and how they utilize certain resources has evolved. In recent years, it seems like Philadelphia has prioritized selecting players early that they hosted on one of their 30 pre-draft visits.

The pre-draft process for the 2020 NFL Draft and the 2021 NFL Draft was significantly impacted by COVID-19. Therefore, teams were no longer able to host prospects on pre-draft visits and it forced teams to reevaluate how they would navigate the pre-draft process. Since 30 visits resumed ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Eagles have seemingly shifted their approach and value on those interactions.

Prior to the 2025 NFL Draft, Roseman talked about how the Eagles have changed the way that they utilize 30 visits. Here’s what Roseman had to say, according to Zach Berman of The Athletic.

“I think that we have changed a little bit in how we approach the Top-30. Like everything, it's an information gathering process for us. The whole draft process is gathering information, constantly gathering information…” Roseman said.

“So for us, it's really just trying to fill in a lot of the blanks and the more we get to know people, the more that we expose them to not only us but people around us, the better we get a feel for them. So we think they're incredibly valuable for us.”

Roseman acknowledged that the Eagles have changed their approach to 30 visits. After primarily drafting players that they hosted on pre-draft visits early in three consecutive years, the Eagles suddenly broke that trend in last year’s draft. Yet one constant that has remained is that Philadelphia places a high value on rare athletes that have a rather high Relative Athletic Score.

Relative Athletic Score (or RAS, for short) is a metric created by Kent Lee Platte to quantify how players rank among others at their position in various aspects. RAS accounts for a player’s height, weight and athletic testing results to create a score ranging from 0-10. In recent years, Philadelphia has focused on selecting prospects with a RAS of at least 8 or higher.

Now let’s take a closer look at each of Philadelphia’s draft classes in the post-COVID 19 world and how the Eagles have approached the pre-draft process.

2022 NFL Draft

The first year that the Eagles went all in on former Georgia Bulldogs. Philadelphia spent their first-round pick on an incredibly rare athlete that they hosted on a 30 visit in defensive lineman Jordan Davis. He had a perfect RAS and helped usher in a new era for the Eagles and their revamped approach to the NFL Draft.

Cam Jurgens also tested absurdly well for his position with a RAS of 9.66. While the Eagles didn’t host Jurgens on a pre-draft visit, their interest in him was reported prior to the event by Tony Pauline. Nakobe Dean was unable to test during the pre-draft process due to injury but had obvious ties to Davis and Georgia.

Both Kyron Johnson and Grant Calcaterra had a RAS above 8.1, which appears to be a clear benchmark to watch for as we move forward.

2023 NFL Draft

Now this is where things get really interesting as the Eagles selected four players that they hosted on pre-draft visits. The ties to Georgia continued as Philadelphia selected three former Bulldogs. Yet once again, there’s a clear emphasis on selecting prospects that have a RAS of 8.1 or higher.

Jalen Carter was unable to test during the pre-draft process due to injury and other concerns off the field. Yet the six other players that the Eagles selected all had a RAS of at least 8.2. This would prove to be a foundational draft class for the Eagles with multiple contributors to an eventual Super Bowl winning roster.

2024 NFL Draft

In back-to-back years, Philadelphia placed an absurdly high priority on selecting prospects that they hosted on pre-draft visits. Five of Philadelphia’s nine selections visited the City of Brotherly Love before the 2024 NFL Draft. It’s also worth noting that Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was already familiar with the franchise due to his father’s history with the team.

Eight of the prospects that Philadelphia selected qualified for a RAS. Ainias Smith was the only player with an RAS below 9.2, which was likely due to an injury that he was dealing with during the pre-draft process. Once again, it’s clear that the Eagles value prospects with rare traits and athletic talent.

2025 NFL Draft

The Eagles finally broke their streak of selecting players in the first round that they hosted on pre-draft visits in the 2025 NFL Draft. In fact, Philadelphia didn’t select a single player that they reportedly hosted on a 30 visit. It’s worth noting that the Eagles were targeting multiple players that they hosted on 30 visits late in day two and early on day three. Yet the prospects that the Eagles had their eyes on were poached ahead of their draft slot.

Philadelphia also selected two players that had a RAS of less than 8.2 for the first time during the post-COVID-19 draft process. While it’s still early, these are all notable points to think about since last year’s draft class is already considered to be Philadelphia’s weakest haul in recent years.

2026 NFL Draft

Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, 17 of Philadelphia’s 30 visits have been reported. It’s worth noting that 13 of these prospects have a RAS of 8.82 or higher. Four of the players that the Eagles have reportedly hosted didn’t qualify for RAS due to a lack of athletic testing during the pre-draft process. Yet once again, it’s clear that the Eagles are looking for elite athletes or players that possess rare physical traits (hopefully both).

Conclusion

In closing, here are a bunch of notes and bullet points that stand out based on Philadelphia’s draft history over the last four years and the visits that have been reported ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft:

10/31 picks have had 30 visits with the team (32%)
4/5 first-round picks had a 30 visit with the team (80%)
4/5 first-round picks qualified for RAS (80%)
All four first round picks that qualified had an RAS of 9.23 or higher
7/12 picks on the first two days had a 30 visit with the team (58%)
25/31 picks qualified for RAS (81%)
22/25 picks had a RAS above 8.1 (88%)

Here’s one final interesting nugget that doesn’t have anything to do with 30 visits or RAS. The first pick that the Eagles have made in the last five NFL Drafts was actually in attendance at the event. While that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, it could hint towards Philadelphia aiming for the top prospects in each year’s draft class. We’ll find out later this month if any of these trends will continue in the City of Brotherly Love.