The Philadelphia Eagles traded up from pick No. 23 to select Makai Lemon at No. 20 in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But the Birds apparently had interest in moving up even higher in the order.
The Panthers recently published a video of their draft war room which shows Carolina general manager Dan Morgan fielding a call from Howie Roseman.
You can watch the action unfold around the 3:04 mark below:
Roseman’s audio is not included. But it sounds like he gauges Morgan’s interest in doing a deal, to which the Panthers GM indicates Carolina is probably going to keep the pick and make a selection. Still, Morgan asks to hear what Roseman might have to offer. Morgan is shown telling Roseman to circle back but the Panthers seem pretty intent on taking Monroe Freeling at No. 19 once Caleb Banks go off the board to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 18.
Some thoughts on this situation as it relates to the Eagles:
- Roseman is probably calling a lot of teams about potentially trading up to their selection. Doesn’t hurt to ask the price, at the very least. Getting a sense of what it would cost to move up to No. 19 could give him some context for making the trade up to No. 20.
- By getting a read on the Panthers’ intentions, Roseman could move quickly to try to make a deal with the Cowboys at No. 20.
- In a world where the Panthers were willing to trade their pick, I wonder who the Eagles would’ve taken at No. 19. Would they definitely still have gone with Lemon? Or was Freeling ahead of him on their board? The Eagles have been interested in drafting a potential Lane Johnson successor for years now and there was a lot of pre-draft buzz connecting them to Freeling.
Ultimately, the Eagles landed Lemon before later taking offensive tackle Markel Bell on Day 2.