The Philadelphia Eagles have spent the last few seasons bolstering their defense with SEC talents through the draft, including former Georgia standouts Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, and Nolan Smith.
In 2024, the Eagles drafted a Big Ten standout who has shown to be one of the NFL’s greatest at his position, Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean, in the second round.
According to Yahoo Sports, Philadelphia will return to the Big Ten and add another defensive standout in Ohio State edge rusher Jack Sawyer, who is projected to be selected in the first round (No. 30 overall) by the Eagles in the current 2025 mock draft.
According to Yahoo Sports, “it’s hard to find true needs for this Eagles team right now, but they could definitely stand to give Bryce Huff some competition, which they can do by selecting Sawyer.” The OSU star is best remembered for his interception versus Michigan, but he is a consistent player with a high ceiling who can contribute right away.
Sawyer, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 260 pounds, has been a defensive captain for Ohio State during its journey to the College Football Playoff semifinals. In 2024, he earned an All-Big Ten pick with career highs of 53 tackles, 8.0 sacks, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 defensive score. He also had a viral moment following an upset home loss to Michigan.
Sawyer might be asked to not only take snaps from Huff, who inked a three-year, $51 million contract before the 2024 season, but also to completely replace him after he underperformed in his first year in Philadelphia. Sawyer might potentially replace the vacuum left by another Eagles edge rusher, Josh Sweat, who leads the team with 8.0 sacks but is expected to leave free agency.
Sawyer has been dominant over the last two seasons at OSU.
Sawyer has 22 career sacks and is a two-time All-Big Ten selection after recording 48 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10 TFL, and 2 forced fumbles in 2023. The Buckeyes are 45-8 since Sawyer joined the team in 2021 and entered Friday’s CFP semifinal versus Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
Bowl. According to Bleacher Report’s NFL draft profile, “Jack Sawyer’s game is based on strength and power at the point of attack.” He is strong and physical against the run, taking on blocks with great leverage to create stalemates at the line of scrimmage and setting the edge against offensive tackles. That can also help him gain extension and avoid blocks to make plays as a run defender. Eagles do not have a star edge rusher.
Despite the necessity of having outstanding edge rushers in the NFL, the Eagles had the league’s best defense in 2024 without one.
In fact, the NFL’s top two sack leaders, Trey Hendrickson and Myles Garrett, both played on teams that didn’t even make the playoffs, while Philadelphia had only one.
Sweat is a player ranked in the top 50 in the NFL for sacks. Sawyer would be an excellent fit for the Eagles for another reason: he will be under a sweetheart contract for at least the first three seasons of his NFL career.
That’s significant because Philadelphia will have to cough up what might be a record-breaking contract for Carter after the 2025 season, with the defensive tackle’s annual compensation exceeding $30 million per season and perhaps including $100 million in guaranteed money.
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