The Georgia and Alabama football programs have won the last three College Football Playoff national championships. The Philadelphia Eagles have certainly taken notice of the winning culture of those SEC powerhouses led by Nick Saban (Alabama) and Kirby Smart (Georgia) -- getting that culture into their building in the first three rounds of the last three drafts.
Philadelphia drafted SEC players from Georgia and Alabama with their first three picks in the 2023 NFL Draft -- and four of their first five picks -- continuing the tradition of taking players from those SEC schools in the first four rounds. These are all the Alabama and Georgia players the Eagles have selected in the first four rounds since 2021.
All the Alabama players are on offense and all the Georgia players are on defense.
| Player (School) | Round (Year) | Position | Starter? |
|---|---|---|---|
DeVonta Smith (Alabama) | 1 (2021) | WR | Yes |
Landon Dickerson (Alabama) | 2 (2021) | G | Yes |
Jordan Davis (Georgia) | 1 (2022) | DT | TBD |
Nakobe Dean (Georgia) | 3 (2022) | LB | Yes |
Jalen Carter (Georgia) | 1 (2023) | DT | TBD |
Nolan Smith (Georgia) | 1 (2023) | EDGE | TBD |
Tyler Steen (Alabama) | 3 (2023) | G | TBD |
| Kelee Ringo (Georgia) | 4 (2023) | CB | TBD |
Count Jalen Hurts in 2020 and the Eagles have drafted eight Alabama and Georgia players in the first three rounds of the last four drafts. Hurts was a starting quarterback at Alabama then transferred to Oklahoma in 2019.
Why do the Eagles focus on Alabama and Georgia players so frequently? General manager Howie Roseman preaches about the culture of the Eagles building, which Smith saw on his pre-draft visit with the team.
"One thing that we show at Georgia is we have a culture program, so we believe in a culture, and they believe in a culture here at the Eagles," Smith said. "You felt that walking in the building. This was one of my favorite top-30 visits, just when I walked in the building, the culture, the people around here, they greet you with a smile, they say hello, and really just the whole city.
"It was really fun just going from a good culture to an even better culture."
