INDIANAPOLIS — In each of the past two drafts, the Eagles diverged from their typical first-round philosophy.

In 2024, general manager Howie Roseman ended the organization’s 22-year drought in selecting a defensive back in the first round when they drafted Quinyon Mitchell. Last year, Roseman and the Eagles drafted South Jersey native and linebacker Jihaad Campbell, from a position that had previously not been an early-round priority.

The Eagles roster needs retooling heading into the 2026 season, and among the potential needs are at safety and tight end. The Birds have never drafted a first-round safety and haven’t selected a tight end that early since 1988.

» READ MORE: 2026 NFL mock draft 1.0: What will the Eagles do at No. 23?

With tight ends Dallas Goedert, Grant Calcaterra, and Kylen Granson, and safeties Marcus Epps and Reed Blankenship all are set to be free agents, could Roseman and the Eagles buck another trend?

Here is what we’ve learned about the Eagles’ interest in draft prospects so far at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine:

Interest in tight ends is real

The Eagles have spent a significant amount of time speaking with tight ends this week in Indianapolis. Roseman recently talked about needing “more of a diverse skill set at that position” last season.

The prized player of the group is Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq, the consensus top tight end of this class, but he had not yet met with the Eagles when he held his podium session Thursday afternoon.

There were several other players the Eagles did meet with, informally and formally. NC State’s Justin Joly, Georgia’s Oscar Delp, Ohio State’s Max Klare, Texas’ Jack Endries, Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers, and Ole Miss’ Dae’Quan Wright were among the players who met with the Eagles this week.

Klare, Delp, Joly, and Stowers are more like the tight ends the Eagles have drafted in the past, majoring as receivers with deficiencies as blockers, while Endries and Wright are a little more well-rounded as blockers.

Eagles running backs coach Jemal Singleton coached Texas A&M’s Nate Boerkircher at the Senior Bowl as part of Eagles D-line coach Clint Hurtt’s staff, and Boerkircher met informally with the Eagles this week at the combine. Boerkircher plays a more traditional in-line tight end role and is a physical blocker that revels in doing the dirty work that doesn’t always equate to targets and catches.

“I think [NFL teams] like my toughness and my high motor,” Boerkircher said Thursday. “I don’t have, you know, crazy stats. So that limited stats thing is brought up a little bit, and we talked about that, but [my film] shows what it needs to show.”

Ohio State’s Will Kacmarek is one of the best blocking tight ends in the draft class, and while there hasn’t been any reported interest from the Eagles, he would be a welcome addition to a room that needs that type of player.

Even if the Eagles don’t draft Sadiq in the first round, there are several other players that seem to be piquing the team’s interest.

Another Toledo prospect?

The Eagles struck gold by drafting Mitchell from Toledo, which continues to churn out NFL secondary talent. And there are three more players from the Rockets program in this class.

There’s one specifically, though, that the Eagles brought in for a formal interview, and that’s safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. The 6-foot-3 player is explosive, can defend the run, and has short-area coverage ability. He has excellent ball skills to intercept the ball and force fumbles, and was teammates with Mitchell for two years at Toledo.

“[Mitchell] was a motivation for us, so he just pushed us to be great, pushed us to work hard every day and be the best person we could be,” McNeil-Warren said of his former teammate. “Just coming in [to Toledo], knowing you got a chip on your shoulder, especially for a small school … just the work ethic we put in, we just got to keep grinding.”

» READ MORE: Howie Roseman addresses Jaelan Phillips, Brandon Graham, and other potential free agents ahead of the combine

McNeil-Warren tested well for his size at the combine, running a 4.52-second 40-yard dash, jumping a 35.5 inch vertical, and a 10-foot, 2-inch broad jump. He is among two other safeties that could go in the first round, which includes consensus top-10 pick Caleb Downs and Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, who had an outstanding testing session.

Even with limited reported interest in the position group, the Eagles should strongly consider drafting a safety with a deep group this year. They may be waiting to bring other top safety prospects in for pre-draft visits over the next month.

Quick hitters

Moyuka Uchijima reached her first final of the season at the Megasaray Hotels Open in Antalya, overcoming a set and a break deficit to defeat Mayar Sherif 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a three-hour marathon.

The semi-final clash between the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds was a masterclass in attrition, played under the intense Turkish sun. Uchijima, the world No. 104, entered the match without having dropped a set all week, after clinical dismissals of Despina Papamichail, Anastasia Gasanova, and Katarzyna Kawa.

However, that streak was quickly snapped by Mayar Sherif’s heavy topspin and tactical aggression, which allowed the Egyptian to claim the opening set 6-4.

The match appeared to be slipping away from Uchijima in the second set, but the Japanese star’s baseline resilience became the defining factor. She began to find deeper angles, moving Sherif, who had survived a three-set battle against Amarissa Toth earlier in the tournament, out of her comfort zone.

Uchijima snatched the second set 7-5 and maintained her composure in a physical decider, eventually breaking Sherif in the final game to seal her place in the final.

This victory sets up a high-stakes championship match against Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina. For Uchijima, the final represents a crucial opportunity to break back into the Top 100, while her performance this week underscores her status as one of the most dangerous competitors on the clay-court swing of the WTA 125 series

Having received a hammer blow to their title hopes last week, AC Milan must try to respond with a win over free-falling Cremonese on Sunday afternoon.

A 1-0 defeat against Parma ended the Rossoneri’s long unbeaten run in Serie A, also leaving them a distant second behind city rivals Inter Milan. 

Match preview

After going 24 league games without defeat, Milan finally faltered last Sunday, when in-form Parma stunned San Siro with an 80th-minute winner.

While that goal was hotly debated in the aftermath, a VAR check confirmed its validity and the Rossoneri were unable to respond.

With 12 rounds remaining, they trail first-placed Inter by 13 points, so any dreams of the Scudetto seem to be fading.

Max Allegri’s men had previously needed a last-gasp winner to beat lowly Pisa, before scraping a 1-1 home draw with Como, indicating their loss of momentum.

Nonetheless, Milan are still unbeaten on the road, with their only other league loss coming at home to Cremonese on the opening matchday.

They will now reconvene with their Lombardy rivals at Stadio Zini, where the second-city giants have failed to score on their last three visits – albeit only one took place this century.

© Iconsport / LaPresse

Following their club’s shock success in August – when Federico Bonazzoli‘s strike sealed a famous 2-1 win – optimistic Cremonese fans will hope for an unprecedented league double over Milan.

However, becoming the first promoted team to pull that feat off since Ascoli did so in 1987 seems a very long shot, with Cremo enduring an awful start to the calendar year.

The Grigiorossi are on their second-worst run ever in Italy’s top flight – failing to even score in 10 of 12 winless matches – and they last tasted success in December.

Last week’s 3-0 loss to Roma at Stadio Olimpico finally allowed Fiorentina to overtake them in a battle between six clubs to avoid the final relegation place.

As a result, Davide Nicola‘s side are sliding towards the trapdoor, sitting 17th in the standings and just outside the drop zone on goal difference.

With Nicola’s job under serious threat, their comeback campaign may be heading for demotion, only one year on from winning the Serie B playoffs.

Cremonese Serie A form:

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AC Milan Serie A form:

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Team News

© Iconsport / SUSA

After suffering a serious facial injury last Sunday, Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be out of action for several weeks, while it remains to be seen whether Matteo Gabbia can recover from a flexor issue.

Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez is the visitors’ only other absentee, as top scorers Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao recently returned to fitness.

Alongside the latter pair, Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug are also in contention for two attacking places.

Luka Modric will surely start in midfield, so the two oldest players to have scored in Serie A this season should meet: 40-year-old Modric and Jamie Vardy, 39.

Cremonese’s front line is enduring a long goal drought, causing Nicola to drop Vardy last week; Bonazzoli has failed to find the net this calendar year. 

Once again, they must both vie with Antonio Sanabria and Vardy’s fellow veteran Milan Djuric for selection.

The hosts will be without Michele Collocolo, Faris Moumbagna and key defender Federico Baschirotto due to injury, but Milan loanee Warren Bondo was back on the bench against Roma and could be ready to start.

Cremonese possible starting lineup:

Audero; Terracciano, Luperto, Bianchetti; Zerbin, Thorsby, Bondo, Maleh, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Vardy

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao

We say: Cremonese 0-2 AC Milan

While Milan rank third in Serie A for clean sheets, Cremonese have failed to even score in their last three matches at Stadio Zini.

So, the Rossoneri should comfortably keep their hosts in check while scoring at least twice at the other end.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.