Trade frenzy! Eagles set draft record; pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr, son of legendary Birds LB

PHILADELPHIA − The Eagles stockpiled seven Day 3 picks for Rounds 4-7, hoping to capitalize with players who might have slipped beyond the top three rounds.

Then they really started trading.

In all, the Eagles made nine trades in the seven-round draft. ESPN is reporting that's the most since 1990, when draft trades began being tracked.

One of the six deals on Saturday eventually enabled the Eagles to draft Jeremiah Trotter Jr., the son of the legendary Eagles linebacker by the same name, who starred for them two decades ago. The younger Trotter, also a linebacker, was drafted in the fifth round, at No. 155 overall, out of Clemson.

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The younger Trotter, who grew up in Lumberton, New Jersey, said he welcomes the opportunity to play for the same team as his father. Jeremiah Trotter Sr., a third-round pick of the Eagles in 1998, spent nine seasons spanning three stints with the Eagles, making the Pro Bowl four times.

"It means a lot," the younger Trotter said Saturday. "I know the type of legacy that he left with this organization, and the fans, how they treated him, and the coaches that he played for, and players he's played for with the Eagles. It definitely means a lot to come in and continue that legacy and help out the team any way that I can.

"I'm a hometown kid, and the Eagles were always my favorite team growing up."

The Eagles made three trades Friday night to add two extra fourth-round picks. Then the Eagles made three trades in the fourth round alone. They sent No. 120 to Miami for a third-round pick in 2025. Then the Eagles sent No. 123 to Houston for No. 127 and a fifth-rounder in 2025. The Eagles then sent No. 132 and 210 to Detroit for picks No. 164 and 201, along with a 2025 fourth-round pick.

That left the Eagles with one fourth-round pick, which they used on Clemson running back Will Shipley at No. 127. Shipley, who's 5-foot-11, 206 pounds, makes sense as a depth pick behind Saquon Barkley and Kenny Gainwell. Shipley had 827 yards rushing, averaging 5.0 yards per carry. He also had 244 yards receiving.

After the fourth-round deals, the Eagles had four fifth-round picks. They used the first, at No. 152, on Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith, who's 5-9, 190 pounds, and projects as a slot receiver.

Then they traded up with the Indianapolis Colts to No. 155 to get Trotter Jr. The Eagles gave up picks No. 164 and 201 to get him.

The Eagles weren't done trading. They sent No. 171 to the Jets for picks 185 and 190, both in the sixth round, while keeping No. 172. The Eagles used that pick on Michigan guard Trevor Keegan, who's 6-5, 310 pounds. He started all 15 games at left guard last season for the national championship Wolverines.

At No. 185, the Eagles got another wide receiver in Florida State's Johnny Wilson, who's 6-6, 231 pounds. He had 617 yards receiving last season in 10 games. At No. 190, also in the sixth round, the Eagles took N.C. State center Dylan McMahon.

Interestingly, the Eagles took another center in the sixth round, back in 2011, at No. 191. That pick, Jason Kelce, played 13 seasons before retiring in March. He'll likely wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But the Eagles made perhaps their biggest splash, at least in the eyes of their fans, with the selection of Trotter Jr.

The elder Trotter, nicknamed "The Axeman," played for the Eagles from 1998-2001, then 2004-06, and 2009. Trotter Sr., was selected to the Pro Bowl four times, had 7 interceptions, 11 sacks and 696 tackles as an Eagle.

Trotter Jr, who said he'd love to wear his dad's No. 54, is not the same kind of linebacker as his bulkier father. The younger Trotter referred to himself as more of a modern-day linebacker who has the speed to go from sideline to sideline.

Trotter Jr. had 88 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two INTs last season.

"Just the size and how our body types are," Trotter Jr., said, describing his father who played at 260 pounds while he's at 220 pounds. "He played the game where he's more up in the gaps, spiking gaps, really getting downhill and blowing up linemen.

"In today's game, I'm more run-around, run sideline to sideline. I gotta be able to play out in space. I feel like that's the biggest part of our games that are different."

Smith, meanwhile, had 53 receptions for 795 yards last season. Smith is also the only SEC player to ever hit 2,000 yards receiving, 250 yards rushing, 250 yards as a kick returner and 250 yards as a punt returner in his career.

As for Shipley, he is coming off a fibula dislocation in the Gator Bowl. He said he has fully healed.

Shipley also said he's a "huge Saquon fan", and that Barkley reached out to him as soon as he was drafted, saying, "Congratulations. Get ready to work."

"I could not be happier to learn from someone like Saquon and share a backfield with all the great backs we have," Shipley said.

Shipley said he "couldn't have been more ecstatic to be drafted by the Eagles," in part because his brother, James, is a lacrosse player at the University of Pennsylvania.

All of the trades enabled the Eagles to add three picks in 2025, one each in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Incidentally, the 2025 fourth-round pick is the pick the Eagles traded to the Lions in return last year for running back D'Andre Swift.

For Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, the picks were used to add depth and address other needs on the roster after the Eagles picked cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively.

The Eagles then took a risk in Round 3, drafting edge rusher Jalyx Hunt, a converted safety who played far from the college football limelight at Cornell and Houston Christian.

In all, the Eagles made nine picks, five on offense (two wide receivers, two offensive linemen and a running back) and four on defense (two cornerbacks, a linebacker and an edge rusher).

"We like where the draft is (Saturday)," Roseman said. "We think we're going to get an opportunity to add some good players in the fourth and fifth rounds."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.