The Eagles are like everyone else when it comes to the NFL draft: They know nothing. Judge them accordingly.

The draft picks who will be most important to the Eagles’ potential success in 2024 probably won’t be the picks that they made this weekend.

This is one of the many aspects of the draft, and of the Eagles’ approach to it, that people forget, refuse to acknowledge, or don’t understand. Everyone who loves the NFL and/or college football practically vibrates with excitement over these three days. It’s no wonder why. A fan’s favorite team might finally have found its franchise quarterback or that big-time skill-position player it’s been looking for or that pass-rusher it really needs. Sometimes, that actually happens, and everyone knows it right away. In the Eagles’ 2021 season opener, for instance, it took all of 10 minutes to see that DeVonta Smith was already their best receiver and was likely to improve.

But those are best-case scenarios, and counting on them or assuming they will last can get you in trouble. Jalen Carter was one of the league’s most dominant defensive linemen through his first 10 games last season. Through his last seven, he was … not. Does that mean the Eagles were wrong to draft him? Of course not. It just means that nobody should be writing or reading an article or post headlined WHO WON THE 2024 DRAFT? until 2028 at the earliest.

» READ MORE: Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat writers weigh in on drafting Quinyon Mitchell

With that context, when it comes to the Eagles’ moves during and results from this year’s draft, it’s good to keep a few things in mind, starting with …

… the recognition that plug-and-play is a nice goal with a high pick, but that shouldn’t be the presumption.

Sure, the Eagles needed depth and talent at cornerback, and they hope they got both when they picked Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell in the first round Thursday night. But that’s all they have right now: hope. Mitchell might turn out to be one of the Eagles’ starters on the outside in Week 1, or he might turn out to be like several of the team’s key players — homegrown guys who need time to develop into fixtures in the lineup, if they develop that much.

Look at the Eagles’ defensive depth chart, for instance. Assuming new coordinator Vic Fangio will run a 3-4 scheme, the starting defensive line will be Carter, Jordan Davis, and Milton Williams. Each of them was drafted by the Eagles within the last four years, and each is a good player who can still get better. Among the linebackers and pass rushers, the unit will need more from Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith, and even Josh Sweat. And in the secondary, the odds are good that the Eagles will need significant contributions from two draft picks from last year (Sydney Brown and Kelee Ringo) and an undrafted free agent from 2022 (Reed Blankenship).

As for the offense, yes, Jalen Hurts and the skill positions — A.J. Brown, Smith, Dallas Goedert, Saquon Barkley — are set. But along the offensive line, ‘22 pick Cam Jurgens has to replace Jason Kelce (or try to) at center, which means ‘23 pick Tyler Steen might end up starting at right guard. The point is, unless Mitchell immediately demonstrates that he’s the result of a gene-splicing experiment involving Richard Sherman and Deion Sanders, it’s best to temper expectations for him, especially since …

… no one knows anything about the draft, not when it comes to determining whether a college player will thrive in the NFL.

Mitchell seems to check every box, as the cliche-ridden evaluators in and around the league like to say, and maybe he’ll turn out to be great. It’s worth noting, though, that in recent years, the Eagles had touted their simpler approach to choosing players in the first round: If the prospect went to Alabama or Georgia or another of college football’s top programs, one of the biggest and most proficient draft-pick factories, Howie Roseman and his staff were more likely to take him. Except this year, there were two Alabama cornerbacks thought to have first-round grades on the board when it was time for the Eagles to make their call at No. 22, and Roseman & Co. went with the kid from the Mid-American Conference.

Doesn’t mean they were wrong to take Mitchell. Just means that one year’s guiding philosophy is the next year’s rule that has to be broken. At least the Eagles did what was, in the main, expected of them by picking a cornerback, because in any draft …

» READ MORE: Trading Haason Reddick is a risk for the Eagles. Bryce Huff is the key.

… the most controversial thing a general manager or player-personnel department can do is take a chance, especially on a quarterback.

The Eagles did it in 2020 when they took Hurts. It turned out that they created and solved a problem for themselves at the very same time. In the moment, there was much sturm und drang about their decision to draft a quarterback in the second round not long after handing Carson Wentz an extension worth as much as $128 million. Of course, that was nothing compared to what the Atlanta Falcons did, and the criticism they received, when they picked the University of Washington’s Michael Penix at No. 8 — after signing Kirk Cousins for as much as $180 million in March. The collective reaction from many among the league’s cognoscenti would be hilarious if it weren’t so hypocritical and contradictory.

NFL experts: Quarterback is by far the most valuable position in the sport. You never know when you’ll need a good one, and if you draft and develop one, you can always trade him. So if there’s a QB prospect you love, you have to take him.

Falcons: Cool. We’re taking a quarterback first.

NFL experts: You idiots.