Essendon has made five changes for Sunday's clash with Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium.

Emerging ruckman Sam Draper has been confirmed to play his first game since suffering a syndesmosis injury in round two, with Devon Smith and Peter Wright also returning from injury.

Youngsters Ned Cahill and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher have also earned recalls.

The Bombers have lost Andrew McGrath (knee), David Zaharakis (hamstring) and Alec Waterman (calf) to injury, while Patrick Ambrose has been omitted and Aaron Francis is taking time away from the club to deal with his mental health.

Essendon will name its medical substitute one hour before the 3:20pm AEST bounce, with mid-season draftee Sam Durham one of four emergencies in contention.

ESSENDON'S ROUND 14 TEAM:

Backs: Jayden Laverde, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Jordan Ridley
Half-backs: Mason Redman, James Stewart, Dyson Heppell (C)
Centre: Kyle Langford, Zach Merrett, Matt Guelfi
Half-forwards: Archie Perkins, Harrison Jones, Devon Smith
Forwards: Jake Stringer, Cale Hooker, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Followers: Sam Draper, Darcy Parish, Brayden Ham
Interchange: Nick Hind, Nik Cox, Peter Wright, Ned Cahill
Emergencies: Tom Cutler, Patrick Ambrose, Andrew Phillips, Sam Durham

In: Smith, Draper, Zerk-Thatcher, Wright, Cahill

Out: McGrath (knee), Zaharakis (hamstring), Francis (managed), Waterman (calf), Ambrose (omitted), Andrew Phillips (omitted)

Milestone: Redman - 50 AFL games