Eagles Trade Up in NFL Draft? Don't Overlook the Possibility
PHILADELPHIA - Typically when you’re the NFC champions, the ability to maneuver and get a true difference-maker at the top of the NFL Draft is a non-starter unless you want to mortgage a large part of the future.
The Philadelphia Eagles, however, are in a unique position to seize the moment if general manager Howie Roseman deems it necessary.
The stipulation to that is always evaluation and whether Roseman sees someone as a must-have. Because the Eagles have their quarterback in Jalen Hurts, the candidates this year would be a trio of potential defensive difference-makers: edge rushers Will Anderson of Alabama and Tyree Wilson of Texas Tech, along with defensive lineman Jalen Carter of Georgia.
Roseman starts the draft process with Nos. 10 and 30 overall and would likely need to use both to vault up the board to get either Anderson or Wilson. Carter’s future is a bit murkier due to his high-profile legal issues in which he was sentenced to 12 months probation after entering no-contest pleas to misdemeanor charges tied to his involvement in a fatal January car crash that killed one of his teammates and a Georgia football staff member.
Many have speculated Carter could even fall to the Eagles at No. 10 but the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5 and/or the Chicago Bears at No. 9 will likely serve as barriers to such speculation.
Because the Eagles currently lack picks between the third and seventh rounds the smart money remains on Roseman trading down at this point in an attempt to repopulate the draft capital on Day 3.
Roseman, especially the 2.0 version, has never hesitated to act in a bold fashion since returning from a one-year exile during the Chip Kelly era, however.
Many would have played it safe after securing a second chance from Jeffrey Lurie but Roseman took the opposite route, trading up twice to move from No. 13 to No. 2 overall to select Carson Wentz back in 2016.
While the shelf life with Wentz derailed badly due to a host of injuries and personality clashes the apex of the former Eagles quarterback was an MVP level in 2017 that helped Philadelphia secure home-field advantage in the playoffs to make sure Super Bowl LII ran through Lincoln Financial Field.
Anyone who dismisses that starting point for Nick Foles’ Mariona Rivera-like closer run through the playoffs en route to the organization’s first and only Lombardi Trophy to this day fails to capture the context of the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory.
Fast forward back to the present and the bold move up would be to reload on a defense that has lost five starters in free agency to help the current star at QB, Jalen Hurts, finish the deal after coming up just short in SB LVII.
Helping matters even further is the organizational relationship with Jonathan Gannon, the new Arizona head coach who was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
Lurie, Roseman, and head coach Nick Sirianni thought so much of Gannon that they tried to convince him to stay with a raise that would have paid him more than some head coaches and even soured on play-making defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson after a social-media shot at the now-Arizona Cardinals head coach.
The odds remain stacked against Philadelphia with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that six teams have talked with first-year Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort about moving up to No. 3 overall. One of those is the Eagles, according to an NFL source, but Roseman is famous for his due diligence so the feelers aren’t foreshadowing things either way.
Because the majority of those teams looking to move up would be doing so to secure a quarterback, a position that generates more draft capital in trade scenarios, the Eagles have extra hurdles.
The Cards, who have Kyler Murray as their signal caller, would likely choose between the same three defensive players – Anderson, Wilson, and Carter – if they don’t find a package to their liking, The organization may also not want to move that far down in order to secure one of that trio a little later in the process.
Roseman could be very persuasive, though, and convince Gannon that he has many more holes to fill and get things done with a starting point of Nos. 10 and 30.
There is also the more targeted trade-up scenario to consider, similar to last year when the Eagles moved from No. 15 to No. 13 to make sure they got defensive tackle, Jordan Davis.
Carter or Wilson would likely be the target in that scenario as it’s unlikely Anderson would start slipping to that degree.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
