Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni Relationship Could Deliver Another Solid Draft

Year 1 went well in the draft, but Year 2 could be better, and, really, with three first-round picks, it has to be

It’s Year 2 of the Howie-Nick Draft Project.

It’s hard to argue that Year 1 didn’t work between the Eagles’ general manager and head coach, not with a draft class that provided starters in DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson along with potential future starters in Milton Williams and maybe Kenny Gainwell and Zech McPhearson as well as contributors Tarron Jackson and Patrick Johnson.

And who knows what Marlon Tuipulotu and JaCoby Stevens will become this season?

For some reason, confidence in Roseman and his draft prowess among many in the fan base has not improved. Maybe hitting a few home runs with 10 of his picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, which begins in less than a month, will sway some over.

Or maybe it just won’t matter what this next draft haul looks like, Rosman will continue to be judged for his past mistakes rather than credited for his successes.

With Roseman and Sirianni now familiar with one another, it’s logical to assume that this class should be even better. It should also help that it’s a much deeper draft in terms of finding starters in each of the first four rounds at least than it was in 2021.

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There is no doubt that Sirianni is happy with whatever role he plays in helping Roseman build the team, though it sounds like there is plenty of collaborating going on between the two men and their respective staffs.

Sirianni gave a bit of a glimpse into the delineation of their jobs when he met with reporters gathered in South Florida for NFL Annual Meetings bright and early Tuesday morning.

The coach used recently-signed receiver Zach Pascal as an example.

“Howie and I talk about everything in every decision we make,” said Sirianni. “Obviously, Howie is in charge of the team and putting the team together, but he’s using all the resources that he has to help do that, so we talk about everything.

“Of course, I want Zach Pascal on this football team. I don’t think that’s a secret here. But my job is to explain how we would use Zach Pascal. My job is to explain what I see in the player and the use of him. Or if it’s on the defensive side of the ball, it’s to explain as an offensive coach, I fear this guy or I don’t fear this guy is how we go about that.

“Then Howie’s job is to see if it makes sense for the team. That’s why this is such a great team game. It’s not only every position on the field working in unison to get the job done, but then it’s also behind the scenes, too, that you better be on the same page.

“The parity in this league is so tight, that anything that bumps you off course can affect you, and communication is one of those things. It’s been awesome working with Howie to help build the team that can get back to the playoffs and do damage in the playoffs.”

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Sirianni talked about how happy he was that Roseman received a contract extension that runs through 2025, which is the same length of time Sirianni’s deal goes.

“One place I feel like I lucked out as a first-year head coach is that I wasn’t stepping into a situation right alongside of a rookie GM,” he said. “I was stepping into a situation, and I’ve said this before, it was very unique for me because I was stepping into a situation with a GM that has won a Super Bowl, that’s won the NFC East more times than any other NFC East team in what, the past 15 years, that’s been to the playoffs, in the top five in the NFL, I was walking into a situation with a lot of experience, which I valued.

“I love the fact that I’m going to be working side by side with him for the next three years and hopefully more.”

Hopefully more will depend on what draft classes look like, and this upcoming selection process is huge because the Eagles are scheduled to make three first-round selections.

The familiarity between Roseman and Sirianni should be beneficial to make those three picks impactful.

Said Roseman earlier this month, “I think when you look at the first year with a coaching staff and their willingness, especially this coaching staff, to take some of the guys that we have and say, ‘Let me see how this guy looks in my system,’ and now instead of having hypothetical situations you have tape on that, you have film on that and we can walk through, ‘All right, this is what we thought about this guy, this is how he fits,’ that's huge in terms of evaluating our own team.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.