Eagles' Howie Roseman Will Have Patience Tested Once Again in NFL Draft

Like 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles general manager will have a long stretch to manage between picks in the draft, unless he finds a way to make a trade or two

Howie Roseman had to step away from the so-called war room. He took walks, deep breaths, and, somehow, resisted the urge to make a trade.

The general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles had just drafted Carson Wentz with the second overall pick in 2016, as expected.

Now came the long wait before making another one, as expected.

Seventy-seven players would be gone before the clock would begin to tick again on the Eagles’ next pick at No. 79 overall.

Roseman somehow bided his time and waited.

That wait will feel like mere minutes compared to the eternity that awaits on the final April weekend of 2023. 

The Eagles have four picks in the top 100 of this year’s draft, all four coming in the first two days – two on Day 1, set to begin April 27, and two on Day 2, April 28.

The last pick they will make on those two days comes at No. 94. The next pick won’t come until No. 219. There will be 124 players that come off the board in that span.

That's an eternity for a mover and shaker like Roseman during what is quickly becoming known as Roseman SZN in Philly.

The GM may have to extend his walks, take deeper breaths, and maybe put on boxing gloves to fight the urge to work his way into the mix of not watching helplessly as 124 players go to different NFL cities.

Or, maybe, Roseman will find his way out of the desert, a team willing to offer him a canteen of water so he can make a pick or two somewhere between 94 and 219.

Here’s the thing, though.

If Roseman can’t find a willing trade partner to bridge that gap, he and his staff have to be ready to make those early picks, and the two late ones, both in the seventh round (219 and 248) count.

He did in 2016.

After picking Wentz, the rest of the Eagles draft from seven years ago went this way:

79: Isaac Seumalo

153: Wendell Smallwood

164: Halapoulivaati Vaitai

196: Blake Countess

233: Jalen Mills

240: Alex McCalister

251: Joe Walker

That's mostly a home run group.

Only McCalister was a washout.

Vaitai was the starting left guard and Mills was the starting cornerback on the Eagles' 2017 Super Bowl LII championship team. 

Seumalo wasn’t yet a starter but played 14 games and Smallwood was a contributor in the running back room, whose role was reduced after Philly acquired running back Jay Ajayi at the trade deadline during that Super Bowl run.

Walker missed his rookie season after tearing an ACL in the summer but was a special teams contributor for two seasons after that.

Countess was cut but had a productive career with six years spent in the NFL, including an uneventful return to the Eagles in 2020.

Perhaps longer walks and deeper breaths for Roseman won’t be such a bad thing if that’s how it plays out.

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Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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