Howie Roseman's Eagles Draft Evolution Highlighted by Two Turning Points
PHILADELPHIA – If speed kills, the Philadelphia Eagles’ opponents just three years ago were alive, well and thriving.
Nobody was blinded by what they were running out there - the Travis Fulghams and J.J. Arcega-Whitesides of the NFL world.
It’s why general manager Howie Roseman took a big swing and a miss on Jalen Reagor.
He wanted speed, and Reagor was believed to have it in spades, despite what, for him, was a slow 4.47 in the 40 at the Scouting Combine. The GM went for a trait and did not look at the whole picture of a prospect.
Roseman then followed up with more speed in receivers John Hightower and Quez Watkins in the same draft. Hightower is no longer with the team and Watkins will be pushed for the third receiver spot by free-agent signing Olamide Zaccheaus.
If you’re looking for a turning point in Roseman’s draft philosophy you can probably start there, with Reagor.
Looking back on it, picking Reagor over Justin Jefferson may have been a blessing in disguise.
Roseman learned a hard lesson, but, even more so, the Eagles roster may be without DeVonta Smith and most certainly wouldn’t include A.J. Brown.
There's also the COVID year in 2020, a draft Roseman called a “weird process.”
“Not making excuses, but we weren't all together, and you didn't get to know the people as much as you normally do because of COVID,” he said on Saturday night after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft. “I'm not crying for us. Obviously, a lot of people were affected by COVID.”
The Eagles flushed their organization of head coach Doug Pederson and most of his staff after a 4-11-1 record in 2020-21.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie decided to keep Roseman, angering a fan base that believed he should have swirled down the drain with the coach.
Nick Sirianni was brought in, and Roseman changed his philosophy.
He turned to the powerhouse SEC.
“In 2021, we knew that we had to make sure our process was really tight as Coach came on board, and we started with two Alabama guys,” said Roseman.
“The way those guys worked, the kind of players they are, certainly the kind of people they are, it just reminded us that no different than when you're trying to hire someone for a position - obviously you want guys to be really talented at what they do and whatever role they're in, but the other stuff matters, as well.”
Roseman then really hit the nail on the head when he said “the competition level matters, too.”
Basically, he stopped overthinking it.
“You see those guys play in the biggest games, on the biggest stage against the best competition, and so it's an easier - it's hard enough when you have all the factors going into a draft pick,” he said.
“We talked about it a lot. You've got guys coming from a college town to the NFL for the first time, don't have classes, they're on their own, all the things that we've talked about before.
"But it takes the part out of the big jump in competition because the guys that they're playing against are the guys that are playing on Sundays.”
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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