Eagles Draft: 5 Trade-Up Candidates for GM Howie Roseman

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has traded up in the last three drafts and this year could be more of the same, so here are five to watch

He could sit perfectly still and take the best player available at No. 22. As if…

When was the last time Howie Roseman did that?

The Philadelphia Eagles general manager has traded up in the last three NFL drafts and four of the last five. He engineered a draft-day trade for A.J. Brown two years ago and, in 2018, traded out of the first round, when they were scheduled to pick last after winning the Super Bowl the previous season, and landed Dallas Goedert in the second round.

Last year, Roseman bumped up to take Jalen Carter a year after moving up to acquire Jordan Davis. Three years ago, it was a move up for DeVonta Smith. In 2019, it was up to take Andre Dillard. He only stood pat in 2020 when he selected Jalen Reagor.

In other words, it’s unlikely Roseman will sit on his hands when the first round begins on April 25.

Here are five trade-up candidates, keeping in mind this is an evolving list, likely to change, as the NFL Scouting Combine picks up steam heading into the weekend, and free agency looms on March 13.

NOTE: As for offensive lineman, that could also be a trade-up scenario. Again, though, this is an evolving list and won’t be the last.

Quinyon Mitchell / USA Today

Quinyon Mitchell, CB. The Eagles spent time with the cornerback from Toledo during the Senior Bowl in Mobile, but he could be gone in the late teens - the perfect move-up area, should Roseman like what he has seen and heard about the 6-0, 196-pounder.

Mitchell’s strength in coverage is more off-man or in zone, which is how defensive coordinator Vic Fangio prefers to deploy his corners.

The scouting report from NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein: “He’s built like a running back, tackles like a safety and has the ball skills of a cornerback. Mitchell is likely to be more comfortable and effective in off-man or zone coverages, where he isn’t forced to mirror-and-match the receiver’s release.”

Chop Robinson, edge/OLB. The Penn State product has been compared to former Penn State teammate Micah Parsons and helped himself by showing off his athleticism during his Combine workout. 

He ran the 40 in 4.48 seconds, an impressive time for someone who weighs 254 pounds. His middle-of-the-pack production at Penn State, where he had 9.5 sacks in two seasons, would have to be squared for teams picking in the top 20. Still, premium rushers are always hard to find but Robinson seems to have the “chops” to be one.

Edgerrin Cooper, LB. OK, the Texas A&M product is an off-ball linebacker, and the Eagles haven’t drafted one of those since 1979, so this is a long shot. The Eagles, though, talked to him and paid a lot of attention to him at the Combine and he could be one of the players they choose to bring in for a top-30 as the draft process picks up later this month and into April.

Bryon Murphy, DT. Roseman wouldn’t dare go for another defensive tackle would he after taking Davis and Carter there the previous two drafts?

“We have a lot of young players at defensive tackle,” said Roseman at the Combine. “Is that as big a priority as other areas, just being honest? Probably not. But that's also an important position, so we're also not going to be in a position where we turn down a guy because the resources are already there because we believe in the D-line so much.”

Keep an eye on Florida State’s Braden Fiske here, too. Fiske wowed in his Combine testing.

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Brock Bowers, TE. The tight end position doesn’t get talked about much since Dallas Goedert is one of the top seven or so in the league, but in 2018, Goedert was picked despite the presence of Zach Ertz, who was 29 at the time. Well, Goedert is also 29 now and has missed several games the past two seasons. When he was out, production slipped at the position.

Bowers is the best of the tight end class by what is a wide margin, and he’s also from the University of Georgia, a place Roseman has obviously been fond of in recent drafts.

It would come as a shock if the Eagles went this route, but Roseman has also been prone to do that as well.