Trade Race for Denver Broncos CB Pat Surtain II Reveals Who Philadelphia Eagles Believe is Real Competition

The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers were like two superpowers rattling sabers at the trade deadline.

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles exited their bye week the same way they entered it, with the NFL’s best record at 8-1.

Yet those objects in the rear-view mirror when it comes to the No. 1 seed in the NFC really might be closer than they appear after the conference’s other “contenders” put together a clean sweep in Week 10.

Detroit (7-2) outlasted the LA Chargers in a 41-38 shootout, the San Francisco 49ers' (6-3) reawakening coincided with the return of Trent Williams and Deebo Samuel to the lineup during a 34-3 drubbing of Doug Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Dallas Cowboys (6-3) won their 12th straight at AT&T Stadium by destroying the worst team in football, the New York Giants, 49-17.

The Lions have the easiest schedule moving forward, the Niners have the most talent and the Cowboys are the division rival with a rematch scheduled for Dec. 10 in Jerry Jones' Palace just outside Dallas, which has quietly become a killing field for the opposition.

The 49ers, though, are the team who seems to have the Eagles’ attention despite a three-game skid while Williams and Samuel were out that provided distance and breathing room for Philadelphia.

There was a bit of an arms race, along with some saber rattling, at the trading deadline between the two teams, according to multiple NFL sources. 

49ers and Eagles both were calling the Broncos prior to the trade deadling about CB Patrick Surtain II; each team wanted to be sure the other didn't get him. https://t.co/rWgIuh1GqE

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 13, 2023

The Eagles were able to add two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard at a position of need days before the deadline and the Niners bought cheap on Chase Young to reunite the 2020 No. 2 overall pick with his former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa.

Each team was trying to make sure the other did not get Denver cornerback Patrick Surtain II, a player the Eagles had significant interest in during the 2021 NFL Draft when the Alabama product ultimately went No. 9 overall to Denver.

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) reacts in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High / © Ron Chenoy, USA TODAY

Always the wheeler and dealer, Eagles GM Howie Roseman had already moved down in that draft from No. 6 to No. 12 in late March, sending his first-rounder to Miami, along with 156th overall pick, to the Dolphins for the 12th overall pick, No. 123rd overall pick and a 2022 first-round pick.

NFL Media also noted that Roseman tried to get up to No. 3 that year to select quarterback Zach Wilson to get the then-highly regarded BYU quarterback, who ultimately went No. 2 overall to the New York Jets and has busted badly.

Our own intell, captured from multiple sources in the organization, was that the Eagles did really like Wilson but saw no realistic avenue to go up and get him.

What is true, however, is that after the Eagles buckled down with their draft prep after the first trade with the goal one of four players that could fall to No. 12 if the board fell the way Philadelphia hoped: receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith (both of Alabama like Surtain) as well Surtain and fellow CB Jaycee Horn of South Carolina.

Horn was ultimately tabbed as No. 1 in the group by the Eagles but it was never made clear if he was No. 1 overall or just the most likely to fall to No. 12. 

Waddle went at No. 6 to the Dolphins, the Eagles’ original pick, and then came Horn and Surtain back to back at Nos. 8 and 9 to Carolina and Denver, respectively.

Worried that the New York Giants would take Smith at No. 11, the Eagles leapfrogged New York by trading with fellow division rival Dallas to select the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner.

Things worked out well for the Eagles and Cowboys, who ultimately selected Micah Parsons at No. 12, but the Giants were reeling, trading down so Chicago could select quarterback Justin Fields. 

New York essentially confirmed Roseman was correct to make the move by taking Kadarius Toney at No. 20 overall, a selection that did not pan out.

Fast forward to this season and the Eagles certainly still like Surtain II, who has developed into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL but the rebuilding Broncos were looking for at least two first-round picks in return as the foundation of any trade.

Both San Francisco and the Eagles also checked in with Chicago about talented CB Jaylon Johnson.

On the surface, Philadelphia doesn’t need help outside the numbers with Darius Slay and James Bradberry but both of those players are on the wrong side of 30 and the Eagles’ own first-round picks aren’t projected to be as valuable as most other teams because of their success, meaning it’s unlikely the Eagles will be able to repopulate in the draft with a player like Surtain.

Ultimately, though, Roseman’s interest was gauging the market, and only a concrete offer from a team he could see in the rear-view mirror like the 49ers could have moved the reigning Executive of the Year off his disciplined approach.

The Eagles, of course, topped the 49ers, 31-7, in last season's NFC Championship Game after Brock Purdy was knocked out of the game by a devastating Haason Reddick pass rush that required the San Francisco QB to ultimately undergo elbow surgery.

The two teams are set for an in-season rematch on Dec. 3 at Lincoln Financial Field.