NFC East Keeps Winning, Pressuring Howie Roseman to Keep His Midas Touch

Even at 6-0, the Eagles' margin for error is small with the NFC East continuing to win, and that means the GM needs to step up at the trade deadline

USA Today

The NFC East is a beast, with the Giants winning to get to 6-1, the Cowboys triumphant in making it to 5-2, and the Commanders not going away, decking the Packers to sit at 3-4 on Sunday.

The three top teams in the division may also be the three best in the NFC, after a day in which Tampa Bay lost again along with Green Bay. The Vikings are 5-1 and could be in that top-tier conversation as well. Like the Eagles, they were also on a bye in Week 7.

The Eagles are 6-0, but the way the teams behind them are continuing to win, their margin of error is razor-thin.

It’s why the Eagles need to do everything they can to fortify their position, which means making a trade before the deadline at 4 p.m. on Nov. 1.

Simply put: GM Howie Roseman needs a home run like the one Bryce Harper hit to beat the San Diego Padres on Sunday and send the Phillies into the World Series.

The Eagles are good, but so are the teams behind them.

It’s going to be a fascinating run over these final two-and-a-half months to see which team prevails.

“The media always wants to say who’s the best team and who’s playing the best, but I think the reality is you need to realize this is a marathon, man,” said center Jason Kelce. 

“This is not the 100-meter dash. This is a 17-game season, plus playoff games and the team that’s the best at the end of the season is going to be the one that goes the furthest and goes the distance. So, this is an ongoing journey for our team.”

A little help from the outside would undoubtedly invigorate an Eagles team that has to play 11 in a row before crossing the finish line.

Roseman showed a similar Midas touch this offseason that he demonstrated in 2017 when the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in team history.

So far, the moves he made in the most recent offseason have paid off handsomely, signing Haason Reddick, Kyzir White, and James Bradberry, trading for A.J. Brown and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and drafting Jordan David in the first round.

In 2017, he signed Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, LeGarrette Blount, Chris Long, and Patrick Robinson, and drafted Derek Barnett in the first round.

The cherry on the top was acquiring RB Jay Ajayi from the Dolphins for a fourth-round draft pick at the deadline.

Ajayi was a key cog in the push to a Super Bowl title, rushing for 408 yards in seven regular-season games, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He ran nine times for 57 yards in the Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots.

Somebody like Ajayi is what Roseman needs to look for, but he needs to find the nest Ajayi, only on the defensive side of the ball.

Roseman’s deadline deals have been spotty recently, with Golden Tate not moving the needle much in 2018 and Genard Avery in 2019 was mostly a bust. 

The GM sat out the 2020 deadline as the team sunk into to 4-11-1. Last year he shipped out Zach Ertz and Joe Flacco in separate deals that didn’t yield much.

Forget Brian Burns.

Carolina isn’t trading their young, sensational pass rusher, reportedly rejecting an offer from a “phantom” team of two first-round draft picks.

So where do the Eagles turn now?

Think about someone like pass rushers Robert Quinn or Jerry Hughes. Or safety Jabrill Peppers. More likely, it will be somebody under the radar that Roseman will seek out.

Whoever it is, the player won't come at the expense of cutting too deeply into the Eagles' draft capital next year, the sort of big move that it would have taken to land Burns.

Whatever he does, and he needs to do something, will require the same Midas Touch that he had this past offseason and in 2017.

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.