Howie Roseman is never shy about draft day trades, so this should come as no surprise.
But he’s working the phones again.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Tuesday talked about which teams might want to move up or down in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night and the Eagles — who have picks at No. 15 and No. 18 — are in on both scenarios.
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“Who wants to move up and who wants to move down?,” Rapoport said. “One of the teams that I would say is most notably making calls about potentially moving up, the Philadelphia Eagles. Which, no surprise. Every time this year it seems Howie Roseman is interested in doing a lot of things. Moving up is one, moving back is another. He wants to keep his options open.”
Last week, Roseman detailed his process for draft day trades, explaining that most of his first-round trades are mapped out beforehand. With that knowledge, it’s not too surprising that Roseman has been on the phone this week. He’s setting up different scenarios depending on how the draft plays out in front of them.
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"It's if we're moving up, ‘Hey, if there's a player that we want that falls to that spot, here's what we would do. Are we good on the trade compensation?’” Roseman said last week. “So that you pick up the phone and I say ‘Hey, the guy's still there. You guys good?’ [They say] ‘Yeah’. Trade is done.
“So you're not sitting there and going, ‘We think it should be this and this and they think it should be this and this.’ It's too hectic to do that in the first round.”
Last year, the Eagles initially had the No. 6 pick but traded back to No. 12 with the Dolphins well before the draft. But then on draft night as they watched the draft play out, they shipped off a third-round pick to jump up from 12 to 10 to pick DeVonta Smith.
Could the Eagles pull off a similar trade on Thursday night? Sure. In fact, jumping up a few spots would make plenty of sense.
“Moving up is a fascinating one because you do wonder if the Eagles move up from 15, they do have plenty of ammunition, two first-round picks, who would they be targeting?” Rapoport pondered. “Potentially, would a corner be someone they’re targeting? Could it be an edge rusher? What if Thibodeaux slid?”
So let’s look at the possibilities. Cornerback is an obvious need. If Sauce Gardner or Derek Stingley began to slip into their striking range, that has to be in play. They would probably be able to sit at 15 and draft Trent McDuffie or Andrew Booth.
Edge rusher? Sure. That’s a need too and a position the Eagles really value. Kayvon Thibodeaux could possibly be set to slide after once being thought of as the No. 1 overall pick. The Eagles had him in for a visit too. Or maybe Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson ends up in range. Johnson was a start at FSU and a standout at the Senior Bowl earlier this offseason. His stock has been rising ever since.
What about receiver? The Eagles would certainly be able to sit at No. 15 and get a good value at the position but if they want a specific guy — maybe Garrett Wilson or Jameson Williams — they could put themselves in a spot to land one.
There are also the two wild cards. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis and safety Kyle Hamilton. Two relatively polarizing prospects because of their positions but extremely talented players who would be Day 1 difference makers on defense.
And if the Eagles trade up from 15, then a trade-back from 18 would make plenty of sense too. Because the Eagles have two picks in the same range and if they don’t like the value at 15 enough to stay put, then they might not like the value at 18 enough to stay their either. Of course, they’ll have to hope the phone rings if they want to move out of that spot.
For both scenarios, the Eagles will need to find willing trade partners and that’s not always easy.
But would it really surprise anyone to watch Roseman trade up from 15 and then trade back from 18 to recoup some of what they just gave up in a trade 25 minutes earlier?
“Lot of options here for the Philadelphia Eagles,” Rapoport said. “Obviously, we’ll keep an eye on that. No one loves trades more than Howie Roseman.”
And that’s what makes draft night such an adventure.
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