Howie Roseman Is Learning and the Eagles New Draft Strategy Is A Pleasant Sigh of Relief
The Draft dust has settled, and Eagles fans are rightfully ecstatic with the haul Howie & Co. delivered over the weekend. But, it’s not just WHO the Eagles landed, it’s HOW they landed them.
In 2021, Howie Roseman was presumably (and reportedly) down to his final strike as GM of the Philadelphia Eagles. Previous turmoil with reaches and misses on prospects had caused the front office to retool their drafting strategy. The new strategy? Simple. Best players available from the best teams.
Geoff Mosher of Inside the Birds said it best when describing the Eagles revamped draft strategy: the team is finally shopping in the right aisle. Gone are the days of reaching on prospects from the PAC-12. Now, the Eagles are making a conscientious effort to nab guys from college programs with championship pedigree with their early round picks.
In the 2021 draft, the Eagles traded up to snag Hesiman trophy winner, Devonta Smith from the National Champion, Alabama Crimson Tide. They followed that pick up by selecting his teammate, Landon Dickerson who was the winner of the Rimington Trophy for best center in college football.
This college football season, the Georgia Bulldogs put together the most physically overwhelming college defense since Sean Taylor was roaming the field for the Miami Hurricanes. If you subtract three non-offensive touchdowns, the Georgia defense gave up 8.8 PPG. They allowed just 3 rushing touchdowns the entire season. UGA also had three shutouts and eight games where they surrendered just single digits in points.
So, the Eagles prioritized Jordan Davis, the Georgia defensive tackle in the first round, trading up to get him. Then, they circled back in the third round and selected his teammate and quarterback of this vaunted defense, Nakobe Dean.
Sometimes, being the smartest guy in the room is taking the common sense approach. There’s a reason these kids are blue chip recruits in high school. There’s a reason elite programs like Alabama and Georgia recruit them. There’s a reason these elite programs compete for, and win championships once they get these kids.
The prospects who attend these schools are the best at their level when they are 16-18 years old. They are the best at their level when they are 18-22 years old. So, it’s a practical approach to draft them and anticipate that they will be the best at their level when they are 23-28 years old.
Best players, from the best teams.