When the Eagles moved back from the sixth pick to the twelth pick many fans, myself included, tried to make sense of the move. On paper its not a bad move, but it becomes a bad move because of the person picking the player at twelve. Howie Roseman has a propensity to….how do I say this nicely…….pick horrible players. His talent evaluation is astoundingly bad. At this point its not really up for debate; Howie Roseman has “smartest man in the room” syndrome. And that’s NEVER a recipe for success.
Now its not like you CANT pick a bust at pick 6, but its certainly less likely than pick 12. Especially considering that possibly FIVE quarterbacks could go in the first five picks, that would’ve left the Eagles with their pick of the best position player in the draft. So while the Eagles acquiring an extra first rounder is great, the move had a lot of Eagles fans scratching their head and wondering whats next. And it didn’t take long for Eagles twitter to start to hypothisize that this move was just a precursor for a BIGGER move. A franchise defining move. A move for Russell Wilson.
I hate to be the guy to rain on your Russell Wilson to the Eagles parade but someone has to tell you its absurd. The idea is that the Eagles are acquiring assets to orchestrate a trade for the former MVP. As we sit here in early April the Eagles have two first round picks, with a chance to make it three depending on how Carson Wentz does with the Colts. The Eagles aren’t expected to be a good team, so their own pick should be in the top 10, if not top 5 of next years draft. A package like that could be enough to add the former NC State/Wisconsin QB to the “Eagles QB factory.” And maybe that would make sense….if this was the Andy Reid/Joe Banner run Eagles. A respected franchise. A destination for top level free agents. But this is not.
This team is bad. Old. Devoid of talent. And in cap hell. Just about every position on the field is a massive question mark. Poor drafts, on top of swings and misses in free agency, has left the Eagles in this unfamiliar position. To be blunt, they suck. Theyre a poor run organization and there isn’t any hope of it changing. SO this begs the question, why would Russell Wilson want to come here?
And you best believe he has a say. Wilson is talking out of both sides of his mouth, saying he doesn’t want to leave Seattle while also giving a list of teams he’d love to go to. The Eagles were not among those teams. Could his opinion change? Sure! but why would it? What could possibly take place in the next 12 months that would entice Wilson to tell his representatives “Philly is the place I want to be!”
Hes also got two years left on his current deal. And you better believe hed want a new contract upon being traded. Its not like the Eagles will be in the cap situation a year from now that they find themselves in today. But its also not like next year is going to be a clean slate. Acquiring a guy like Wilson and signing him to a huge extension will hinder the team especially considering their lack of young, cheap talent. Is it POSSIBLE that they could swing a deal? sure. But thats like saying its POSSIBLE ill end up with Margot Robbie. Its possible, but not realistic.
So while we would love to have a player worth watching in an Eagles uniform, Russell Wilson is not waving his no-trade clause to come to a team who will have a coach with 1 year of experience, no real building block, and a rebuild. The Eagles dont have the cap space that the Bucs had when Brady uprooted from New England to Tampa. The Eagles also dont have players like Chris Godwin, and Mike Evans.
So we can end this pipe dream now. The only place youll see Russell Wilson suit up in an Eagles uniform is in Madden.