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Eagles

Patience Was A Virtue For Howie Roseman On Thursday Night

Placeholder Shilloutte User Image By Bob Cooney April 28th
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 28: General manager Howie Roseman talks to the media during training camp at the NovaCare Complex on July 28, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

As mentioned yesterday, Howie Roseman and the drafting staff for the Eagles had a blueprint laid out in front of them for the opening night that was easy on the eyes. A team coming off a Super Bowl appearance with an elite offense. A defense that had holes but still multiple starters from a record-setting season. And a head coach that seems to have his team performing as one. Add to that the 10th overall pick and 30th on the first night and it seemed hard not to improve the Eagles in some way. 

And they sure did. As we know, Jalen Carter was touted by many experts as the top talent in the draft. His fall came mostly from off-the-field problems that we’ve discussed. It only cost the Eagles a fourth-round pick to move up to No. 9 to ensure they landed him. In getting Nolan Smith at 30, it was another semi-shocker that the edge rusher was still there. 

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While getting those two former Georgia stars is the big story, the side story has to be the patience Howie Roseman showed in being able to seemingly shore up a defensive line that was depleted by losing Javon Hargrave to free agency. While the popular pick among fans would have been to move up and grab running back Bijon Robinson, Howie waited. And looked what happened. 

Then as the 30th pick approached and Smith, who many had predicted to go to the Eagles with the 10th pick, was still available. Many urged a move-up trade to land him, but Howie waited and was rewarded. 

Patience doesn’t seem to be a virtue that Howie possesses. At least not in these eyes. I don’t say that in a bad way at all. He is always eager to improve the team, to get out in front of situations. Sitting silent or standing pat are never words I attach to the general manager.  

But patient, because of Thursday night, is a label Howie has earned well in my book. 

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Last Night Shows Why You Shouldn't Read Mock Drafts

If you ever listened to the show and the topic of Mock Drafts comes up, I always rip them and tell you to stop wasting your time. Want to read them the week or day of the draft? Go for it. I do too. But I never get excited over them because they NEVER go the way these analysts predict.  

0% chance any pundit thought the Texans would trade up to the 3rd overall pick after already drafting 2nd. It seemed like 97.5% of mock drafts had Jalen Carter going 5th overall to the Seahawks. The one that made me laugh the most was the climb of Will Levis in everyone’s mock draft for him only to sit there waiting and waiting and waiting to only find out he would not be drafted on day one.  

Mock drafts are a joke ESPECIALLY “version 1.0” which comes out in January before the playoffs are even over. Here are the final mock drafts from some of the top draft analysts. 

 Let’s see just how close they came to getting the Eagles’ picks right:

  • Mel Kiper

    Mel Kiper must have been listening to the show the other day when we did a mock draft with Kevin Negandhi because the Eagles came away with Bijan Robinson and Calijah Kancey. We had fun on the show. We aren’t paid to break down drafts. Kiper had Jalen Carter going 5th overall to the Seahawks and Nolan Smith 14th to the Patriots.

  • Todd McShay:

    McShay batted .500 for the Eagles, kind of. His final mock draft had the Eagles drafting Nolan Smith… but with the 10th overall pick. The Eagles did land Smith, but not until pick 30 where he had the Eagles taking cornerback Brian Branch. Like everyone else, he had Jalen Carter going 5th overall to the Seahawks. 

  • Pete Prisco:

    This one really confused me. Not that I would have hated it, but I didn’t think Tyree Wilson would fall to 10. That is where Prisco had Wilson going. He also had the Eagles taking Branch, the same corner that McShay had the Eagles drafting. The moral of the story, he was wrong with both, like most mock drafts. Shocker, he had Carter going to Seattle. Nolan Smith was drafted by the Packers in his mock.

  • Pro Football Focus

    I spend more energy ripping PFF than I do ripping Mock Drafts. Stop wasting your time with this website that you have to pay for to get bad content. They had the Eagles selecting Devon Witherspoon and Adetomiwa Adebawore. Excuse me for a second, HAHAHAHAHAHA, sorry, I don’t like PFF. PFF had Jalen Carter go 5th to Seattle and Smith to Baltimore. 

  • Ryan Wilson (Covers the NFL Draft for CBS)

    We have another .500 hitter! But just like McShay, Wilson had Nolan Smith drafted by the Eagles 10th overall. Give Wilson credit, he had Jalen Carter go 9th overall to the Chicago Bears. If he fell to 10, the Eagles would have taken him. With the 30th pick, Wilson had the Eagles taking Branch like McShay and Prisco. 

  • New York Post

    Like Pro Football Focus, The New York Post had a group of people put together their mock draft. Spoiler alert, they were wrong. They had the Eagles taking Peter Skoronski with the 10th overall pick and then Calijah Kancey at 30. Jalen Carter went to the Seahawks in their mock and Nolan Smith went to the Texans with the 12th overall pick (shocker, they didn’t expect them to trade up to the 3rd pick after drafting second overall).

  • Brendan Donahue - Sharp Football Analysis

    Full disclosure, I have no idea who this guy is, but maybe we should get to know him. For the sanctity of this article, I want to show someone love. Donahue graded out as the best final mock draft out there. He had the Eagles taking both Carter and Smith, his only mistake here was Carter fell to 10. Good for you Brendan! 

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