Has anyone ever gone from hated to beloved faster than Howie Roseman? A few years ago, some Eagles fans were ready to drive him out of town. Now, those same Eagles fans are ready to erect a statue for him.
His time in Philly has been at times tumultuous. There have been some major draft busts like Jalen Reagor, Derek Barnett, Sidney Jones, JJ Arcega Whiteside, and Davion Taylor, just to name a few. At one point during the Chip Kelly era he was banished to a broom closet. Yet he managed to stick around. He managed to survive the demotion and a few major mistakes. He helped build the first-ever Eagles roster to win the Super Bowl. And now, he has this current team in a position to make it back and win it again.
His draft history is up and down. We mentioned the busts he has had over recent years. But lately, he has been way better in that aspect. Howie has drafted stars Devonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Carter. It represents a change in philosophy where he has stopped trying to be the smartest man in the room and instead goes after guys from great schools and great conferences.
But there is one thing Howie Roseman has almost always been good at. Pulling off crazy trades. We already have one example of that this season. Just after their most impressive win of the season, Howie fixed their biggest weakness by acquiring Safety Kevin Byard. But that is just one in a long lime of great trades by Howie. Whether it is bringing in great talent, or ripping off other teams to stockpile future assets, Howie is a wizard when it comes to pulling off trades.
So ahead of the trade deadline, let’s take a look back at some of the great trades Howie has made with the Eagles.
Here are 11 of the Best Trades Howie Roseman Has Ever Made:
Trading Up For Devonta Smith
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What is better than trading up to get a great player like Devonta Smith? Robbing your division rival of a chance to get the player. It’s a move he has made before when he jumped the Cowboys to take Dallas Goedert in 2018. But this time he worked with the Cowboys to steal Devonta Smith from the Giants. And after years of very little talent at WR, the Eagles finally had someone with Star Power.
Smith is off to a bit of a slow start. But we have seen what the 3rd year WR is capable of. For a small guy, he has a knack for always making the tough contested catches.
Acquiring AJ Brown
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Even after getting Devonta Smith, the Eagles still had a big need at WR. Many people were projecting the Eagles to use one of their 3 1st round picks in 2022 to take yet another WR. Howie had a different plan. Why draft a young guy who may or may not be good when you can go out and get an established star at WR? Howie sent the Titans the 18th pick, and a 3rd round pick, and in return got one of the best WRs in the league.
They immediately signed him to a 4-year extension. And all he has done since then is put up over 2,300 yards and 14 TDs in 24 games. I would say the Eagles got the better end of that deal.
Bringing in "Big Play" Slay
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Similar to WR, the Eagles had been desperately searching for a star-caliber CB for a while. Even that Super Bowl year, they were not exactly stocked in the secondary besides Malcolm Jenkins at Safety. They won with guys like Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby. And it quickly caught up to them the following years. So when Slay was trying to get out of Detroit due to a spat with then head Coach Matt Patricia, Howie pounced.
The Eagles got an All-Pro Caliber Corner, and all they had to give up was a 3rd and 5th-round pick.
Trading Down With the Dolphins in 2021
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Sometimes Howie’s great moves have nothing to do with acquiring talent. Like in the 2021 draft. Howie traded down from pick 6 to pick 12 with the Dolphins, getting the Dolphins 1st round pick the following year. It’s the pick that would eventually turn into Jordan Davis, who currently is helping the Eagles be the best run defense in the NFL.
Oh and even after trading down from 6 to 12, they still got a guy, Devonta Smith, who everyone would have been happy with at pick 6. Well done Howie.
Howie Rips Off The Saints
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This trade was weird, and I still don’t fully understand what the Saints got out of this. At one point the Eagles had 3 picks in the first round of the 2022 draft. But they wound up with 2 after they swapped a ton of picks with the Saints. The Saints wound up having two 1st round picks in 2022, but they gave up a lot to get that. There were a lot of moving parts, but here is what each team got back.
Eagles: No. 18 pick, pick 101, Pick 237, 2023 1st round pick (10), and a 2024 2nd round pick
Saints: Pick 16, Pick 19, Pick 194
The Eagles pretty much just gave up one 1st and moved a few picks down with another. And in return, they got Jalen Carter, a 3rd round pick, and have a 2nd round pick coming their way this year. The Saints were trying to bet on themselves and failed. And ended up taking the bad end of the deal giving up two 1st round picks far more valuable than the two picks they got back, and throwing in a 2nd round pick for good measure.
Acquiring CJ Gardner Johnson
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Yes, it wound up being only a rental. However, that has far more to do with Johnson’s agent dropping the ball than it does with the Eagles. But even without resigning him, most Eagles fans would happily do this trade again. Johnson was great for them last year and led the league in interceptions before his mid-season injury. All it took to get him was a 5th and 6th-round pick.
Acquiring Jay Ajayi
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Ajayi is not a star like Brown or Slay. But his addition brought an extra element to the team that finally won the first Super Bowl in Eagles history. Would they have won it without him? Who knows. But the Eagles needed some help at RB, and Howie was not shy about going out to get it. He sent a 4th round pick to the Dolphins and got back a guy who put over 400 yards for them the rest of the way.
Getting a 1st Round Pick For Sam Bradford
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Somehow, someway, the Eagles both offloaded an angry Sam Bradford and got a 1st and 4th round pick back in 2016. The Vikings were desperate for QB help after Tedd Bridgewater suffered a season-ending injury, and Howie cashed in. In one fell swoop he replaced one of the 1st round picks they used to trade up for Carson Wentz and opened up the starting spot for Carson Wentz by getting rid of Sam Bradford.
He did go on to waste that pick on Derek Barnett. But the 4th round pick turned into Josh Sweat who is now a star for them.
Getting a First Round Pick For Carson Wentz
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That is not the only example of Howie getting a lot back for a QB they don’t even want. When Wentz’s time had run its course in Philly, there was not a lot of optimism Howie would get much back. But he worked his magic and got a conditional 1st round pick back. Thankfully, those conditions were satisfied, and he turned into one of the 3 1st rounders they had in 2022.
It was one of the picks they sent to the Saints, so it is hard to track exactly what that became. But they used the picks they got back to trade for AJ Brown and then to draft Jalen Carter. So whichever of those two picks you want to say Wentz turned into, it is a massive win for the Eagles.
Moving Up With Dolphins in 2016 Draft
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Before the Eagles moved up to pick 2 to get Carson Wentz, they made another move to get from 13 to 8. What did they have to give up to get there? two players they were already trying to get rid of. Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell. It not only moved them 5 picks up in the draft but got rid of the bad contract they had just given Byron Maxwell. Not sure what the Dolphins were thinking.
To go from 8 down to 13 and only get two struggling overpaid veterans back. But thank you Dolphins, and thank you Howie.
