Howie Roseman has been the Eagles GM for 13 seasons. His time here has been a bit volatile. On one hand, he put together the only roster to ever win the Super Bowl. On top of that, he has overseen one of the best periods in franchise history overall. But it has not always been pretty. At times fans have hated his guts.
Near the end of the Doug Pederson era, fans wanted him fired too. He stuck around and built another great roster that came up just short in the Super Bowl. But last year it fell apart again. And his fingerprints were all over the crime scene. He did a terrible job reshaping the roster on defense.
One of the most volatile parts of his time here has been the draft. He has nailed some picks. But he has also been behind some of the worst draft picks in franchise history. It does seem his approach has changed of late. At least in the early rounds. We have seen him target more big names from big schools. Whereas in the past he often tried to be the smartest guy in the room and make some diamond in the rough pick. It has led to better results.
But could he have done better over the years? Howie Roseman has been the Eagles GM since 2010. His title has changed a bit over the years. There was the one year Chip Kelly sent him to the closet. But for the most part, he has been the major decision-maker for the past 13 seasons. In that time, the Eagles have made 12 1st round picks. So let’s go through them and see if they could have made a better pick.
I Redrafted Every 1st Round Pick in The Howie Roseman Era, To See How Many He Got Right, And What He Got Wrong:
2010- Pick 13
They Took- Brandon Graham
They Take- Brandon Graham
For a long time, the Eagles got flak for this pick. Everyone thought they should have taken Earl Thomas instead. And for the first several years after the draft, having Earl Thomas probably would have been better for them. But over a decade later, it is clear they made the right pick. The forced fumble in the Super Bowl alone makes him worth the pick. But he is also near the top in sacks in franchise history and has played more games in an Eagles jersey than any other player.
2011- Pick 23
They Took- Danny Watkins
They Take- Cameron Jordan
Literally anybody else would have been an acceptable answer here. Danny Watkins is one of the biggest busts in Eagles’ history. The only thing that keeps him from taking the crown is that he was picked 23rd overall.
It just so happens that the very next pick after him is one of the better edge rushers from the past decade. Cameron Jordan went on to have 6 double-digit sack seasons. Danny Watkins didn’t even last 6 total seasons in the NFL.
2012- Pick 12
They Took- Fletcher Cox
They Take- Fletcher Cox
There was no hand-wringing about this one. Cox is a borderline Hall of Famer. He is one of the greatest Eagles players of this century. There was no one taken after him I even considered taking instead.
2013- Pick 4
They Took- Lane Johnson
They Take- Lane Johnson
Another one that is not even in question. Not just because Lane Johnson turned into one of the best Tackles in Football, but also because pretty much no one else in that first round turned into a good player. Only 4 players from that 1st round are left standing. Of them, D’Andre Hopkins is the only player of Lane Johnson’s caliber.
2014- Pick 26
They Took- Marcus Smith
They Take- Davante Adams
Marcus Smith was a complete bust for them. They spent the 26th pick on him hoping he would be their next great pass rusher. He finished his career with 6.5 sacks. 4 of which came with the Eagles. Instead, they now get one of the best WRs from the past 10 years. I also considered Joel Bitonio, who is one of the best Offensive Guards in that same time. But with how much the Eagles struggled at WR in the next 6 years after this pick, I want the elite WR if I can get him.
2015- Pick 20
They Took- Nelson Agholor
They Take- Landon Collins
Looking at the players taken around Agholor, Landon Collins is who I went with. He was discussed as an option for the Eagles at the time. He went on to be one of the better Box Safeties in the league for several years. Agholor has had an okay career but never lived up to the 1st round billing. To be fair, we can’t blame Howie for this one. It was all Chip Kelly.
2016- Pick 2
They Took- Carson Wentz
They Take- Carson Wentz
Did the player himself work out? It’s debatable. He was not the next franchise QB. But do they win the Super Bowl if they never drafted him? I don’t think so. So while there are definitely better players selected after him, I can’t justify taking anyone else. We would never have had a Super Bowl parade if it wasn’t for Wentz.
2017- Pick 14
They Took- Derek Barnett
They Take- Marlon Humphrey
Barnett did not pan out at all. His rookie season was promising, and he recovered the fumble in the Super Bowl. But he has done more bad than good for them since. Instead, the Eagles end up with an All-Pro Cornerback. Humphrey has been a cornerstone of the Ravens’ defense since this draft. The Eagles meanwhile have struggled at Corner in every season since this draft outside of 2022.
2019- Pick 22
They Took- Andre Dillard
They Take- Montez Sweat
Dillard barely ever played for the Eagles. Jordan Mailata wound up stealing his spot. So clearly this one is getting redrafted. But for who? There were a lot of options, but I went with Sweat. He has steadily developed into one of the NFL’s better pass rushers. He put together his first double-digit sack season last year. Having him on the Eagles all of this time, instead of a backup LT with no versatility to slide to the right side, would make them a far better team.
2020- Pick 21
They Took- Jalen Reagor
They Take- Justin Jefferson
This one is obvious. Not only was the guy they took a major bust but perhaps the best WR in the NFL went a pick after Reagor. It was a bad pick at the time. Now it is one of the worst misses in franchise history. It eventually worked out for the Eagles because they ended up with an elite duo of AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. But in this case, they have Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams, and they can use the 1st round picks they spent on Brown and Smith elsewhere.
2021- Pick 10
They Took- Devonta Smith
They Take- Micah Parsons
This has nothing to do with Smith. He was and still is a great pick. But in this case, the Eagles would already have Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson. So they don’t really need another WR, no matter how good he is. Would the Cowboys have made that trade if they thought the Eagles would take Parsons? Probably not. But let’s just have some fun and pretend the Eagles did land one of the best defenders of this generation.
2022- Pick 13
They Took- Jordan Davis
They Take- Kyle Hamilton
I still think time will prove Davis is a good player. He clearly needs to work on his conditioning. But he was a force early in the season before he ran out of gas. That all said, Kyle Hamilton is clearly the best player two years in. That is nothing against Davis, just an acknowledgment of how good Hamilton has been for the Ravens.
2022- Pick 18
They Traded It For: AJ Brown
They Now Take: Trent McDuffie
Like with Smith, this has nothing to do with AJ Brown. In the situation they were in, trading the 1st round pick for AJ Brown was absolutely the right thing to do. He is a top 5 WR and turned them into an elite offense in 2022. But, in this scenario, the Eagles spent their past picks more wisely. They already have an elite WR duo in Justin Jefferson and Davante Adams.
So now they can use this pick instead of trading it. They land one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL. We just saw Trent McDuffie keep the Chiefs in the Super Bowl with some of the plays he made. Having him on the team, would have fixed so many of the problems they had this season.
2023- Pick 9
They Took- Jalen Carter
They Take- Jalen Carter
One year in, it is too soon to tell. But even with Carter hitting a rookie wall, he still looks like he could be one of the best players in the draft class period. Like Davis he needs to work on conditioning. But he has a skillset that can make him an elite NFL player.
