How did being an outsider help shape Howie Roseman as a general manager? How long can Lane Johnson play at an elite level? What tight ends might make sense for the Eagles on Day 2?
We’ve got a draft-centric Roob’s Random Eagles Offseason Observations today, but I promise I won’t mention Jon Harris, Jerome McDougle, Marcus Smith, Michael Haddix, Jalen Reagor or Andre Dillard. (OK, maybe Michael Haddix. I can’t help myself.)
1. We all know the Eagles have made more draft-weekend trades than any other team since Howie Roseman became general manager in 2010 – 51 at last count. One of the things that makes Roseman such an effective G.M. is that he acutely understands player value in relation to draft position better than any other general manager. That allows him to manipulate the draft to help the Eagles in the long term whether he’s selecting a player or trading picks. Nobody else has figured this out like Roseman. His three-dimensional vision of the draft is quite a weapon and has helped the Eagles get to three Super Bowls in eight years. Instead of just sitting there and waiting for players to fall to where the Eagles are sitting, he’s always working the picks for max value. So many key Eagles have been the direct or indirect product of trades – Dallas Goedert, Jalen Carter, DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Cooper DeJean among them. I asked Howie last week where this philosophy developed, how he became a G.M. who strategically uses trades to improve the roster better than anybody else. His answer was fascinating because it plays into his status as a non-traditional general manager who figured things out on his own before ever getting his first NFL job. “Maybe that’s an example of being an outsider and looking at the league when I was studying it before I got into the league and then coming into the league and understanding that there were opportunities to maybe get aggressive,” he said. “With that also comes risk, right? All those moves don’t always work out and it’s probably more conservative to just stand pat and stay where you are, whether it’s with players on your team or during the draft and kind of see what comes to you. When you trade up in a draft, you’ve got to deal with the consequences of who ends up being there with the slot you move out on. Sometimes you say, ‘Man, I could have sat there and got this player,’ and so you have to deal with that, too. For me, I think that being aggressive has always been part of my DNA and I feel fortunate that I have people around me who support that in coach (Nick Sirianni) and (owner) Jeffrey (Lurie), and it allows us to take chances and to try to be aggressive.”
2A. From 1950 through 1954, the Eagles drafted five players in the first round who played a combined seven seasons for the Eagles and started a total of 52 games: Bud Grant (two seasons, 23 starts), Ebert Van Buren (three seasons, 23 starts), Johnny Bright (never played in the NFL), Al Conway (never played in the NFL) and Neil Worden (two seasons, six starts).
2B. From 1990 through 1994, the Eagles drafted five 2nd-round picks who played a combined four years with the Eagles and started 16 games: Mike Bellamy, Jesse Campbell, Siran Stacy, Victor Bailey and Bruce Walker. Yikes.
2C. And how about their 3rd-round picks from 2003 through 2011? Billy McMullen, Matt Ware, Ryan Moats, Chris Gocong, Stewart Bradley, Tony Hunt, Bryan Smith, Daniel Te’o-Nesheim and Curtis Marsh. Out of those nine guys, only two started more than two games: Bradley and Gocong. Come on, Big Red, what are you doing?
3A. Since 1991, the Eagles have made 32 picks in the first round – they didn’t have 1st-round picks in 1992, 2007, 2008 and 2018 and they had two in 1993 and 2023. Those 32 picks include two quarterbacks, five wide receivers and two corners. The other 23? Trenches. So 23 of their last 32 1st-round picks – over 70 percent – have been linemen. That includes nine offensive linemen, seven defensive tackles and seven edge rushers.
3B. Last time the Eagles used 1st-round picks in three consecutive years on non-linemen: 1982 through 1984 with wide receiver Mike Quick 20th in 1982, running back Michael Haddix eighth in 1983 and wide receiver Kenny Jackson fourth in 1984.
4. One trend you see with the inexpensive retread type of free agents that Howie likes to bring in is that once they begin declining, they rarely if ever reverse that trend. Parris Campbell caught 63 passes for 623 yards with the Colts in 2022 but two years later with the Eagles he caught six passes for 30 yards. Albert Okwuegbunam caught 33 passes in 2021 with the Broncos but didn’t catch a pass last year. Devin White was one of the NFL’s best linebackers as recently as 2023, got benched in Tampa in 2024 and didn’t even make it to opening day with the Eagles last year, and he was only 26. John Ross had a 500-yard season with the Bengals in 2019, was out of football for a while, returned with the Eagles and caught one six-yard pass last year. Tight end C.J. Uzomah had nearly 2,000 receiving yards in his career before his production began declining in 2022. Got here last year and didn’t catch a pass. These aren’t old players. It’s not like signing Julio Jones and finding out he’s done. But they’re not bad signings because there’s no risk, there’s no financial obligation if they don’t work out and there’s always a chance maybe a change of scenery jump starts their once-promising career. But it’s something to keep in mind with guys like A.J. Dillon, Harrison Bryant, Josh Uche, Kylen Granson, Terrace Marshall and most of Howie Roseman’s budget free agent signings over the past six weeks. Dillon rushed for nearly 1,600 yards in 2022 and 2023 with a 4.2 average but finished at 3.4 last year. Bryant averaged 25 catches for 240 yards from 2021 through 2023 but caught just nine passes last year. Uche had 11 ½ sacks in 2022 but just five since. Granson had a couple 30-catch seasons with the Colts before dropping to 14 receptions last year. Marshall had 490 yards and a 17.1 average in 2022 but was down to three catches for 41 yards all last year. Once you lose it, you rarely get it back. The odds that this sort of guy becomes a significant contributor is slim. Doesn’t mean they were bad signings. There’s nothing to lose bringing them in. Doesn’t cost anything. But they’re definitely low-percentage signings. Very low.
5. JALEN HURTS STAT OF THE WEEK: There are 26 quarterbacks who have played in more than one Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts’ 73.3 completion percentage is highest of those 26 quarterbacks. The next four-highest are Hall of Famers – Troy Aikman (70.0), Joe Montana (68.0), Steve Young (66.7) and Peyton Manning (66.5).
6. With Lane Johnson saying he’d like to play another three years, which would take him through the end of last month’s contract extension, I started wondering how many Eagles have played at a high level deep into their 30s. Johnson is 34 but turns 35 in May so will play all of 2025 at 35 and would be 37 when he presumably finishes the 2027 season. Surprisingly, only eight players in franchise history have started 10 or more games in a season after their 36th birthday and most of them were offensive linemen, including Jason Kelce, who was 36 in his last season, and Jason Peters, who was 37 when he started 13 games in 2019. The only non-offensive lineman on the list is Irving Fryar, who was 36 in his last year with the Eagles. Chuck Bednarik started at linebacker at 37 in 1962 and his last year playing some center was 1961. The only Eagles to start at least 10 games at 37 year or older are Peters, right guard Woody Peoples on the 1980 Super Bowl team, Bednarik in 1962 and center Vic Lindskog in 1951. The only Eagles to make a Pro Bowl after turning 36 are a couple centers – Hall of Famer Jim Ringo in 1967 and Kelce in 2023. Bednarik, Ringo, Fryar and Brian Dawkins made it at 35. League-wide only two offensive tackles have ever made a Pro Bowl at 36 or older: Andrew Whitworth in 2017 at 36 and Seattle’s Duane Brown in 2021. Lane is already the 12th-oldest Pro Bowl offensive tackle after making it last year at 34. Bottom line: Only very special players can maintain an elite level of play well into their 30s. And Johnson is clearly a very special player so don’t bet against him.
7A. The Eagles’ seven highest-paid players are all on offense – Jalen Hurts ($51 million average per year), A.J. Brown ($32 million), DeVonta Smith ($25 million), Lane Johnson ($25 million), Jordan Mailata ($22 million), Landon Dickerson ($21 million) and Saquon Barkley ($20.6 million). The highest-paid defensive player by average annual salary? That would be none other than Bryce Huff at $17.03 million per year, just ahead of Zack Baun at $17 million.
7B. According to data on Spotrac, the Eagles currently have $124.16 million in 2025 cap charges on offense – most in the NFL – and $78.62 million on defense – 29th in the NFL.
8. Here’s a fun name to keep in mind later this week: Gunnar Helm. He’s a Texas tight end who would make sense if he’s still on the board when the Eagles pick at the end of the third round at No. 96. Helm is an NFL-ready pass catcher coming off a breakthrough senior year in Austin this past fall with 60 catches for 786 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s a smooth route runner, has soft hands and a good feel for finding open spaces in the defense. Like just about any tight end you’ll find after the first round, he’s not an elite blocker. But he isn’t terrible and has shown a willingness to mix it up on the line of scrimmage. The thing about Helm is that at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he does have the frame to get bigger and stronger and become more of a three-down player. Although I think he’s less likely, Mason Taylor is another tight end option if he slides down to the end of the second round. Taylor, Hall of Famer Jason Taylor’s son, is also a terrific receiving tight end but already a functional blocker. I feel like the third or fourth round is going to be Howie’s tight end wheelhouse in this draft. Even if the Eagles and Dallas Goedert somehow figure out a pay cut that would keep him here for an eighth season, the Eagles’ plan doesn’t change. They still need a tight end. Goedert is still very good when he’s on the field, but he’s 30, he’s oft-injured and even if they find a way to keep him around with a significant pay cut, it’ll almost certainly be a one-year deal. The Eagles don’t have another tight end on the roster who they can trust. Jalen Hurts loves throwing to the tight end, and you can’t go into a season with Grant Calcaterra, Kylen Gransom and Harrison Bryant. Goedert or not, they need a tight end.
9. In the last 38 years, only four rookie cornerbacks have started at least eight games for a Super Bowl champion. One was Aaron Ross of the Giants in 2007, one was Trent McDuffie of the Chiefs in 2022. The other two were Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. It’s so incredibly rare to have one of these guys. To have two is insane.
10A. There’s a pretty good chance Donovan Ezeiruaku and Jihad Campbell will both be 1st-round picks Thursday. If so, they will be the 21st and 22nd South Jersey natives drafted in the first round. Ezeiruaku played at Williamstown High and Campbell is from Erial and played at Timber Creek up through his junior year. The first South Jersey 1st-round pick was Mount Laurel’s Dave Robinson, a Moorestown graduate who the Packers picked 14thout of Penn State in 1963 and is now in the College Football Hall of Fame and the Packers Hall of Fame. The most recent was Camden’s Cesar Ruiz, who the Saints picked 24th out of Michigan in 2020. Last time two South Jersey high school alums were taken in the first round the same year? That would be Woodbury’s Bryant McKinnie and Holy Spirit’s William Green in 2002. Here’s a look at the 19 1st-round picks so far from South Jersey:
2020: OL Cesar Ruiz, Camden [Michigan], 24th pick, Saints
2017: LB Haasan Reddick, Haddon Heights [Temple], 13th pick, Cards
2017: CB Eli Apple, Eastern [Ohio State], 10th pick, Giants
2008: QB Joe Flacco, Audubon [Delaware], 18th pick, Ravens
2003: DE Michael Haynes, Northern Burlington [Penn State], 14th pick, Bears
2002: RB William Green, Holy Spirit [Boston College], 16th pick, Browns., OT Bryant McKinnie, Woodbury [Miami], 7th pick, Vikings
2000: RB Ron Dayne Overbrook [Wisconsin], 11th pick, Giants
1998: S Donovin Darius, Highland/Woodrow Wilson [Syracuse], 25th pick, Jaguars
1997: CB Chris Canty, Eastern [Kansas State], 29th pick, Patriots
1997: CB Tommy Knight, Cherokee [Iowa], 9th pick, Cards
1993: TE Irv Smith, Pemberton [Notre Dame], 20th pick, Saints
1992: DE Alonzo Spellman, Rancocas Valley [Ohio State], 22nd pick, Bears
1984: WR Irving Fryar, Rancocas Valley [Nebraska], 1st pick, Patriots
1979: LB Al Harris, Rancocas Valley [Arizona St.], 9th pick, Bears D
1978: E Art Still, Camden [Kentucky], 2nd pick, Chiefs
1972: RB Franco Harris, Rancocas Valley [Penn State], 13th pick, Steelers
1967: RB Floyd Little, Bordentown Military Academy [Syracuse], 6th pick, Broncos
1963: LB Dave Robinson, Moorestown [Penn State], 14th pick, Packers
10B. Incredibly, 51 different South Jersey high schools have produced NFL draft picks, The high schools with the most draft picks: Rancocas Valley, Pennsauken and Woodrow Wilson with seven each, Camden with six and Holy Cross with five.
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