After decades of disasters, Eagles have finally figured out first round of the draft

[time2rock]

After decades of disasters, Eagles have finally figured out first round of the draft

By Reuben Frank, Eagles Insider • Published September 28, 2023

 

These guys weren’t draft picks. They were punchlines.

Antone. Jon Harris. Fireman Danny. Reagor. 

For years – for decades - the Eagles bumbled their 1^st-round picks. When they missed, they didn’t wind up with average starters. They wound up with disasters.

Going back to the 1980s, when they took Michael Haddix instead of Dan Marino, Leonard Mitchell instead of Mike Singletary and Kevin Allen instead of Jerry Rice.

There came the 1990s. Antone Davis instead of Aeneas Williams, Lester Holmes instead of Will Shields, Bernard Williams instead of Larry Allen, Mike Mamula instead of Warren Sapp, Jermane Mayberry one pick before Ray Lewis and Jon Harris when Jason Taylor was available. And that was just the 1990s.

After a brief respite – Tra Thomas, Donovan McNabb, Corey Simon, Lito Sheppard in a five-year span – it got bad again. Freddie Mitchell instead of Reggie Wayne, Jerome McDougle for crying out loud one pick before Troy Polamalu, Brodrick Bunkley 14^th overall instead of Chad Greenway.

Then it was Howie’s turn.

Fireman Danny instead of Cameron Heyward or Cameron Jordan? Anyone named Cameron and not a 26-year-old aspiring firefighter. And then Marcus Smith instead of … anyone? Maybe DeMarcus Lawrence? And this one doesn’t get enough attention but what about Derek Barnett instead of T.J. Watt. Or Andre Dillard instead of maybe A.J. Brown or Maxx Crosby (and that was the JJAW / D.K. Metcalf draft as well).

The most recent disaster in this nearly half a century rotting waste dump of 1^st-round disasters was Jalen Reagor in 2020, unthinkably one pick before Justin Jefferson.

For every slam-dunk superstar – Keith Jackson, McNabb, Fletch, Lane – there were abourt 3 ½ full-fledged catastrophes. 

Imagine if this team had Marino throwing to Rice for 15 years? Could have happened. 

Imagine if this team had Polamalu and Greenway at linebacker for a decade? Could have happened.

Imagine if McNabb could have thrown to Reggie Wayne much of his career instead of the slop he was stuck with?

OK enough of that. You get the point. Hey, we all lived it. 

But this is all just to illustrate how dramatically things have changed. 

The Eagles’ last four 1^st-round picks are DeVonta Smith, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith.

Wow.

And if you’re wondering the last time the Eagles made four consecutive 1^st-round picks that were not interupted by a disaster, I was wondering the same thing.

And the answer is … never. With an asterisk.

In 1973, the Eagles drafted offensive tackle Jerry Sisemore third overall and Charle Young three picks later. Sisemore was a very good right tackle here for 12 years, made two Pro Bowls, started on a Super Bowl team. Young, a tight end out of USC, made three Pro Bowls and one all-pro team in a short stint with the Eagles.

Then, thanks to the trades that landed them those picks, they didn’t have a 1^st-round pick for five years. And then they took a couple more guys who became Pro Bowlers and were key to the 1980 Super Bowl defense in the first round in 1979 and 1980 – linebacker Jerry Robinson and corner Roynell Young.

So four Pro Bowl 1^st-round picks in a row but it was over eight years.

All of which leads us back to Roseman. Credit first to Jeff Lurie for sticking with Howie when the entire world thought he should be fired after the Watkins, Smith, Barnett, Dillard and Reagor picks.

You did. I did, too.

And then as we sit here and watch DeVonta Smith turn into a star in front of our eyes, Carter wrecking house every snap, Davis making huge strides in Year 2 and Nolan Smith showing flashes of greatness whenever he gets an opportunity, we’ve got to credit Roseman for re-inventing the way he approaches the draft. 

And for finally getting it right.

He stopped trying to out-smart everybody. He stopped trying to be creative. He stopped reaching for positions of need. He stopped trying to project greatness onto players based on one elite trait. 

And he just began picking the best damn player out there.

Smith had caught 117 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns his last year at Alabama. Davis was an immovable force on the greatest college defense ever assembled. Carter was the best defensive player in the country. Smith was an athletic, polished edge rusher.

Elite players from big-time programs. 

Howie simplified the entire process and the results are obvious.

And it's not just Howie. The Eagles’ scouting department as a whole deserves credit for finally figuring out how to get it right on draft weekend. 

The Eagles have drafted 13 players in the first three rounds of the last four drafts, and 11 of them – all but Reagor and Davion Taylor – are currently contributors on a team that went to the Super Bowl last year, is 23-5 in its last 28 games, one of only three remaining undefeated teams and on its way to the playoffs for a third straight year.

When you draft well, you avoid over-priced free agents. You keep the salary cap under control. You build internal chemistry. 

When you draft well, you win.

And the Eagles have become one of the best in the league at both.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/after-decades-disasters-eagles-have-finally-figured-out-first-round-of-the-draft/537919/

[EaglesAddict]

Some of that is definitely judging based on 20/20 hindsight.  Haddix over Marino?  Sure...but the Eagles picked at 8th in that draft and Marino was taken at 27th, so, most teams passed on him.  

The Howie era drafting has significantly improved, though.  Completely agree that he must have learned from his mistakes, albeit it took him a while.  One area I really hope he changes his ways is if/when drafting in the back half or towards the end of Round 1 and we need an OT, for example, but a good LB or S is on the board, take the better player regardless of the position he plays.  

We might see this play out next draft.  Eagles will likely be picking at 32 () and you know Howie will be wanting to take an OT as an eventual Lane replacement.  In that area of the draft there are a lot of Dillard's...will be interesting to see how Howie handles it.

[weko]

SEC

[UK_EaglesFan89]

9 hours ago, weko said:

SEC

That’s the key to it. Take the best players from the best colleges in the most competitive college division. And that’ll breed results!