Roseman won't stray from his unique draft strategy

[time2rock]

Roseman won't stray from his unique draft strategy

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

For an organization that’s intensely secretive about just about everything – Who’s the backup long snapper? Who’s going to return punts in a preseason game? How many quarterbacks will be active? – Howie Roseman doesn’t even try to hide the fact that when the draft comes along, the Eagles are going to take linemen.

"Yeah, it just represents how we feel,” Roseman said Saturday night. "We want to build a team (around the) o-line and d-line, and it was important for us to make a statement in this draft in this offseason that this is how we believe we're going to win.”

Statement made.

With two first-round picks for the first time in 30 years, Roseman selected defensive tackle Jalen Carter ninth and edge rusher Nolan Smith 30th, making the Eagles the first NFL team in 23 years to draft two defensive linemen in the same first round. And Smith is an edge, not an off-ball linebacker, so he’s definitely another addition to the Eagles’ defensive front.

The last team to take two defensive linemen in a first round was the Jets in 2000, with Shaun Ellis 12th and John Abraham 13th. Both made multiple Pro Bowls for the Jets.

Factor in Jordan Davis in the first round last year, and the Eagles have taken three defensive linemen in the last two first rounds over the last two drafts. Every other team combined has taken 13.

Consider Milton Williams, and four of the Eagles’ 10 picks in the first three rounds over the last three seasons have been defensive linemen. The six others include three interior linemen, one receiver, one linebacker and one safety.

In all since Roseman returned to power in 2016, 10 of his 22 picks in the first three rounds have been linemen.

Even going back to 1991, the Eagles have had 31 first-round picks, and 23 have been offensive or defensive linemen. That’s most in the NFL. The 49ers are second with 19.

"I said (before the draft) it’s probably going to be a little bit predictable of an offseason,” Roseman said. "We're probably going to go O-line and D-line. You guys know how we try to build it, and I think every opportunity we had in this draft were the grades were the same, we weren't going off the draft board, and we saw a lineman, we wanted to pick that lineman. I think it worked out.”

There are a lot of reasons the Eagles went 14-3 and reached the Super Bowl last year, but their defensive front was certainly a big one.

The Eagles recorded 70 sacks in the regular season – the third-highest in history – and eight more in playoff wins over the Giants and 49ers.  

Even without Pro Bowler Javon Hargrave, who left for the 49ers in free agency, the Eagles can line up Carter, Davis, Fletcher Cox and Williams inside and Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith and Brandon Graham outside, with Derek Barnett possibly in the mix as well.

That’s an incredible amount of depth and talent along the defensive front.

As long as Roseman is in charge, this team is going to make the two lines a priority and that's not going to change.

"We like to come in waves on defense, and we know that a big part of our success these last two years has been the defensive line,” Nick Sirianni said. "Obviously that's been the success of this organization well before I got here, too.

"It's good to have that depth. It's good to be able to come in waves with those guys. Really excited about the pieces that we added, from Jalen all the way to our last pick with (defensive tackle) Moro (Ojomo in the seventh round). 

"You come out of this draft like this, and you look at each other like all right, we're pretty deep. Now Howie has handed us these pieces, and it's our job to get them better as players.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-gm-howie-roseman-wont-stray-his-unique-draft-strategy

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Build through the trenches. That’s where you set the tempo for the game and that is where you can win and lose games. Build through the trenches and build out from that point. Build on solid foundations.