Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Howie the Conqueror

Posted February 12th, 2025 | 1 Comment »

Howie Roseman is the king of the hill. He is unquestionably the best general manager in the NFL. Howie has built rosters that went to three Super Bowls and won two of them. If not for a slick field, he might be three for three.

There is no magic formula. The Eagles believe in building their team through the OL and DL. But plenty of teams do that. The Eagles spend aggressively. Plenty of teams do that, even some bad ones. The Eagles do a great job of knowing who to pick and who to pay. That’s the hard part.

One area where Howie is special is relentlessly chasing talent. He is constantly on the hunt for players. Mekhi Becton was signed after the draft. Howie traded for Jahan Dotson on Aug 24. Jack Driscoll was signed in September. Lewis Cine was signed in January. Howie is always looking to upgrade the roster, both short and long term. In the middle of a playoff run, the team signed Cine, who might be a backup safety next year. When a player of interest is available, go get him. Always be building. The odds say Cine won’t pan out, but you never know.

Howie also uses the trade market more aggressively than most GMs. He added impact players like AJ Brown and Darius Slay through trades. Howie moves up and down the board during the draft. He targets key players and goes after them. If there isn’t a player he thinks is good value, he moves down to add future assets.

The Eagles wanted Cooper DeJean and were shocked when he was available in the second round. Howie worked the phones like a madman to get his guy.

When you see Howie’s reaction there you can tell that is a player he coveted. Some will argue that you should move down. The more picks you have, the better your odds of hitting on players. But there is something to be said for aggressively targeting players you feel strongly about. The Eagles wanted DeJean. They gave up picks to go get him. He helped the team have the #1 defense in the league and win the Super Bowl. Those were picks well spent.

One of the keys to the Eagles success is not being risk averse, as they like to say. Take chances. Know that there will be some mistakes. But if there are more hits than misses, the strategy works.

The Eagles traded for CJ Gardner-Johnson back in 2022. He didn’t have a great reputation. They acquired him just before the start of the season, but CJGJ hit the ground running and proved to be a great fit. Isaiah Rodgers was suspended for gambling. The Eagles took a chance on him. Jalen Carter had some issues when he was coming out of Georgia. When he fell in the draft, the Eagles moved up to take him. All three of those just helped the team win a title.

Not all risks involve character. Size can be a risk for some. DeVonta Smith and Nolan Smith lacked ideal size. That really affected Nolan, as he fell to pick 30 instead of going in the Top 15 as some thought he might. There can be medical risks. Josh Sweat fell to the fourth round because there were medical questions about his knee. There are risks with experience/background. Jalyx Hunt played DB at Cornell and then one season as a DE at Houston Baptist. The Eagles spent a third round pick on him. Back in 2018 they spent a late round pick on an Australian guy who had never played football. Jordan Mailata has now been the starting LT in two Super Bowls.

You have to take chances.

Jalen Hurts was a risky pick. The Eagles already had a starting QB in Carson Wentz. He had some injury issues so the Eagles thought spending a high pick on a QB made sense. At the least, Hurts would give them good depth at the most important position. The move went over like a lead balloon. Wentz wasn’t happy about it. Fans hated it. They wanted help for Wentz. Hurts turned out to be a brilliant pick. He’s now a SB champ and has a strong chance to be the best QB in team history.

One word that got mentioned a lot in the last two weeks is deep, as in “The Eagles have a deep, talented roster.” Depth isn’t from luck. It isn’t an accident. Think about what Howie did at ILB. The Eagles had Nakobe Dean returning from 2023. They had Ben VanSumeren coming back. BVS was more of a project they didn’t want to count on him. Howie signed Devin White, Zack Baun, and Oren Burks in free agency. He drafted Jeremiah Trotter Jr. That’s a lot of resources at ILB.

White didn’t pan out and was cut. Baun and Dean were the starters. BVS became a fullback and STer. Burks and Trot were the backups and STers. When Dean got hurt, Burks stepped in and the defense didn’t miss a beat. Depth is critical. Competition is good.

It helps Howie that Jeffrey Lurie is a smart, aggressive owner. Lurie puts his money where his mouth is.

Lurie gives the greenlight to spend big. Howie and his staff know how to structure contracts to maximize cap dollars. That’s how the Eagles are able to field a team with so many stars. All 32 teams have a salary cap to deal with. The Eagles are at the top of the league when it comes to the financial side of  things. A key part of team building in the modern NFL is understanding economics.

You don’t just throw money around. You have to know how to spend it. The Eagles love to look for market inefficiencies. They saw the RB market this past offseason as a place to strike. They went after Saquon Barkley and got him for a reasonable deal. Barkley was a great fit because the Eagles OL and offense helped him to go from star RB to superstar. The Jags gave WR Gabe Davis a slightly better deal than Barkley got. I don’t think I need to tell you which guy had the better year.

I think Howie has been at his best in recent years because the process seems more collaborative. Vic Fangio was a big fan of Jalyx Hunt’s and pushed for Howie to draft him. Fangio was the one who told Howie the Eagles should play Baun at ILB and not as an edge rusher. Howie listened and both moves worked out great.

Howie lets people speak up on draft weekend and make a case for certain players. They identify red star players and then make a hard push to get those guys. That has to make the scouts feel empowered. That is smart. No one person is the ultimate guru. You need multiple reports and opinions as you evaluate players and make plans. Whatever the Eagles have done in recent years, it has worked.

Here is a good article on the building of the current roster.

Part of roster building is also knowing who to let go. The Eagles have lost some good players in recent years.

DT Javon Hargrave
OG Isaac Seumalo
LB TJ Edwards
LB Kyzir White
S Marcus Epps
S CJ Gardner-Johnson

You can’t keep everyone. You have to let some players walk and take chances on young or cheap replacements for them. The Eagles did that at LB in 2023 and it hurt them. Not all moves are going to work. Not all chances are going to pan out. Howie made sure he got LB fixed this time around.

Teams are going to study what the Eagles did. Can they copy it? Some parts, yes. But it took Howie a long time to learn these lessons and to develop these ideas. It also takes a good scouting staff and a good coaching staff. All the talent in the world doesn’t do you any good if the coaches don’t embrace the players and know how to use them.

Howie in Canton? That is a very real possibility. And he’s not done yet.

Always be building.

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What’s Next

Posted February 11th, 2025 | 2 Comments »

There is a downside to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. I have a million thoughts on a million topics and it becomes challenging to know what to write first. I’m going to share some thoughts on a variety of subjects for tonight and will then work on my list of topics each day after that.

The first order of business is replacing Kellen Moore. He was announced as the Saints new head coach. That means the Eagles need a new offensive coordinator. There is a good chance QBs coach Doug Nussmeier will go with him so he would need to be replaced as well.

The logical candidate for OC is Kevin Patullo. He and Nick Sirianni are very close, having worked together since 2018. You can read this piece by Bo Wulf for some insight on how close they are. Some will question if promoting Patullo is a good move. The Eagles tried that with Brian Johnson after the last Super Bowl and it did not go well. The Eagles were Johnson’s first NFL job. Patullo first worked in the league in 2007 and he’s been with multiple teams. Apples and oranges.

If the Eagles do promote Patullo, they will need to replace him. If Nussmeier leaves, that will be another opening. Sirianni could look to bring in a veteran coach like Frank Reich or Mike McCoy. They could take over as QB coach or assistant head coach. Sirianni could also bring in a young coach, possibly even someone from college. You do like to add new ideas to the staff when you get a chance. We’ll see what happens.

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It is crazy to think about what the future holds for the Eagles. They just did some historic things and this is a young team. They will bring back the majority of their starters.

Sirianni is incredibly competitive. Jalen Hurts is very driven. I don’t think this team will rest on its laurels. Still, you never know how winning it all can change a group of players. The previous SB winning team had some extraordinary circumstances, with the Carson Wentz injury and Nick Foles situation. That made things challenging on everyone involved. This time around should be very different.

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There will be personnel changes. Milton Williams will get a big free agent deal. I’d love to see him stay, but he’s in the prime of his career, is healthy, and can get pressure up the middle. He will get paid. Josh Sweat is coming off a great game and someone will probably overpay for him. It is possible they could bring him back if the market isn’t crazy. Mekhi Becton will likely get a big deal from some team. Brandon Graham will probably retire. He wants to think about it. Darius Slay wants to play one more, but knows he might be too expensive for the Eagles. We’ll see if they can work something out.

The good news is that we have a draft that is deep at DL and edge rusher. The Eagles also have young guys like Moro Ojomo and Jalyx Hunt ready to step up. They both played well in the Super Bowl and could be ready for key roles in 2025.

Zack Baun is a free agent. He is a real x-factor. The Eagles were able to find multiple good LBs this year. Nakobe Dean had his best season. He got hurt and Oren Burks stepped in and played well. But Baun is a difference-maker. I think the Eagles will be aggressive about trying to bring him back. Still, all it takes is one other team throwing insane money at him to cause a problem.

I hope Baun wants to stay, knowing he’ll play for a winning team and a great defensive coordinator. The years with the Saints could not have been a ton of fun. The Eagles are the perfect situation. The money just has to make sense.

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Teams are going to try to copy the Eagles formula…building up the line of scrimmage. It isn’t as simple as it sounds. The Chiefs draft three OL last April, including an OT in the second round. He played in 15 games, but only started 2. He was mainly on STs. They spent a third round pick the previous April on OT Wanya Morris. He was inactive for the SB. The Chiefs gave a big contract to RT Jawaan Taylor. He is a functional starter who can play well at times, but can also struggle. KC tried, but their moves have not worked out quite as hoped.

The Giants have spent resources on their OL. The results have been disappointing.

Becton was on the street for all 32 teams to sign last April. Nobody else thought he was worth bringing in? Lane Johnson is the only high pick on the Eagles OL, going fourth overall in 2013. Teams don’t always draft well. They don’t do a good job of developing talent. They don’t build up good depth. How was Darian Kinnard available? He is a worthwhile project.

The Eagles have made smart moves on the defensive side of the ball. Jordan Davis might not have lived up to the billing of a Top 15 pick, but he is a key run defender and is getting better overall. His best days are still ahead of him. Jalen Carter is a dominant force. Nolan Smith just had his breakout year. Williams was highly disruptive and is about to become very rich. Hunt and Ojomo are ready for bigger roles.

Not every move works. Andre Dillard never became a regular starter on the OL. Bryce Huff is coming off a very disappointing year. You are going to miss, but you must keep swinging.

I’m curious to see what happens with Huff. Howie is stubborn with players he believes in and that can be a good thing. He was very confident in Nakobe Dean coming into this season and that proved to be spot on. Huff is talented. He struggled to fit into Fangio’s system and what he wants out of his DEs/edge players. With a full offseason to build on what he learned this year, Huff might be fine. Or the Eagles could look to trade him and see if they can find someone who is a better fit. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

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Andy Reid is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. He did an amazing job with the Eagles and has been even better with KC. I’ll always be grateful to Big Red. Things changed for the Eagles when he got to Philly. He helped build up the organization and turned the team into a winner.

But it was sure fun to beat him on Sunday. That’s like beating your dad or big brother. Andy will always be special. Beating him means more because you do care about him.

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