One of the things that makes Howie Roseman such a good general manager is that he doesn’t leave any stone unturned. Every team signs free agents and makes draft picks. Howie uses trades to build his roster. Not every team fully embraces that tool. Howie also gets creative when it comes to signing street free agents.
The Eagles love to sign former draft picks that are available. They especially like guys who were high school stars and then played at big schools. The team has made two such signings in the past couple of days.
Kinnard was a 2022 fifth-round pick of the #Chiefs in 2022. #Eagles are taking futures signings more seriously than most teams. Back to trying to win outside the margins which has been their bailiwick https://t.co/NRENQS0kIV
Tyrion Davis-Price was a Top 10 RB coming out of high school. He went to LSU and had a solid career there. The Niners spent a third round pick on Davis-Price in 2022. Unfortunately he was only 40-120 in his two seasons out there. There is no question about his talent, but even going back to his time at LSU, Davis-Price has been an inconsistent player.
The Eagles are taking a chance on someone who has ability, but also issues. RB is wide open right now. D’Andre Swift, Boston Scott and Rashaad Penny are all free agents. The team could bring back Swift, but we know they’ll address RB with some key resource. They would love to find cheap depth and that’s where Davis-Price has a chance. He will have to play better than he did in SF.
Kinnard was the #16 OT coming out of high school. He started for three years at RT at Kentucky. He is big and powerful at 6-5, 322. Kinnard was a fifth round pick by the Chiefs in 2022. He played in one game for them so he has very little NFL experience. I thought Kinnard might be a better fit at OG coming out of college, but the Eagles listed him as an OT so they will start him off on the outside.
Jack Driscoll has been the backup RT, but he is about to become a free agent. The Eagles might not be able to keep him. They do have Fred Johnson as OT depth. Kinnard has plenty of RT experience and could be a good backup for Lane Johnson.
Coaches can’t make players more talented. But they can bring out improved play in someone who has natural ability. Davis-Price and Kinnard both fit this description. The odds are that neither guy will work out. When players show so little at one stop, they tend to play like that everywhere. But there are execptions and that’s why teams like the Eagles keep looking for talented guys, even if they haven’t panned out. Low risk, with the potential of a solid reward.
I miss the days when NFL teams used the “pro set” (split backs). And then Randall throws a beautiful deep ball for a TD. The way he could just sling the ball, but still have it be so accurate and catchable was just special. He was incredibly fun to watch.
Traditionally the draft is about the future. Free agency and trades are used to plug roster holes that need immediate attention. The draft is about finding guys you’ll want on your team for the next 5 to 10 years. Economics may be causing a bit of a change in that philosophy.
The Chiefs have a lot of money tied up in star players like Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce. They pay good money to key starters like Jawaan Taylor, Joe Thuney and Justin Reid. That means they can’t afford to spend a lot in free agency. Not every roster hole gets a veteran solution.
GM Brett Veach and his scouting department have done a great job of finding starters in the draft.
2021
LB Nick Bolton C Creed Humphrey OG Tre Smith
2022
CB Trent McDuffie DE George Karlaftis SAF Bryan Cook LB Leo Chenal RB Isaih Pacheco
2023
WR Rashee Rice DB Chamarri Conner
When you can mix young talent like that with proven stars, you win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Now let’s take a look at the Eagles best players from those same three drafts.
2021
WR DeVonta Smith OG Landon Dickerson DL Milton Williams
2022
DL Jordan Davis OL Cam Jurgens
2023
DL Jalen Carter
There are some quality players on that list, but the quantity isn’t anything compared to KC. Part of that is due to KC drafting better, but I also feel like part of it is the Chiefs embracing young players.
With the Eagles having big money going to Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, Lane Johnson and some other key players, they really need to start getting more out of rookies and young players, especially outside the first round.
One other thing stands out above. The Eagles did well on the line of scrimmage, but struggled everywhere else. That matches up when you think about the back seven on defense and how bad that group was.
Howie Roseman and the scouting staff really need a strong draft class this year. Relying on guys like Nick Morrow, Bradley Roby and Kevin Byard did not work out last year. To make matters worse, the Eagles didn’t give those reps to young guys who could have been learning for the future. When you plug ‘n play one-year veterans, you are just pushing the problem down the road. Teams need long term solutions.
I think the defensive side of the ball will be better with the new coaching staff. That should help player development as well as performance. Coaches who truly understand a scheme can teach it better. That will help players to develop positional skills and also help their confidence. The Eagles have added some talented rookies, but they haven’t developed as hoped.
The Eagles might need to be less patient and more aggressive with young players. Feed them a lot of reps in the spring and summer. Put pressure on them to contribute right away. Let them make mistakes, as long as they’re learning.
There is no magic formula for winning a Super Bowl. But economics becomes a huge factor when you see star players getting mega-bucks. That means you need cheap players to balance them out so you can fit under the salary cap. Rookies are ideal for that because they give you affordable solutions for four or five years. Last year the Eagles found a great addition in Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, but he was a band-aid. He hit free agency and wanted a big payday. The Eagles had to go start looking for the next affordable veteran. That didn’t work so well.
Howie and his staff have a strong core of players already in place. That is part of what makes this draft so crucial. You want to take advantage of talented players like Hurts, Brown, Smith, Johnson, Carter, Reddick, Sweat and others who are key starters. The Eagles don’t have to build the whole house. They just need to renovate the kitchen.
I’m curious to see how Howie approaches the upcoming draft. He normally loves to move up in the first round, to make sure he secures the player he really wants. This looks more like a year to stay put or even move down and add extra assets. This looks like it could be a smart time to draft for quantity as well as quality.
This is a critical year to find some players.
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One player going to the Eagles in a lot of mock drafts is CB Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo. I would have no issue with that. Mitchell had a great college career and then played at a high level in Mobile. Stud.