Will Eagles be aggressive in the trade market around NFL Draft window?

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Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman and Vice President of Player Personnel Andy Weidl held a conference call with the media on Thursday ahead of next week’s NFL Draft. From the very unique landscape the league finds itself in, to the Draft itself, a lot was discussed. But there seemed to be one recurring theme throughout – trades.

It’s not surprising. The Eagles traded for the services of Darius Slay not too long ago and have been linked with Yannick Ngakoue and a potential exit route for Rasul Douglas shortly after.

We know Howie Roseman is an aggressive wheeler and dealer when it comes to the Draft. Last year, the Eagles traded up to acquire Andre Dillard and would give up a seventh-round pick in exchange for Hassan Ridgeway. Just one year before that, the Eagles moved back to poach TE Dallas Goedert away from Dallas…in Dallas. Roseman isn’t afraid of making some waves if an opportunity presents itself and his press conference was filled with hints.

The person who makes the trade calls will still be doing that with the league. We’re going to try to keep it as normal as possible on the communication level as good as we can.

This was in response to a question surrounding how the actual draft setup has changed this year with the impact of COVID-19. Of course, this could just be a basic response, but it feels like a step further than simply stating the personnel familiar to fans and media. There’s someone who actively makes trade calls…and that role still exists.

I think it’s been publicly reported that the league will have a mock draft on Monday to run through it, as well. So, we’ll have fun making some mock trades.

This is like DM sliding heaven for Howie. A Mock Draft scenario with the league where Roseman can make trades? Someone is going to have a whale of a time…and maybe find some new inspiration.

I think it all depends on the opportunity, it all depends on the value. You saw it a couple years ago when we were picking 32 and were able to drop down can get a future second-round pick. We’ll weigh all those opportunities as they come towards us.

Translation: Never say never. The Eagles will explore every opportunity in every round.

I think when we are moving up in any round – first round, second round, third round, fourth round – I think we just look at the value of the player, where the board drops off. If we see a big gap and there’s a big drop off, then we’ll look at that. If we feel like there’s a group of guys that we really like that we can choose from, then we’ll probably stay put or move back.

And with one last swing of the sword, Howie Roseman has basically said that if the opportunity presents itself, the Eagles won’t just reach for the sake of it. It’s a great mindset to have, but also something to be aware of when draft night finally arrives.

It almost seems as if the Eagles are more likely to make a trade than they are to pick at all eight current positions…but only time will tell.

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports