The NFL Trade deadline is rapidly approaching. It may not feel like it, but with the final day for all NFL teams to make trades being November 1st, it’s at least worth exploring whether the Eagles should be buyers or sellers.
Howie Roseman is never the type to wait in the darkness. If there is an opportunity to better his football team, he will snatch it with both hands. Sometimes, this ends up backfiring, like the Genard Avery and Golden Tate acquisitions at the trade deadline. Other times, he lands A.J Brown for a bargain when all was said and done, or snaps up Jay Ajayi in another deadline move.
The Eagles have started their season with a perfect 3-0 record. They’re now the favorites to win the NFC Championship and Jalen Hurts is inside the top-3 in the NFL MVP odds. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ could be a useful saying here and trading away a player could well rock a very sturdy boat. But there are some positions of need that Roseman could address.
Areas of need:
Tight end
Dallas Goedert is a stud, but there is very little in the way of insurance policies in the event that the dominant receiving tight end goes down. Rookie Grant Calcaterra burst onto the scene this past weekend, but it’s not like the Eagles have a savvy blocking vet to open things up. It’s Dallas Goedert and a developmental army and if this team wants to make postseason noise, some extra girth to help with run blocking isn’t the worst idea in the world.
Returner
The Britain Covey experiment isn’t exactly going well. Some of it isn’t his fault, but the way he gets thrown around is very reminiscent of when Donnel Pumphrey returned kicks for the Eagles that one time (what an era). The Eagles risked DeVonta Smith on return duties last week, which considering how valuable he is to the offense, should be a no-go. Roseman needs a specialist speedster to ensure that the offense doesn’t have to drive the length of the field each and every drive.
EDGE
The Eagles did amass 9 sacks this past weekend, which is great, but depth is thin at defensive end. The injury to Derek Barnett left a pretty big hole in the rotation and while much of it can be filled by Haason Reddick, bringing in a rotational rusher would at least afford Jonathan Gannon some flexibility in how he uses the most expensive and explosive weapon at his disposal.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
