Howie Roseman is no stranger to draft-day trades, and he’s certainly no stranger to aggressively moving up to snatch the player he wants. From DeVonta Smith, Andre Dillard, and even Carson Wentz, the esteemed Eagles GM has a habit of sneaking up the order to secure his prized prospects. If we’re to see that pattern continue in 2023, here are 3 teams that he could be looking to trade with.
Arizona Cardinals: Pick 3
The Cardinals find themselves in unsual waters. They don’t need a quarterback (yet), nor do they really need any offensive line help having only allowed 19 sacks last year. What they do need is a franchise corner along with some help at EDGE, and both of those spots can be filled at around the 10th spot, where they’ll have their pick of the litter for the most part.
Would the Eagles trade up this high? Probably not. If they do, it’s for Will Anderson or Tyree Wilson and that’s only because they are in LOVE with either. We haven’t heard reports that the Eagles GM is smitten with either, but Anderson is coming out of Alabama and that culture has clearly been something Roseman has wanted to invest in.
The Eagles do have a second first-round pick at their disposal. If they really deem Anderson or Wilson dominant enough to be worthy of trading up, why wouldn’t they? They’re in a really unique spot in the fact that this is a Super Bowl roster that has access to a pair of first-round picks. If you can use those to draft a home-run generational talent, you do.
Indianpolis Colts: Pick 4
You can throw the Indianapolis Colts into the mix here as well at 4. Similar sort of scenario and both players would still be realistic targets, especially if a team like Las Vegas moves up to 3 for a QB.
The Colts simply aren’t going to get their dream QB at 4 if the Anthony Richardson hype is to be believed. There is every chance that 3 QB’s go inside the top-5 and the Colts would be wise to take their medicine and acquire capital so they can continue to develop quarterbacks over the long-term, just like Andrew Luck. They can still strengthen the roster by trading down to pick 10 and it’s not like they need a rookie QB to win now. A year of developing current talent won’t hurt them.
Besides, the last time the Eagles traded with the Colts, things went great for them. Why wouldn’t the-
Atlanta Falcons: Pick 8
The Falcons need offensive linemen and corners. They can still fill their buckets at 10 and they may even get a kicker in the way of someone like Sua Opeta as a depth lineman, or perhaps a versatile DB like Zech McPhearson.
If the Eagles move up to 8, it’s likely in a bid to leap-frog the Chicago Bears to snag a falling Jalen Carter. Howie’s done this before when he jumped the Giants to take DeVonta Smith a couple of years ago, and he’s the kind of player where Roseman would really pull every resource possible to get a definitive view on his character and mentality.
Jordan Davis was a teammate of the Georgia defensive tackle and a bizarre Adam Schefter tweet cited that Carter essentially was at his best with the Eagles first-rounder on the team (it was just worded horribly). Howie Roseman may trust the opinions and leadership of Davis and go all-in on stocking up the defensive tackle position for years to come, giving the Birds two elite Georgia Bulldog graduates.
