The NFL Draft is less than a week away, and the Philadelphia Eagles have executed a major trade to propel themselves to second overall pick with the intention of drafting the club's next franchise quarterback.
Howie Roseman made his bold climb to the top of the draft order by executing several creative trades prior to the blockbuster with Cleveland that got the Birds in position to take either Carson Wentz or Jared Goff.
Those deals, which involved jettisoning the albatross contracts of several of Chip Kelly's disappointing acquisitions, were particularly surprising because Roseman was able to seek out takers for underachieving likes of Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray, and Kiko Alonso and managed to parlay them into moving up in the draft.
It's been a very impressive off-season for Roseman, and given the amount of surprisingly favorable trades he's pulled off in the Eagles' favor, there's a chance that the GM may have a few more tricks up his sleeve once the draft begins.
Under Roseman, the Eagles have always been one of the league's most active teams when it comes to draft day trades. The Birds have traditionally moved up and down the draft board frequently in his tenure, acquiring additional picks in current and future drafts along the way.
Roseman has two pools of assets to pick from to maneuver around the draft board: his remaining draft picks, and some of the team's veteran players.
The Eagles have a handful of veterans that make for prime draft-day trade targets. Three names that come to mind for me are Ryan Mathews, Josh Huff, and Brandon Graham.
Mathews has had his name come up in trade rumors several times. While it may seem unreasonable for the Eagles to trade the guy at the top of their running back depth chart, the reality is that Mathews, given his injury history, doesn't have as much value to a rebuilding team like the Eagles as he would to a contender. He's reportedly been shopped several times this off-season, and this could be the week that the Birds pull the trigger on a deal.
Huff is a guy who has disappointed in his first two years with the team, and given the amount of veteran depth the Eagles have brought in, could have a tough time making the roster. Roseman has gone out and signed Chris Givens, Rueben Randle, and T.J. Graham, making it more and more likely that Huff is the odd man out. Huff has flashed some explosive ability, and another team may be willing to part with a conditional pick to take a chance on him.
Graham is probably the least likely to be dealt of the three names I've mentioned, but it wouldn't shock me if he were available. Consider that the Eagles are paying him, Vinny Curry, and Connor Barwin starter's money. All three are set to play the defensive end position in the new scheme, but the Eagles really can't afford to dish out huge contracts to that many players, at least not in the long-term picture anyway. I think its more likely that one of the three gets moved next off-season to help clear money for Fletcher Cox, but a guy like Graham with some decent pass rush ability is a guy who I'm sure the team would at least shop around.
Another asset to keep an eye on is pick No. 79 in the third round, which I believe is the team's most valuable trade chip at the moment.
Third-round picks hold a pretty decent amount of value, and with the Eagles taking on an approach that is much more focused on the big picture, I wouldn't be surprised to see Roseman work hard to flip the pick, possibly sliding back into round four this year and acquiring an extra third (or in a best-case scenario, perhaps a second) in next year's draft.
Roseman has been full of surprises during the off-season. It's been one of his most successful campaigns to date, and on a week as significant as draft week, I don't think Howie will be at all content with standing pat with his remaining picks.
Denny Basens is a contributing writer for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @DennyBasens.
