One Last Draft Day Hint From Eagles' Top Exec

Eagles GM Howie Roseman has been one of the more aggressive NFL GMs looking for avenues to trade up in the days leading up to the draft.

PHILADELPHIA – The only thing certain about Thursday night is that all the NFL teams drafting will spin the result in a postive fashion.

The only organization that can sell that kind of sentiment with absolute conviction is the Chicago Bears at No. 1 overall who will select Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams.

The mock drafters may even be batting 1.000 after two picks if the chalk holds and Washington chooses LSU Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.

Then the fun starts with QB-desperate teams like Minnesota and the New York Giants trying to convince fellow signal-caller hungry New England to pass on North Carolina's Drake May in favor of extra draft capital.

For the Eagles, the more quarterbacks that go the better but the belief around the league remains that GM Howie Roseman is trying to move up from No. 22 overall to secure a difference-maker, either at cornerback or the offensive line depending on which league decision-maker you're talking with.

An NFL source provided Eagles Today with a cloud of prospects Roseman and his staff are likely targeting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell of Toledo and Terrion Arnold of Alabama, along with offensive linemen JC Latham of the Crimson Tide and Troy Fautanu of Washington. The wild card in the equation is Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, a blue-chip player in a draft limited with them at a position many will hesitate to act on early.

Like most contenders the Eagles aren't necessarily concerned about volume so parting with the Nos. 50 or 53 picks in the second round will not deter Roseman if the veteran GM can secure one of his perceived difference-makers.

The trading-back approach, while analytically sound for the mediocre teams down to the bottom of the league, doesn't make as much sense for organizations with limited slots available on their 53-man rosters like Philadelphia.

Denver GM George Paton recently explained this mindset when speaking about the Broncos' head coach Sean Payton, who spent years piloting the New Orleans Saints when they were contenders.

"Every now and then during the draft, Sean will say, 'I really want this player. Let's go get him,'” Paton said.

The Broncos are now in rebuilding mode and that kind of thought process should be recalibrated by Payton but that's Paton's problem to deal with out in the Rockies.

Circle it back to the Eagles and Roseman is in go-get-a-player mode.

"If there's somebody we're incredibly passionate about and we're worried about losing that player we won't hesitate to go draft them," Roseman told NBC 10 in Philadelphia. "That doesn't necessarily mean the first round. It could mean second-round picks. It could be later in the draft but we've gotta be convicted about that and see a big drop-off on our board.

"We don't trade just to trade but obviously we've got great experience with moving up, that's an option for us."

In the days leading up to the draft Roseman has been one of the more aggressive GMs in the league while laying the foundation for potential trade on draft night with a league source pointing to Denver at No. 12 and Seattle at No. 16 as potential options for the Eagles to go up and get the player they desire.

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