Eagles GM Howie Roseman Laps The Competition in 2023 NFL Draft
PHILADELPHIA -You get the feeling a young Howie Roseman was a shark on the mean streets of Marlboro Township, New Jersey.
By the time he was a 10-year-old Roseman had reportedly mapped out his future, telling anyone who would listen he wanted to be an NFL general manager, perhaps after fleecing a fellow fifth grader by turning a bag of baby carrots into a king-sized Snickers with a Capri Sun chaser.
These days, the Philadelphia Eagles general manager is on an all-time heater building up two Super Bowl rosters over a six-year span and threatening a third after the 2023 draft weekend by adding a blue-chip prospect in Jalen Carter and trading trinkets for a potential lead back in D’Andre Swift.
The King of Valuation, Roseman secured prospects down his entire draft board that were earmarked to go higher according to the “experts.”
And even his minor moves like essentially turning two seventh-round picks into a fifth-rounder in 2024 from a projected bad team in Tampa Bay smacked of chess vs. the checkers his peers seem to be playing.
Roseman had a second-round grade on Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo, according to a team source, and traded up toward the top of the fourth round after mulling things overnight and resetting, playing the odds that a third-round 2024 pick wouldn't offer the same value and understanding the security of a coming compensatory pick for Javon Hargrave.
At this stage, Roseman doesn’t even like when others point out his successes by calling for his indictment on burglary charges, fearful that an opposing GM he just duped will grow tired of being portrayed as his latest useful idiot.
On the other hand, It will be hard for Roseman’s deft maneuvering to live up to the hype it looks like on paper moving forward but the savvy understand good decisions don’t necessarily prevent bad outcomes.
Stacking good decisions will put you ahead of those only concerned with the results in the long run, however.
Attrition is free agency gave the rest of the NFC an opportunity to close the distance on the pace car but the lynchpin of what Roseman describes as talent-gathering season – the NFL Draft -- restored order.
The Eagles put their figurative foot to the floor by raiding the cupboard in Athens, Georgia, dumbfounding the draftniks by evaluating prospects outside of their college roles, and gleefully used Detroit’s own valuation issues to pry away a talented back on the final year of his rookie deal.
By Saturday night, Roseman was kicking back work-shopping his Abbott and Costello routine with Nick Sirianni for local reporters.
The jokes rarely land but Roseman never stops trying.
The rest of the NFL wishes he would.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
