Eagles Trade for D'Andre Swift, Adding Another Georgia Alum to Boost 'Dawg' Mentality
PHILADELPHIA – That "Dawg" mentality Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni likes to reference is being taken to a whole new level by his general manager, Howie Roseman.
The GM has made five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and three have come from the University of Georgia. That is in addition to two he landed in last year’s draft. That’s five players from college football’s best team for the past two years, the back-to-back national champion Bulldogs.
“I think that, what is it, the Premier League? But they relegate teams,” Roseman said jokingly after Friday night’s Day 2 of the draft was complete. “I was worried they were going to relegate us to the SEC if we took more Georgia guys.”
Roseman made those remarks before trading a third-round pick to the Houston Texans for their early fourth-round pick, No. 105 overall, just before the draft resumed on Saturday at noon.
His comments came before he traded for former Georgia star running back D'Andre Swift, sending the Detroit Lions a fourth-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick (219 overall) in this draft. In addition to Swift, the Eagles will also receive Detroit's seventh-round pick (249) in this draft.
He used that Texans pick to take Georgia defensive back Kelee Ringo, who is still just 20-years-old. He joins former teammates Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith – Thursday’s first-round picks – and Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, last year’s first- and third-round selections in Philly.
It's the first time in Eagles modern draft-day history they have selected three players from the same school in the same draft.
The Eagles' Friday night picks weren't from Georgia, but Alabama (Tyler Steen) and Illinois (Sydney Brown).
“I'd say one thing that we show at Georgia is we have a culture program, so we believe in a culture, and they believe in a culture here at the Eagles,” said Smith during his Friday introductory presser.
“You felt that walking in the building. This was one of my favorite top-30 visits, just when I walked in the building, the culture, the people around here, they greet you with a smile, they say hello, and really just the whole city. It was really fun just going from a good culture to an even better culture.”
Roseman’s love affair with defensive players from Georgia began last year when he visited their campus and went to practice.
“I remember coming back and being like - Coach (Nick Sirianni) was like, 'Who did you like there?' And I'm like, ‘I don't know, like the whole defense,’” said the GM. “It's just kind of amazing to think of all these guys that we got, these two guys came in today, and I know you guys had a chance to sit down with them, and they're lobbying for like three more guys.”
Roseman said Friday night that Carter and Smith were lobbying him to take more Georgia players.
The general manager accommodated that request by taking Ringo ... and then breaking headlines by trading for Swift.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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