Deebo Samuel, Other WRs Make Sense, but There's More to Consider

Investing in the draft seems to be the way to go rather than throwing money at assets at a veteran pass-catcher; here's why and who Daniel Jeremiah thinks Philly will take

Sure, Howie Roseman checked in on Deebo Samuel.

Just like the Eagles GM checked in on Christian Kirk, Marcus Williams, and every quarterback that was available this offseason.

Roseman checks in on everybody that’s available whenever they become available. It’s why the Eagles are always mentioned as being in play for whatever the player of the day is.

On Wednesday, that player was Samuel, who went public with his trade request. He reportedly went to the Niners a week ago with that request.

So, you know Roseman has been in touch with San Fran execs.

Samuel would look great in Eagles colors. As would A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, and Terry McLaurin. Not a day goes by where a disgruntled receiver is trying to force his way out of the town they’re in.

“Players are feeling more empowered than ever before and that’s fine, but we see players just saying, ‘I don’t want to play here anymore, I don’t want to be here anymore, I’m not coming back,’ and clubs are like, ‘OK, Davante Adams you can go ahead and leave and go play with Derek Carr, that’s all right,’ said SiriusXM analyst Mark Dominik during a media call last week.

“I think that’s the unique thing because players are actually getting a little more aggressive in their stance and clubs are willing to do that. Fifteen years ago, or maybe 20 years ago, if you tried to cross Carl Peterson, you were just never playing football again…but that mentality is kind of gone in the league.”

It’s all well and good to say to Roseman, if you could, ‘Go get me Deebo or Brown or Metcalf.’

Yes, Roseman has the draft collateral to at least get the conversation started, but the 49ers would probably prefer to trade him out of the NFC.

The other side of it is paying the $25 to $30 million to make sure they stick around for a while. 

And, yeah, Roseman could probably find a way to make that work, because finding ways around the salary cap restrictions is one of his areas of expertise, but what would the long-term ramifications of a WR eating up that kind of money do to your cap down the line?

Based on how he performs this season, Jalen Hurts could be in line for a long-term contract extension negotiation that would likely start at $25M per year if not more.

Could Ohio State WR Chris Olave be a Philadelphia Eagle by the time April 28 ends? / USA Today

Dominik made a good point when he discussed the big-money QB paired with the big-money WR, even as he said he expects the salary cap to rise from $208M this year into the $230M range next year.

“I think what you’re going to see in the future it’s going to be a lot harder for clubs that have the expensive quarterback also keep the expensive receivers and I think that’s what happened in Kansas City,” he said, referring to the Chiefs dealing away Tyreek Hill since Patrick Mahomes eats a lot of the salary cap.

Now, the Eagles could move on from Hurts after this season and bring in a quarterback that is controllable for 2023 and the ensuing years. That way they could afford to hunt a big-money WR.

Roseman has tried. He investigated deals with Kirk and Calvin Ridley before he was suspended for the season. He explored the possibility of adding Robert Woods and Allen Robinson, but those players chose to go to Super Bowl-ready Tennessee and Los Angeles.

NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a Thursday call that it makes more sense to get a pass-catcher in the draft, which, right now, seems to be the way Roseman is leaning.

“I think seeing the cost of the wideouts and what it’s going to take to procure one of them on the open market and that number gets north of $20 million, and look at somebody like Justin Jefferson, who is a perfect example,” said Jeremiah.

“Where he was picked in the draft his average per year is like $3 million, so you get cost control on a player like that at that price for four years plus a fifth-year option versus having to go the veteran route and having to pay that huge, huge number to get a premium receiver and, if not pay him (as a free agent) then you have to trade a bunch of assets to go get him.

“So, to me, I think this year is why we see wideouts get pushed up a little more than in years past. I think we’ll see six of them go in the first round.”

Jeremiah said one he believes the Eagles will select with the 15th overall pick is Ohio State’s Chris Olave. 

The analyst added that the WR class isn’t as deep as in years past and that after you get past the third round or early fourth round, the depth dries up.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.