Howie Roseman Has Cracked the Draft Code

The past two years the Eagles GM has spent premium draft picks on players coming off national championship seasons in college

PHILADELPHIA – Howie Roseman seems to have cracked the draft code – look to the Southeastern Conference.

Not just the SEC, but whichever team wins the college national championship, which always seems to be a team from the SEC.

Last year, it was then-national champion Alabama, and the Eagles GM traded up two spots to take Heisman Trophy-winning receiver DeVonta Smith then took a Landon Dickerson, despite still rehabbing a torn ACL late in the season in the second round, 27 picks after taking Smith.

In the first two rounds this year, Roseman turned to defending national champion Georgia, trading up two spots to select defensive tackle Jordan Davis then, 70 picks later, chose his running mate, linebacker Nakobe Dean.

“I think experience is a great teacher,” said Roseman, close to midnight when he, VP of Player Personnel Andy Weidl, and head coach Nick Sirianni met reporters on Saturday night.

“Sometimes - it's not that hard. Great players, great school, high recruits, play at the highest level, it kind of works. You want winners. You want guys who have done it. We were joking - Coach (Nick Sirianni) is joking, because I don't know if you guys saw when Jordan is walking around, he has this ring - his ring looks bigger than anyone's I've ever seen. He's wearing it around like that.

“These guys know what it takes, and I think that the NFL season, it's a roller coaster ride, it's the ups and downs, and when you have guys that when you're down are going to help bring you back up, and those guys that are champions know what happens when adversity hits and how to raise the level of everyone, that's what team is all about.”

Nick Sirianni then chimed in: “Kind of like when you’re 2-5.”

Roseman responded: “That was a huge learning experience for us this year, who's with us. We know these guys are going to be with us. So, yeah, it's intentional. It's intentional to get winners.”

Georgia was a no-brainer this year.

Seven players from that defense went in the first three rounds of the draft, which is the most defensive players taken in the first three rounds from the same school since the draft began in 1967.

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Dean was the heartbeat of that defense.

“They (The Eagles’ scouting staff) can basically spend their whole fall down (on Georgia’s campus),” said Roseman. “It's like one-stop shopping down there. You go to practice, you go to a game, you go visit that facility, and you're just going, ‘Shoot, I'll draft this whole team.’

“It's a great credit to their program and what they have done. You start talking about the guys because you knew guys were going to go higher in this draft than them, and everyone down there is like, ‘This player is this, this player is that,’ and to a man they are like, ‘Don't forget Nakobe Dean. Don't forget Nakobe Dean and what he means to this football team.’

“I think when we were discussing it, whether it was the second round or third round or in our draft meetings, all of us are reminding each other, let's not forget this guy. He's a really good player. And there may be guys with better measurables, but this guy played at the highest level.”

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.