Howie Roseman has Eagles Ahead of "Transition" Schedule

When Doug Pederson was fired last January, owner Jeffrey Lurie called the coming season a transition year.

That didn’t sound like a team that would compete for a playoff spot. Yet, here are the Eagles, sitting in the final wildcard spot at 8-7 and two games left with a chance to clinch a spot in the postseason with a win over Washington in Landover, Md., on Sunday.

The hiring of Nick Sirianni certainly proved to be the right one. He may have been the best of all the hires, which have already seen one member of the newbies fired in Jacksonville, with Urban Meyer getting the ax after going 2-11.

General manager Howie Roseman deserves plenty of credit for an Eagles team that appears to be ahead of schedule.

Roseman gets a lot of blame for his misses – Justin Jefferson and DK Metcalf come immediately to mind – but he has had plenty of hits and, let’s face it, no GM bats 1.000.

Even should the Eagles not make the playoffs, there’s no denying they have exceeded expectations.

This was a four-win team just a season ago, with a roster that was being refurbished with a youth injection based on the draft capital of the past couple of years.

His 2018 draft class has proven to be one of his best, bringing in Dallas Goedert, Avonte Maddox, Josh Sweat, Matt Pryor (now a starting guard in Indianapolis), and Jordan Mailata. All starters.

Here’s a look at Roseman’s moves this year that have been integral in making this self-dubbed transition year into one that leads to the playoffs:

DRAFT

DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson are the plums of 2021. They have been invaluable this season, but the Eagles have gotten contributions up and down the draft board with Milton Williams, Zech McPhearson, Kenny Gainwell, Turron Jackson, and even Patrick Johnson. This class, which included Marlon Tuipulotu and JaCoby Stevens, has a chance to be special.

HOWARD AND SCOTT

It sounds like a law firm but signing Boston Scott to an exclusive rights tender on April 1 prevented him from hitting the free-agent market. Six days later, Roseman signed Jordan Howard for next to nothing. Both are free agents at the season's end, so it will be interesting what the GM decides to do.

EXTENSIONS

Roseman didn’t waste any time investing in future foundational pieces, giving Mailata a new deal prior to Week 1 and don the same prior to Week 2 with Sweat. Later in the season, the GM gave new deals to Goedert, Maddox, and T.J. Edwards, who has been a revelation since being inserted as a starting LB.

NELSON

The free-agent CB came on board late, signing a one-year deal on July 25. He hasn’t been great, but he hasn’t had to be. He has been more than solid and has helped solidify a cornerback position that always seemed to be in flux the past few years.

HARRIS

The same thing could be said about safety Anthony Harris. He hasn’t played like he did in Minnesota for the bulk of his career, but he is likely a bridge player to a bigger move this offseason, with the Eagles likely to spend an early pick on this position. Getting him on a one-year deal, though, has served this team well.

TRADES

It started in March with dealing Carson Wentz, who was so unhappy there was no way he could return. Then to get a No. 1 pick for him? Great move.

Roseman then landed Gardner Minshew on Aug. 28, giving up a pick that the GM eventually got back by sending Joe Flacco to the Jets. Brilliant.

Especially when you look at some of the backups across the league. The Eagles have certainly seen their share with Jake Fromm, Garrett Gilbert, and Trevor Siemian. The offseason demand for a quality QB, who played well in beating the Jets, and is still on a cheap contract should be high if the Eagles decide to trade him. If not, he’s a nice insurance policy to have.

Two deals landed some potential cornerback depth for 2022 in Tay Gowan and Kary Vincent, Jr.

Finally, the trade of Zach Ertz opened the door for Goedert to step up. And Goedert has.

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