Three Biggest Draft Steals And Busts Of The Howie Roseman Era With Eagles-- What Went Right And Wrong

Not many general managers have the staying power as Howie Roseman.

The Philadelphia Eagles had two stints with Roseman as general manager, from 2010 to 2014 and resurrected him from the back corner of the Jefferson Health Training Complex in 2016. Roseman hasn't given up that position since.

Roseman is arguably the best general manager in the NFL. He has crushed the last five draft classes, but there have been some swing and misses along the way. No general manager has a 100% hit rate in the NFL Draft., but Roseman certainly tries.

The Eagles general manager has learned from failure. Those misses have made him better.

"I think about the first-round picks that I've missed on, I don't know, every day really, if I'm being honest with myself," Roseman said. "I think that sometimes when I think about those picks and think about the reasons that I miss on those picks, sometimes I even overcompensate.

"So if you're bringing me somebody that may look like one of those guys, I'm going to be asking a lot of questions and I'm going to be skeptical and I'm going to be skeptical of my own report on those guys."

What picks did Roseman miss on in horrible fashion? What about the picks he knocked out of the park? We'll look at three each way, and why they succeeded or failed.

The busts

Danny Watkins (2011, first round)

Taking a 26-year-old fireman who didn't really want to play football! What could possibly go wrong?

Watkins just didn't like football. The opportunity was there to make a lot of money, then move on from the NFL life and continue his career as a firefighter. There were a lot of red flags leading up to the draft with Watkins, but the Eagles took him anyway.

Watkins was off the Eagles by 2013 and out of the league soon after. This was Roseman's worst pick, a misevaluation of character trait.

Andre Dillard (2019, first round)

The Eagles didn't really contact Dillard until late in the draft process, when word got out Dillard would fall out of the top-10. They didn't have enough information regarding Dillard, just that they could get a talented player with excellent technique.

And the long-term replacement for Jason Peters, the next franchise left tackle. Dillard ended up being anything but that.

Dillard just didn't have the drive to get better and make it clear he didn't want to be placed in uncomfortable situations. The Eagles tried him out at right tackle in his rookie season and he failed miserably -- and he told reporters in the week leading up to the game he was going to be bad.

The Eagles just didn't have enough time to evaluate Dillard, and misevaluated him. Dillard played out his rookie contract in Philadelphia, but the Eagles didn't pick up his fifth-year option. He hasn't played a regular season game since 2024.

Jalen Reagor (2020, first round)

Justin Jefferson was there for the taking. He was on the board ready to be a Philadelphia Eagle.

Roseman and the front office took Reagor. The comparisons were on.

The Eagles took Reagor because he was fast, not because he could actually play the position. Reagor was a burner, not a wide receiver. They certainly reached for Reagor in Round 1, and Reagor didn't help himself by constantly reading what reporters and fans had to say about him.

Roseman was obsessed with speed, and forgot about everything else that makes a wide reciever. He corrected that mistake quickly, getting it right with DeVonta Smith just a year later.

The steals

Jason Kelce (2011, sixth round)

Forget the biggest steal of the Roseman era, Kelce may be the biggest draft steal in Eagles history.

The only center since the merger to earn six First Team All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl title, Kelce is the fifth center in NFL history with that many All-Pro selections. He's going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the first year he's eligible (2029).

The other four centers to have six First Team All-Pro selections (Jim Otto, Bulldog Turner, Dermotti Dawson, Jim Ringo) are in the Hall of Fame. Of the 54 players in NFL history that have earned six or more first-team All-Pro selections, all of them are in the Hall of Fame.

All of his First Team All-Pro selections for Kelce came after age 30 and he made five straight Pro Bowls from age-32 on. He had a Hall of Fame career in his 30s.

Not bad for a player that was evaluated as having slow movement, and not having the size or power to be a starting center. The Eagles struck gold with Kelce at No. 191 overall.

Jalen Hurts (2020, second round)

Hurts was the fifth quarterback taken in a loaded 2020 draft for quarterbacks. He's the only one with a Super Bowl and has six playoff victories to his credit, as many as Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love combined.

Drafted to be the backup quarterback to Carson Wentz, Hurts became the franchise quarterback.

The Eagles have made the playoffs every year with Hurts as the starting quarterback (2021-2025), and he has upped his game in the postseason, completing 65.6% of his passes with 11 touchdowns to three interceptions with a 93.4 passer rating. Hurts also has 10 rushing touchdowns in the postseason -- an NFL record for a quarterback. He's the only player in NFL history with 10 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in the postseason.

The Eagles have won nearly 70% of their games with Hurts as their starting quarterback. They developed Hurts, who thrives despite having seven different play callers in his seven seasons in Philadelphia.

A home run for pick for the Eagles at No. 53.

Jordan Mailata (2018, seventh round)

The Eagles took a rugby player in the seventh round of the NFL Draft in 2018. Not only did they select Mailata, they traded back into the draft to get him in the seventh round -- a draft where the Eagles only had five picks!

This was a lottery ticket the Eagles hit on. They saw Mailata's frame and willingness to learn football. They measured the drive he had for the game, and his passion to be great. They liked Mailata so much they had to trade back into the draft to get him. Roseman didn't want to take that chance.

Mailata wasn't supposed to be the franchise left tackle after Jason Peters. That was supposed to be Andre Dillard, who Mailata beat out for the job. Just three years after learning football, Mailata started his first game at left tackle and never looked back.

Mailata was a Second Team All-Pro in 2024 and has been a part of the best offensive line in football from 2022 to 2024. This was offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland at his best.

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