Behind-Scenes Piece Shows How Rams Impacted Eagles' Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles made valiant effort to trade up, but they weren't offering a future 1st-rounder.

Oct 8, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay meets with Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni following the game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Most NFL phone lines were tied up late in the first round April 24, and no one was ordering pizzas.

One of those significant phone conversations gave Les Snead and Sean McVay a future first-round draft choice. Whether they use that 2026 pick to draft Matthew Stafford’s replacement or parlay it into more capital and then draft his replacement, they can thank the Atlanta Falcons. Howie Roseman and the Eagles, however, had to sweat.

“I understand why people aren’t taking our deals,” Roseman said in Episode 2 of Unscripted, after the piece documented his calls to the Chargers’ Joe Hortiz, the Packers’ Brian Gutekunst, Houston’s Nick Caserio and Baltimore’s Eric DeCosta – all in attempt to move up and beat other clubs to linebacker Jihaad Campbell.

“We’ve been trying to get you for the last hour,” owner Jeffrey Lurie told Campbell after the Eagles turned in the card.

The team the Eagles had to overcome, just as they had to in the divisional playoffs, was the pesky Rams. Los Angeles, operating from the LAFD Air Operations Center to honor first-responders, was the one team the documentary didn’t show on the phone with Roseman.

That’s because Snead was on the phone with Terry Fontenot and McVay’s former defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. The Falcons wanted back into the first round to take James Pearce – and they wanted him so badly, they were offering something the Eagles weren’t, that future first-rounder.

While the wait to move up from 32 was excruciating for the Eagles – at one point Roseman put elevator-style hold music on the draft-room speaker phone to break the tension – they finally got their man in a deal with the Chiefs.

Snead also acquired a coveted second-round pick he didn’t own entering the night, taking tight end Terrance Ferguson from Oregon. Both teams have reloaded for another Super Bowl run.

And the NFC arms race rolls into 2025.

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