PHILADELPHIA – It has always been difficult to assess Howie Roseman’s work as a personnel evaluator for the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2010, when Roseman was named general manager of the team, head coach Andy Reid still had final say on personnel decisions. The dynamic shifted during the next several years, but it was never completely clear whether Roseman or Reid made decisions.
Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said at one point that he didn’t hold Roseman accountable for roster moves made before 2012. That’s when Lurie believed Roseman was making the decisions. The next year, Roseman was GM when the Eagles hired new head coach Chip Kelly.
Roseman apparently had final say during the 2013 offseason, but he was clearly trying to find players that fit Kelly’s vision. Their roles became a bit blurrier in 2014, when Roseman said dissuaded Kelly from drafting Oregon defensive lineman Taylor Hart in the third round. The Eagles got Hart in the fifth round.
After the 2014 season, Roseman was nudged aside. Kelly ran the 2015 offseason, from free agency through the draft. Roseman was not involved.
So Roseman was in charge for decisions made from 2010 through 2014, although he was at least partly working in partnership with his head coaches. So we’ll look at those drafts, looking for hints on what to expect in this year’s NFL draft.
2010
First round: Defensive end Brandon Graham, No. 13 overall.
Notable picks: The Eagles took safety Nate Allen in the second round and defensive lineman Daniel Te’o-Nesheim in the third. They had a total of 13 picks that year, including wide receiver Riley Cooper and safety Kurt Coleman.
Conclusion: A mixed bag here, but it’s hard to sort out the failing of the players from that of the coaching staff. Graham was injured early and had to move to outside linebacker under Kelly. He is still in their plans going into 2016.
Allen and Coleman were likely victims of Reid’s decision to turn offensive line coach Juan Castillo into the defensive coordinator. Coleman was a Pro Bowl player for the NFC champion Carolina Panthers in 2015. Allen spent five unmemorable seasons with the Eagles.
Not a great draft, but that likely falls on Reid and his staff.
2011
First round: Guard Danny Watkins, 23rd overall.
Notable picks: The Eagles had 11 picks in this draft. Their best pick was center Jason Kelce in the fifth round. Their misses included Watkins, second-round safety Jaiquawn Jarrett and third-round cornerback Curtis Marsh.
Conclusion: A disastrous draft. Roseman has publicly taken responsibility for his part in it, but Watkins seemed from the very start to be a Reid pick.
The Eagles needed a guard and reached for one in the first round. Roseman has said he learned from that mistake and would stick to his draft board in future years.
The 2011 draft, like the 2010 version, also was undermined by the dysfunction that marked the end of the Reid era. Jim Washburn’s “Wide 9” defensive line scheme, Howard Mudd’s offensive line approach, the instability at defensive coordinator – it was just a bad combination of ill-fitting pieces.
2012
First round: Defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, 12th overall.
Notable picks: Four of the Eagles’ first six picks are still with the team: Cox, linebacker Mychal Kendricks, defensive end Vinny Curry and offensive lineman Dennis Kelly. The other two – third-round pick Nick Foles and fourth-round pick Brandon Boykin – were traded away. So was seventh-round pick Bryce Brown.
Conclusion: This draft marked Roseman’s high-water mark. He asserted himself and stuck with his strategy of selecting players based on evaluations, not need. It also featured a classic Roseman move: The Eagles moved up three spots to select Cox, giving up the 15th pick in the first round and two third-day draft choices.
This draft could have been even better if Seattle hadn’t selected quarterback Russell Wilson ahead of the Eagles in the third round. The Eagles liked Wilson, but settled for Foles instead. Foles was a good pick. Wilson likely would have been a franchise-changer.
Overall, this was a very good draft that contributed players who are still a part of the Eagles’ core.
2013
First round: Offensive tackle Lane Johnson, fourth overall pick.
Notable picks: The Eagles stuck with their best-player-available approach, taking tight end Zach Ertz in the second round. Defensive tackle Bennie Logan came in the third round. The Eagles traded up to the top of the fourth round to select quarterback Matt Barkley.
Conclusion: Johnson, Ertz and Logan were strong picks at the top of the draft. The Eagles didn’t do as well in the later rounds.
Significantly, the 2013 draft was the last that was clearly directed by Roseman. By 2014, Kelly was clearly more involved and assertive.
Given that, this draft is encouraging as far as what to expect from Roseman in 2016 and beyond.
2014
First round: Edge rusher Marcus Smith, 26th overall.
Notable picks: Wide receivers Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff came in the second and third rounds. Defensive tackle Beau Allen was a good grab in the seventh round.
Conclusion: Roseman took responsibility for the selection of Smith, a pick that has looked pretty bad so far. But it might simply be a case of Roseman taking the bullet, as he was the GM and had final say on personnel decisions.
The pick marked a departure from the approach that produced solid drafts in 2012 and 2013. The Eagles were back to the 2011 approach. They needed a guard then, so they took Watkins. They needed someone who could rush the passer in 2014, so they took Smith.
Otherwise, Kelly’s fingerprints are all over this draft. The Eagles took Oregon players Huff and Hart, both earlier than they should have been selected.
Matthews has proven to be the best pick in this draft class. He has caught 152 passes for 1,869 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons. Pederson has said he thinks Matthews can play outside as well as in the slot, so his role could expand in the offense.
2015
First-round pick: Wide receiver Nelson Agholor, 20th overall.
Notable picks: Second-round pick Eric Rowe wound up starting the last six games of the season at cornerback. Third rounder Jordan Hicks was supposed to be a backup, but wound up making a major impact before going on injured reserve.
Conclusion: It’s tough to reach conclusions so soon after a draft. If Agholor blossoms in Pederson’s offense and Rowe and Hicks turn out to be legitimate starters, then Kelly will get full credit for a very good draft.
A bonus could come with JaCorey Shepherd, a cornerback taken in the sixth round. Shepherd tore his ACL during training camp, but was looking impressive before that. If he can earn a roster spot this year, the Eagles will look back at the 2015 draft as very productive.