There is reason to believe the Philadelphia Eagles will spice things up Thursday night as Round 1 of the NFL draft hits the homestretch.
For starters, it's what general manager Howie Roseman does.
Since Roseman regained personnel control in December 2015, the Eagles have made 10 trades involving first-round picks -- the most in the NFL. During that nine-year stretch, they moved up in the first round five times while selecting in their original spot on just three occasions.
"Maybe that's an example of being an outsider and looking at the league when I was studying it before I got into the league, and then coming into the league and understanding that there were opportunities to maybe get aggressive," said Roseman -- who got his foot in the door as a salary cap intern for the Eagles in 2000 and has since grown into one of the most successful executives in professional sports -- of his wheeling and dealing during the draft.
"For me, I think that being aggressive has always been part of my DNA, and I feel fortunate that I have people around me who support that in Coach [Nick Sirianni] and [chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie], and it allows us to take chances and to try to be aggressive."
The circumstances are right for that approach to continue.
With eight picks in this draft and a total of 20 over the next two years, Philadelphia has the resources to move around. The Eagles never have 32 players with first-round grades on their board, and that remains true this year, Roseman said. If one of their top prospects falls into their range, it would be completely within character for them to jump up a few spots to land their guy.
They moved up (twice) in 2016 to get quarterback Carson Wentz, in 2019 for offensive tackle Andre Dillard, in 2021 to get wide receiver DeVonta Smith, and in 2022 and 2023 for Georgia defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.
Those resources could also be used to land a veteran player or players. That's more likely than them moving up in the first round this year, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
It gets the mind stirring. Schefter's list of veterans that could be available during the draft include edge rusher Trey Hendrickson and cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Jaire Alexander. The Eagles aren't bare at either spot but could use some help with Josh Sweat and Darius Slay Jr. exiting in free agency and Brandon Graham retiring this offseason.
Another potential candidate to be moved is Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, who has had trade buzz surrounding him for weeks. It creates a scenario where established players could be leaving and joining Philly in the coming days.
The last time Philadelphia held the 32nd pick, in 2018, it struck a deal that altered the NFL landscape. The Eagles sent that pick and a fourth-rounder to the Baltimore Ravens for a second- and fourth-rounder and a 2019 second-round pick. The Ravens went on to select two-time MVP Lamar Jackson. The Eagles, meanwhile, walked away with three contributors in Goedert, defensive back Avonte Maddox and running back Miles Sanders.
Part of the appeal of a first-round pick is that the rookie deals contain fifth-year club options. That could entice a QB-needy team that didn't see appropriate value earlier in the round to climb back in at 32.
"All those deals are based on the circumstances regarding the situation, what you're giving up, what you're getting in return, what your board looks like," Roseman said. "When you're in a situation where you're at your pick and there's a guy that you think is a Pro Bowl-caliber player, an unbelievable person, those guys are hard to pass on.
"If you have a group of players that are in the same range and that you'd be really excited about getting and you can get more value, you can get more currency, then you look at trading back; when your board starts to fall off and you have one guy that you feel really strong about, you look at moving up. Those are really the conversations that we're having at all times in the draft room."
With so many variables, it's hard to say exactly what course of action the Eagles will take Thursday night. But the majority of the options involve movement, and, as the past has shown, Roseman is not one to shy away from the action.