The Eagles' aggressive move for Golden Tate won't go down in the pantheon of epic bad trades. It may even turn out exactly as intended and help propel the team into the playoffs.
But while proponents are lauding the Eagles' win-now approach, the addition of another bonafide weapon to the offense and vice president of football operations Howie Roseman's foresight on compensatory draft picks, there's plenty to dislike about the Tate swap.
Cost
The 2019 third-round pick the Eagles sent to the Lions for Tate is steep, even if - and I do mean if - a compensatory pick comes back.
Tate is 30, in the final year of his contract and averaging 10.8 yards per catch with 18 touchdowns over the last four seasons. And while there's a lot of talk about the Eagles recouping a compensatory pick if/when he departs, that isn't necessarily the case. The formula for comp picks also accounts for the Eagles signing free agents, as they often do, which could effectively cancel Tate's departure. Even if a pick comes back (in 2020), it likely won't be a third or a fourth, as that's based on the money being paid to an aging, No. 2 receiver.
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At best, the Eagles swapped a high mid-round pick for a late-round selection. They may get nothing at all.
Let's not forget the estimated $3.7 million the Eagles are paying Tate. It doesn't sound like a ton, but it's $3.7 million less the Eagles carry over into 2019.
Redundancy
It's unclear how Tate fits in the Eagles' offense. The nine-year veteran carved out a niche as a gritty possession receiver who works the short and intermediate areas of the field - which sounds an awful lot like Nelson Agholor's role.
With five consecutive seasons of at least 700 yards receiving to Agholor eclipsing the mark once, Tate is unquestionably the superior player. But the Eagles are relying on Agholor to continue producing, and, so far, he hasn't demonstrated much consistency.
Can Tate and Agholor coexist? They must, but that doesn't mean great results for both.
Larger issues
Obviously, Tate's arrival does nothing for the state of the running back position. Same for the offensive line, defensive line and secondary.
The Eagles have a number of major injuries. Lane Johnson will miss a bunch of time. Sidney Jones and Darren Sproles have been out for a while. Tim Jernigan is a mystery. Jay Ajayi and Rodney McLeod aren't coming back. There are many concerns a wide receiver solves.
Forces out of his control aside, Tate also does little to upgrade the offense in one of the areas it's struggled most - the red zone. He has just 21 career touchdowns from inside 20 yards, and only three since 2016.
The Eagles rank 17th in red-zone efficiency after finishing second in 2017.
Record
There remains a great deal of optimism for the Eagles in 2018. Despite being a game-and-a-half back of Washington and tied with the Cowboys, the NFC East is wide open, with two games each against both squads. Wild-card spots are up for grabs, too.
The Eagles also have a 4-4 record right now, with aging players and impending free agents or potential cap casualties at just about every position on the roster. You can question the wisdom of any move that diminishes the ability to rebuild in 2019 when the playoffs in 2018 are far from a given.
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