Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Mailbag: Should Eagles Trade Back for Future Picks?

Eagles mailbag: Should Eagles trade back for future picks? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

We’re already a couple weeks into the 2022 league year and the NFL Draft is just over a month away.

Before you know it, the Eagles will be holding OTAs and getting ready for the season.

What offseason?

I’ll be in Palm Beach, Florida, this coming week, so make sure to check for my coverage from down there. Until then, let’s get to some mailbag question:

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I got a few versions of this same question and it’s a really valid one. Based on Howie Roseman’s history in the draft, it’s pretty hard to believe that he’ll sit there at 15, 16 and 19 and just take three players. Not his style.

First, let’s not completely rule out the possibility of trading up. If the Eagles want to sneak up a few spots to land a top-10 player they see slipping, that’s always a possibility. But I’m a big fan of the idea of trading back to pick up an additional 2023 first-round pick. I imagine Roseman really likes the flexibility of having multiple first-rounds picks this year and if he gets the chance to do it again next year, it’ll be very tempting.

That flexibility is a big deal because it gives him the ammo to do pretty much anything in the first round. It keeps all options open. If the Eagles don’t love any of the quarterbacks in this class (which is considered to be a weaker one) and they end up running it back with Jalen Hurts in 2022, it’s understandable. But if Hurts doesn’t prove himself as a franchise QB this season, then having an extra first-round pick would give the Eagles options. They can see if there are more veteran QBs on the move next year (that seems to be all the rage in the league now) or they would have the ability to trade up in the draft if they fall in love with a QB next year.

Keep in mind that the Eagles have the 19th pick, which is right in front of the Steelers at 20. The Steelers need a QB so perhaps there’s a team that would want to jump in front of them. That would be an ideal situation for the Eagles and they could capitalize.

Sure, it’ll help. I get why so many fans are down on this deal. Pascal was not a big-name signing ... but he’s a functional player. Any additional target will help the quarterback. While it’ll help Hurts, the addition of Pascal could actually help the Eagles’ younger receivers like DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins. Sure, Smith is already a better player than Pascal but Pascal has four years in the league and he has more experience with Nick Sirianni. The most veteran player in the receiver room last year was Greg Ward and even Smith admitted this offseason that a veteran would be helpful for him.

Yeah, I’d be very interested in DeVante Parker. In fact, I wrote about that possibility after the big Tyreek Hill trade.

The Dolphins are pretty deep at receiver now with Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Cedric Wilson. They also have TE Mike Gesicki. So Parker has been pushed down the depth chart and moving on from him would save the Dolphins around $3 million in cap space. I wouldn’t give up a Day 2 pick for him, but if the Eagles can acquire Parker for a Day 3 pick (fifth or sixth round), I’d do that in a heartbeat.

Parker is 29 now and he’s dealt with injuries and has been inconsistent. But he’s a big-bodied target who would be a great complement for Smith. Hey, it might not work, but if the Eagles could get him for a low pick, his salary isn’t high, so it would be worth the gamble.

The Eagles signed Alshon to a one-year, $9 million deal back in 2017. That initial contract was a pretty good one for the Eagles. There aren’t a ton of players who would fit that mold. One that might work is Jarvis Landry. Landry is 29 now and coming off a season where he missed five games because of injury. Before that, he’s been incredibly durable in his career. Landry is still on the open market and earlier this week reportedly fired his agent. So if options are limited, maybe he’d be willing to sign a one-year deal and hit the open market again in 2023.

The Eagles are in a good spot with Gardner Minshew because they don’t have to trade him and that’s probably been their message to other NFL teams. Basically, either give them something valuable or they’ll keep Minshew. That’s a great spot to be in because it really gives the Eagles all the leverage.

We’ll see how the rest of the QB landscape shakes out in the NFL, but Matt Ryan’s going to Indy doesn’t help. Indianapolis was reportedly a possible destination for Minshew. This season, Minshew has a base salary of $2.54 million in the final year of his contract. That’s a reasonable price for a solid backup quarterback. So the Eagles will happily keep him unless a team gives them what they want.

Nah, none of that stuff should have any bearing on whether or not the Eagles draft a quarterback. That really has to be independent. The QB position shouldn’t be treated like the others on a roster and the Eagles don’t treat it that way either. If they fall in love with a quarterback and believe that player is a much better option than Hurts going forward, they’ll try to draft him. If not, they won’t.

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