Using data to evaluate the Eagles’ draft trades and how things look for them in 2022
The balance of Howie Roseman’s trades cost the team some draft capital this year, but they are in good position for 2022. Plus, losing capital could be worth it for DeVonta Smith.
An addendum to our two-part NFL draft data series | Part 1 | Part 2
Now that the NFL draft is complete, we can look at what our data analysis tells us about the deals the Eagles made Thursday through Saturday.
Howie Roseman pulled off three trades during the draft:
The Eagles traded the 12th and 84th picks to the Cowboys to get the 10th pick back on Thursday.
Roseman traded back by sending the Panthers the 70th pick and got the 73rd and 191st picks in return on Friday night.
On Saturday, the Eagles sent the 225th and 240th picks to Washington for its fifth-round pick next year.
The balance of those trades cost the Eagles some draft capital, a move that could be justified if wide receiver DeVonta Smith, whom the Eagles took with the 10th pick, lives up to the hype he produced en route to winning the Heisman Trophy at Alabama.
When the draft began, the Eagles were tied with the Vikings for most picks with 11, and had the eighth-most draft capital. When the dust settled at the end of the draft Saturday, the Eagles were tied with seven other teams for the seventh-most picks (nine), and had the 11th-most draft capital.
As we noted in Part 1 of our analysis, one reason the Eagles’ draft-pick performance had been disappointing the last five years was their number of picks. They made 26 selections from 2016 to 2020, tied for 21st in the 32-team league. They did pick more players this year than they had, on average, since Roseman returned to the top football operations post in 2016, but they took some steps back in this year’s draft from where they were on Thursday morning.
The flip side, though, is that they are in good position for the 2022 draft.
The Eagles, for now, have 10 selections in 2022 — tied with the Giants for second most. They also have the second-most draft capital next year. (At the moment, we can estimate draft capital only by taking the median value for the round each pick is in. Once we know the complete draft order, we’ll have a better picture of each team’s draft capital.)