Howie Roseman continues to show NFL GMs how it’s done with a no-cost trade for a former All-Pro

The Eagles needed help on the back end of their defense, and they found it, pretty much for free.

Updated Oct. 23, 2023, 7:09 p.m. ET

Published Oct. 23, 2023, 5:29 p.m. ET

Howie Roseman being Howie Roseman.

That’s that the executive summary of the nifty little deal the Eagles pulled off on Monday, acquiring former All-Pro safety Kevin Byard from the Titans in exchange for a fifth- and sixth-round draft pick, and Terrell Edmunds. It’s the kind of move that Roseman consistently gives himself the freedom to make thanks to his best-in-class understanding of draft pick value.

Byard may not have the impact of Darius Slay, A.J. Brown and D’Andre Swift, whom Roseman acquired for the combined cost of five draft picks (a first, two thirds, a fourth, and a fifth) plus a pick swap. The 30-year-old free-agent-to-be may not even be here in 2024. But he doesn’t need to be. The picks Roseman traded for him probably wouldn’t have been here either.

The Eagles were looking at a logjam of 10 picks in the 2024 draft, including four compensation picks that they are projected to receive after losing a slew of big-ticket free agents last offseason. The fifth-round pick that Roseman sent to Tennessee in exchange for Byard was one of five that the Eagles were projected to have at their disposal. That includes a fifth-rounder they received in exchange for Jalen Raegor, plus another from the Buccaneers that they received in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick.

Long story short, the Eagles weren’t going to enter the 2024 season with nearly a fifth of their roster composed of rookie draft picks. Keep in mind, they were coming off a three-year stretch in which they drafted 20 players, including 10 in the first three rounds.

Roseman is the ultimate value investor when it comes to the offseason labor markets. It’s why they’ve been able to reload their young talent base over the last three years despite making the aforementioned trades for three impact veterans. And it’s why they had the freedom to trade a couple of late-round picks for a 30-year-old veteran whose Eagles career may only last for 15 weeks.

Byard makes the Eagles better in the here and now, and that’s all that really matters. How much better remains to be seen. According to Pro Football Focus, Byard’s play has seen a significant dropoff since 2021, when he graded out as one of the top safeties in the league. PFF currently has Byard graded as the 36th-best safety in the league. Not great, but significantly better than Terrell Edmunds, who ranked 61st and will be headed to Tennessee in the deal.

None of that factors in the upside that exists in Byard, who spent seven-and-a-half years as the heart and soul of a perennially tough Titans defense. The Eagles needed help on the back end, and they found it, pretty much for free.