Roseman's role shifts for Eagles' draft

When the Eagles huddle in their "war room" for next week's NFL draft, there will be two chairs at the center of a conference room on the second floor of the NovaCare Complex.

One will be large, and the other will belong to Howie Roseman, the Eagles' newly minted general manager.

Roseman will be close to Andy Reid because it was the general manager who supervised the compiling of the Eagles' draft board - their field guide through three days and hundreds of prospects - and for practical reasons. When a decision has to be made on the fly, Reid will need his right-hand man right by his side.

"You go in with a pretty clear picture of what you want to do unless there are some surprises," Eagles president Joe Banner said. "But if there were to be some change, the primary conversation would be between Howie and Andy, discussing the pros and cons of a player or of making a move."

It wasn't always that way. Nine years ago, Roseman was tucked away in a corner manning the phone line between Philadelphia and New York, where team video coordinator Mike Dougherty would relay the Eagles' draft picks. It was better than being a fly on the wall.

"A lot of listening in those early years - listening to the discussion, listening to the thought process, taking notes," Roseman said yesterday. "I'm sitting there with my computer and a pad, and I thought it was invaluable."

Roseman's meteoric rise from an entry-level position helping out with the salary cap to Eagles general manager can be exemplified by the change in his war-room responsibilities.

"It's an evolution from handling some of the most basic chores related to the draft to making the most important decisions in the draft," Banner said. "It's been a 10-year evolution that's been step-by-step."

Which brings Roseman and the Eagles to this year's draft, perhaps the franchise's most important since 1999, when Reid made Donovan McNabb his first pick as coach. McNabb is gone, but he will have an impact on the Eagles' draft class. The team's second overall pick - a second-round selection, and the 37th overall - came in the trade that sent him to Washington.

Overall, the Eagles have 11 draft picks. Only the Patriots have more, with 12. It might not seem likely that the Eagles would use all 11, especially considering the fact that they have engineered 23 trades during the last seven drafts. But with a team that has shed aging players and gotten significantly younger this off-season - the average age on the roster is 25.7 - there are spots to be filled.

"We have 57 guys on our roster right now, and we've got to get to 80 by the time we have our first minicamp," Roseman said. "So we have a lot of spots, and we want to provide a lot of competition for those guys."

The Eagles own five of the first 87 picks - the 24th pick in the first round and two selections in both the second and third rounds. They have the ammunition to move up, but they may be content to stay put in the early rounds of a draft that is being called the deepest in years.

This draft could define Roseman's tenure, for better or worse. He was promoted to GM in January after Tom Heckert left for Cleveland.

The 34-year-old Roseman has been diligent in crafting the draft board, starting as far back as last June. There could be as many as 1,000 college players on the board at one point. But as the draft nears, it is narrowed down to a couple hundred prospects.

"Howie is in the main seat, as far as leading the preparation of the board for the draft," Banner said.

Eagles to add another QB. Roseman said the Eagles will add another quarterback to their roster before minicamp starts April 30.

That could be two-time ex-Eagles quarterback Jeff Garcia, but a team source said it was unlikely the 40-year old would be brought back.

"Jeff's agents have some players on our team and obviously in those conversations his name has come up," Roseman said. "But we also think that there are some good opportunities to get a third quarterback, whether it's a young guy or other guys that are available."

The Eagles have said that there are content having Michael Vick back up starter Kevin Kolb. There is still the perception, however, that they continue to dangle Vick on the market.

"We anticipate Michael Vick being here," Roseman said.

Jean-Gilles signs tender. Max Jean-Gilles and the Eagles agreed to a one-year contract after the guard signed his tender today.

Punter Sav Rocca is the only remaining restricted free agent to have not inked his tender. According to the team, he is in his native Australia and will sign when he returns to Philadelphia.