LAS VEGAS – The decision in the 2021 NFL Draft, Howie Roseman insists, was an easy one: Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith was still on the board at No. 10 and as the Eagles considered all of their pre-Day 1 scenarios, an immediate call to action was in place to deal with Dallas and move up two spots to take the Heisman Trophy-winning player.
“Certain guys are just slam dunks,” Roseman said the other day. “Certain guys it’s like, I joke, I’ve got four kids and my son was 7 last year and he could watch DeVonta Smith and see that he was pretty good, right? Those aren’t hard. We get paid for the hard ones and I think for us that guy, the kind of culture that he brings, the kind of player he is, it’s special. We’re looking for special and that’s a hard thing to find, but when you see it, you know it.
“They’re not all throughout the draft but when you find it and you got it, it changes really the composition of your team. When we’re making picks, we’re looking for special. We’re looking for guys that can be special players, can be special people, and just fit the definition of what it means to be an Eagle.”
So, with that as a backdrop as the 2022 NFL Draft begins tonight and the Eagles operate with picks 15 and 18 in Round 1, who is special? Is there going to be one that the Eagles project will be there at 15 and Roseman and the team will sit, patiently, as the first 14 picks come off the board and Philadelphia will take the highest player on its draft board next? Is there a player the Eagles rated in the upper, upper echelon of the opening round who is drifting on the board and still there at eight, at 10, someone whom the Eagles could consider using some of their assets on to move up and nab?
Nobody knows what’s going to happen tonight as the names are announced among the first three, five, seven, nine picks. Heck, there is speculation still about who Jacksonville will take No. 1 overall, so if that’s not truly a known decision already in the bag, how can we…