Roseman and Douglas reveal a piece of Eagles’ draft strategy
We normally don’t expect much from an Eagles press conference, but today was different.
As a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, you’ve probably gotten used to walking away and feeling like you haven’t gotten much from any press conference related to the team. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. No one can expect to be made privy to all of the team’s inner workings. Let’s all be honest though. It would be nice to be given something from time to time.
Executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman met with the media on Thursday. He was joined by vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas. The subject, as expected, was the 2017 NFL Draft. Speculation’s been rampant, but we can finally put some things to rest. Roseman and Douglas may have actually painted a picture of what the Eagles can be expected to do on April 27th.
Does “gut feeling” play a role?
Both were asked about trusting the “gut feeling” and how much that plays into the selection process. Both were quick to acknowledge the work they’ve done and how married they were to the evaluation process they’ve created. At first, it didn’t sound like much, but when they kept referencing this “process”, it became more and more interesting. Put it this way. The Eagles are so confident in the preparation that has taken place up to this point that you can rule out the possibility of them doing anything other than sticking to their draft board.
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Trusting the process:
Now we’re not sure if that board will include former Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon. Roseman wouldn’t confirm or deny whether he was on their board or not. What was confirmed by both men was that the Eagles had “seven or eight” possible scenarios for what they would do at pick 14. They plan to take the best player available. They see this as a deep draft for both cornerbacks and running backs (which could mean they’ll wait until later to address both). If you’re expecting them to go off of the grid even slightly, we can assure you that won’t happen.
Both state that they are confident in every person’s contribution to the board. Both state that they have full confidence in it, and there is no need for it to be altered. Roseman lamented that Douglas was brought to Philadelphia for this purpose. The team trusts his ability to evaluate talent. It appears that the work has been done, and now the Eagles brass is so confident in their formula that it doesn’t need to be altered or changed.
To put it simply, they have no doubts about next week, and that’s exactly what Eagles fans have been waiting to hear.