Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman speaks on draft-day disagreement

As you might imagine, whenever you’re discussing anything related to the Philadelphia Eagles, every member of the fan base and media has their ideas on what happened. That’s why anytime there’s something that we can take from someone who was actually involved in the incident, you want to listen to what’s being said.

Just in case you missed the news, shortly after Philly closed the book on three grueling days of the selection meeting, footage dropped of what appeared to be a disagreement between general manager Howie Roseman and Eagles Senior Football Advisor Tim Donahoe. Word has it that they were on two different sides after Philadelphia’s third-round selection of Milton Williams.

Take a look if you missed that one.

Here’s what Philadelphia Eagles fans were told after that one.

Roseman, Nick Sirianni, and Andy Weidl spoke with the media on Friday. Here are the words of Mr. Roseman:

"When we were at pick 70, there were a couple guys we liked on the board, and moved back a little bit to see how it would go. Couple guys we liked went as well. You know, these guys spend all year scouting these guys and you get favorites, you get guys that you feel really strongly about. We all do. You know, that’s the fun part about being in the draft room is the emotions of it. At the end of the day, Milton Williams is an exciting player for our football team. We’re excited to have him. You know, I don’t want to take away from his day, but we’re all excited about that pick."

Okay Philadelphia Eagles fans, let’s fast forward some.

Sure, that makes sense. Every pick in every draft isn’t going to be agreed upon by everyone in the war room. Roseman said, during an appearance on 94 WIP-FM as a Tuesday morning guest on the Morning Show with Angelo Cataldi, that Donahoe wanted NC State defensive tackle Alim McNeill when Philly traded back for Milton Williams.

We can also confirm, thanks to a report by The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Jeff McLane, that two independent sources that Donahoe wasn’t the only person that wanted McNeill. McLane also states that Donahoe’s theory was another sixth-round selection was unnecessary. Here’s more from Roseman.

"Let me tell you the story about what happened there… We have two guys standing out on our board, two defensive guys. Two defensive linemen and they’re different. Different flavors… Carolina calls and they’re picking two picks behind us, and Scott Fitterer says ‘Howie, you want to drop down two picks for our top of the 6th round pick?’ I said, ‘you gotta tell me offense or defense’ and he told me they were taking an offensive player… We know we’re gonna get one of these two (defensive players). And when we talk to our coaches about their fit and role they’re excited about these two guys. So one of them goes (McNeill), and then we take Milton Williams."

In terms of the alleged disagreement between Roseman and Donahoe, Roseman puts it this way.

"When you talk about the draft and the passion people have for the draft in our building, discussion and debate and having these conversations, it’s okay! You’d rather have that passion. Tom’s been here for a long time. We’ve been together 10 years, extremely close relationship. It’s okay to have tough conversations and Tom and I have had a lot of them in 10 years. That’s why you want people around you who aren’t just going to tell you that everything is okay. They’re going to give you their perspective."

All of that is good stuff, and if you’re an Eagles fan, you have to love it. You can make the argument that, from a fan’s perspective, it feels like this team’s leadership seemingly hasn’t cared that much about anything in a couple of years.

Just in case you’re wondering, that additional ‘unnecessary’ sixth-rounder turned wound up leading to the selection of Tarron Jackson. It may be too early to tell, but he feels like someone that could wind up being a steal for this Philadelphia Eagles team. Don’t be surprised if he is.