Eagles, Steelers trade proposal where both teams win in NFL Draft

There may not be an NFL general manager and an organization that plays its cards closer to the vest than Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles. There may not be a general manager/organization combo that’s easier to read more often than Kevin Colbert and the Pittsburgh Steelers. These proud franchises and their respective GMs haven’t been mentioned much in conjunction with one another that often, but maybe they should be.

Despite his flaws, no one can claim that Howie Roseman isn’t one of the hardest-working front office executives in all of the NFL. He may not be the closer that he once was, but he’s always on the phone. We also know that he often views draft choices as bargaining chips.

So, here’s where the rubber meets the road. We won’t waste a ton of time here.

Here’s a trade proposal that would make both the Eagles and Steelers happy, sort of.

We think we’ve figured this out. There are two guys named Howie Roseman, and they look exactly alike. There’s the guy that worked the Indianapolis Colts when he managed to steal a first-rounder for Carson Wentz, and there’s the guy that sometimes does things that lead us to believe that he could have taken a day off and come up with a better idea upon his return.

That’s it! That has to be it! There are two guys named Howie Roseman. We like the guy that landed Haason Reddick. The guy that added Zach Pascal? We don’t like him as much, so just in case the latter guy winds up running things in the Eagles draft war room, here’s a little help for draft night. Heaven knows that he can use some from time to time.

Here’s our plan. We all know that the Eagles are married to Jalen Hurts, but we also know much of the national media has its doubts about that. We all know Pittsburgh could be interested in moving up if they found a partner, so what if Philly led the cross-state Steelers to believe that their interest in Willis is real? Again, no one has a better poker face than Howie.

Here’s what a deal could look like.

Here’s what we’re thinking. The Eagles have three first-round draft choices and three selections in Round 5, but they only have three picks between rounds two and four (and they weren’t awarded any compensatory picks). Pittsburgh, as of now, has seven picks in total. They don’t have a selection in Round 5 at the time of this story being written and published.

All the Eagles have to do is convince the Steelers that their interest in Malik Willis is heavier than what it is, but at the same time, you also want to lead the black and gold to believe that they’re equally as interested in drafting Willis as they are in moving back and acquiring another mid-round selection. Both teams win here if the Birds get Kevin Colbert to bite.

Neither team loses its first-rounder. They simply swap places, and they still get something they want. Philly gets an additional selection in Round 4, and despite the fact that Pittsburgh loses its fourth-rounder. They land two choices in Round 5, giving them eight draft choices as opposed to the seven they began with.

Okay, so maybe the Eagles are the bigger winners here. This is absolutely a long shot, but this could work, right? We’re a long way from the end of April, and we’ve got a lot of time on our hands. Sheesh. Who would have thought? Maybe the next time that Howie takes that day off, we can take one with him. Does anyone have his number?