Eagles may be showing blatant interest in Christian Gonzalez with recent proposal
No one holds their cards closer to the vest than Philadelphia Eagles vice president/general manager Howie Roseman… most of the time. Let’s be honest. None of us saw that draft-night trade for A.J. Brown coming, but every once in a while, Howie, perhaps the owner of pro football’s best poker face, will show his hand, and he may have done so recently. Think about something for a second.
Two weeks ago, The Athletic‘s Kalyn Kahler reported that a source briefed on the matter informed her the Eagles submitted a proposal to add the No. 0 for player jerseys. We all saw that. It was a cool story. Most didn’t give it much thought at the time.
Fast forward to the present, and the same news lands on Tom Pelissero’s desk at the NFL Network. Shortly thereafter, here I am, Inside The Iggles editor Geoffrey A. Knox, chatting it up with JAKIB Sports/94 WIP-FM mainstay Jody Mac, and he asked me a question that sparked a thought I hadn’t drummed up yet.
What if the Eagles are showing their hand? Why ask for the Number 0 jersey if not to make a move to draft former Colorado/Oregon standout Christian Gonzalez?
Are you interested? We sure as heck are.
Are the Eagles showing blatant interest in Christian Gonzalez? How realistic is it that he’d fall to Philly at the tenth-overall selection?
We’ve been asking around since last year’s college football season began. Most scouts and NFL Draft pundits see Christian Gonzalez as the top cornerback prospect in the 2023 class. We’d agree with that. Devon Witherspoon has become a favorite among Birds fans. We’d be willing to wager that he’s a close second.
The top ten draft choices in the coming selection meeting are held by the following ten teams in order: Carolina Panthers (1), Houston Texans (2), Arizona Cardinals (3), Indianapolis Colts (4), Seattle Seahawks (5), Detroit Lions (6), Las Vegas Raiders (7), Atlanta Falcons (7), Chicago Bears (9), and Philadelphia Eagles. You can make the argument that cornerback is one of the top three needs for at least five teams that pick ahead of Philly (Arizona, Indy, Houston, Detroit, and Vegas).
If Gonzalez or Witherspoon wound up in an Eagles jersey, you wouldn’t hear very many complaints among Eagles Nation. The questions are about whether or not it’s possible. Keep in mind the fact that the Eagles own a ton of picks in 2024’s draft. That includes compensatory compensation.
Don’t be shocked if Philly uses some future draft compensation to move around the draft board if necessary. In truth, the NFL still has to approve Philly’s proposal, but if they do, landing Gonzalez at ten would be a franchise-altering win.
Just in case you’re keeping score, the Number 0 has not been used since 1973, when pro football standardized jersey numbers.
