Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is a hard man to understand because he is more like Russell Crowe in the movie "A Beautiful Mind," since he is a genius who works in his own way.
Eagles fans have seen Roseman work in mysterious ways, especially through the draft, and they saw that during the 2026 NFL Draft, with eight selections and three trades made. After the draft, Roseman spoke about his approach to selecting a player, noting an interesting way of weighing scheme fit against talent alone.
"I can like a player, but if we have a conversation with the coaches and they don't have a vision for the player, it's not going to work out very well," Roseman said via The Athletic's Zach Berman. "So everything we do is alignment and making sure we make good decisions that make sense to get the best out of the player. Because I'm not going to look good, Nick's not going to look good if there's no alignment."
Howie Roseman has mastered when to pick players depending on scheme vs. talent
No one ever questions what Roseman does with his picks, as he knows exactly who to select and why they fit the Eagles. A lot of times he is selecting players just because they are the best available and the team will figure out how to fit them into the scheme.
This year's draft class is a great example of the moves he made and sometimes the moves he didn't make. For example, the Eagles selected USC wide receiver Makai Lemon with the 20th overall pick, and while it's at a position the team could have waited on, Roseman had him on his big board and knew he could easily replace A.J. Brown despite playing more in the slot.
Another example is that the Eagles were urged to take an edge rusher in the first three rounds of the draft, but Roseman didn't see any of them as better than what they eventually got. It's safe to say that while this year's edge rusher class was good, trading for Jonathan Greenard felt like a safer and overall better move for Philly.
Most general managers are always looking for the scheme fit, so their draft boards will differ from others'. With Roseman, it's a factor, but not the full reason, and he will take a player no matter what if they are good.
Read more: Eagles send unmistakable message to these 4 players with NFL Draft choices
Roseman is a genius when it comes to working the salary cap and evaluating young talent, so Eagles fans have learned to let the man cook, and he will provide a perfect dish on the field.
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