A decades-old draft philosophy could betray the Eagles in 2024

Those who don't learn from the past are destined to repeat it. How many times have you heard that said? Now, we're going to assume when it happened the first time, football wasn't the reason for the conversation. Still, if you're like the rest of us and you spend large amounts of your time thinking about the Philadelphia Eagles, you have seen demonstrations of the concept constantly.

Howie Roseman has come a long way since being questioned about taking Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson during Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft and taking Jalen Hurts one round later when Philly already had Carson Wentz on the roster.

Sure, he misses with a signing here or there. Yes, he, at times, cleans up messes he made, but is there a better exec in the game? There aren't many if there are, right?

The recent evolution of Howie Roseman has been fun to watch.

Who would have thought? The guy Chip Kelly buried in the equipment room wound up being one of the best things to ever happen to the Eagles organization. Howie has become sort of a salary cap genius.

No one works the phones like Howie. No one manipulates money like Howie, and here recently, it seems he's evolved. It's been fun to watch the transition.

"Howie and the Eagles will never spend big-time money on a running back". Remember when we said that? Saquon Barkley's acquisition has changed things, but rather than quench any hunger, it's probably made us more greedy. We like Howie the risk-taker, so we feel comfortable in making a request we're almost certain Phiilly's GM won't listen to.

We want the Eagles to select an elite linebacker or cornerback in Round 1.

Yes, we're here again. Many of you subscribe to Inside The Iggles' email updates. Many of you show up daily and have this page bookmarked in your browser. For that, we are truly grateful, but a disclaimer cometh. If any of that applies to you, you're about to read something we have said 200 times or so.

Philly's business model typically dictates that an offensive or defensive lineman is the desired choice in Round 1 of any NFL Draft. That isn't just Howie's thing. He learned that while a student of the Andy Reid school of selection. There were exceptions (Jeremy Maclin, Lito Sheppard), but Big Red normally took a trench warrior on night one of the selection meeting.

The Eagles are smarter about these things than we are. Howie Roseman is ten times the GM that we would ever be if we were asked to do his job, but moves that are uncharacteristic of his era in Philly (giving a tailback an average salary of $12.5 million for instance) have awakened our desire for the curveball.

Howie... We beg of you. Hear our plea... Potentially elite offensive linemen can be found in the latter rounds of the coming draft. That may not be the case with defensive backs and linebackers.

We'd love to see Philly end a near-45-year trend of ignoring linebackers in Round 1, but if no one is available that makes sense as the 22nd-overall selection, we'd settle for an elite corner and the selection of a linebacker or an edge rusher in Round 2. Darius Slay and James Bradberry are aging, and even though Kelee Ringo appears to have some ability, he'll need a partner to patrol Philly's secondary when their time comes.

We realize that some of you will disagree. We also know that walking into a conversation about draft strategy, especially in Philly, is like crossing a creek filled with rocks. You're often confident that taking the next step will lead to sure footing, but there's always the chance that you'll sink.

Perhaps you've met a few Eagles fans? Some are cool. Some can't disagree with you without name-calling or being hostile... Shame on them, but we have come to stir the pot here anyway.

WE WANT AN ELITE LINEBACKER AND CORNERBACK! Now, is the time to add them. Come on Howie! Gambling on Saquon and Devin White has shown us parts of your personality and imagination that we didn't know existed, but all that did was fuel our desire for more.

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