The Eagles brilliant strategy to combat the loss of key players
The fact that the Philadelphia Eagles have one of the top rosters in the NFL is not lost on anyone. They sailed through the regular season, putting up strong performances on the backs of both veterans and youngsters alike.
Saquon Barkley was the talk of the town on offense, but the defense was a collective effort led by Jalen Carter at the front to Zack Baun in the middle and rookie sensations Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the secondary. That doesn’t mean that others didn’t perform to high levels as many players chipped in contributing to a very successful season that culminated with them lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
However, the flip side to this is that Super Bowl-winning teams generally have several talented players on their rosters or have breakthrough seasons worthy of attention from other teams in the league. Having said that, the Eagles are facing a similar situation this offseason as they have lost key pieces of their 2024 roster including, but not limited to:
The Eagles, however, do not seem to be too concerned because they seem to have planned this well. General manager Howie Roseman is one of the best in the business and what should work in their favor are the multiple compensatory draft picks they are set to receive over the next couple of years.
NFL insider, Adam Schefter, on his ‘Adam Schefter Podcast’ discussed the very same with co-host of the ‘Pat McAfee show,’ Tai Schmidt. Schefter discussed how the Eagles have been preparing for other teams to poach their talent.
“Listen, when you win the Super Bowl, there’s a price for winning the Super Bowl, and that’s the fact that other teams want your players and we’ve seen it already. The Eagles lost Milton Williams to the New England Patriots, they lost Josh Sweat to the Arizona Cardinals. They lost Oren Burks, they lost Chauncey Gardner Johnson, who they traded to the Houston Texans in a move that surprised a lot of Eagles fans. They’ve moved on from a lot of players…”
The Eagles have had to make these tough decisions because they have too many star players on the roster whom they are already paying or will be paying a lot of money. Philadelphia is paying loads of money to quarterback Jalen Hurts, running back Saquon Barkley, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, then most of their offensive line as well as re-signing linebacker Zack Baun to a mammoth deal. With so many players worthy of top contracts, somewhere, something has to give.
Also Read: The Eagles Have Placed TE Dallas Goedert on the Trade Block!
Realising the bigger picture at hand, Howie Roseman and the Eagles had to cut or trade some of their important players to stay cap compliant and safeguard the future. According to Schefter, the master plan is to rely on youth and all the draft capital they have accrued with the additional compensatory picks coming their way for the next couple of years. As a matter of fact, Philly will have a net total of 20 draft picks over the next two seasons. Schefter went on to detail the same.
“When they lost Milton Williams and Josh Sweat and the cornerback Isaiah Rogers to the Minnesota Vikings, they wound up getting three compensatory draft picks that day. And once those are awarded, the Philadelphia Eagles are scheduled to have 20 draft picks in the next two years, including 11 in the first four rounds of the next two years and 17 in the first five rounds of the next two years.
You know what those picks do, those picks give you a chance to bring in good young players on rookie contracts that allow you to pay the veteran Superstars. So, they’re planning on these young players stepping in and who has had a better drafting record than the Philadelphia Eagles?”
Judging by the way the Eagles operate through the draft, this theory should lead to plenty of success in the upcoming seasons, and Eagles fans can remain calm even as they see multiple high-profile players exit their beloved franchise.
Read More: The Philadelphia Eagles’ Defense Is Going To Look Very Different Next Season!
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