PHILADELPHIA – Howie Roseman talked about covering his bases at as many positions as possible heading into next week’s NFL draft, so they don’t need to reach for a player because they need to cover that base.
HBAgency
HBAgency
It’s not a new philosophy for the Eagles’ general manager, but it’s interesting that one of the bases that remains untouched through the free agency period is defensive tackle and safety. Depth help has arrived at offensive line, tight end, running back, receiver, cornerback, and linebacker.
HBAgency
HBAgency
Safety hasn’t been on the Eagles’ first-round radar in their history. They’ve never drafted one on opening night.
Defensive tackle is another story. They took Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in back-to-back first rounds in 2022 and 2023 and selected Milton Williams in the third round in 2021. They took nine players in last year’s draft, but none were defensive tackles.
So, it stands to reason they will find one in this year’s draft. Maybe in the first round. Maybe two with the eight picks Roseman has.
Whenever and however many, it sounds like the GM is ready to replenish a cupboard that lost Williams in free agency.
“You got to continue to refresh those positions and continue to build depths along both your lines,” Roseman during his annual pre-draft news conference on Tuesday.
“So, I think for us, we feel like having good players at those positions and obviously we have a bunch returning on our roster that we’re excited about, but those are huge spots for us to continue to grow and the best place to find them is in the draft. Those markets are expensive when you get into free agency.”
Roseman talked about understands the value of pressuring a quarterback from the middle of the line.
“I’ve been here long enough to have been around a bunch of first round picks in Philadelphia, defensive tackles, and obviously interior pass rush is a huge deal in the National Football League,” he said. “
“Getting quick pressure on quarterbacks is a huge deal, and I think you’ve seen our resources shift that way a little bit here in the last few years because that’s the quickest way to really get pressure and you want both.”