Why the Eagles CANNOT Afford to Miss on the Draft

With the firing of head coach Doug Pederson, the Philadelphia Eagles now turn the page on the most successful era in the history of the franchise.

Credit: Sports Illustrated

Outside of this past season’s atrocious 4-11-1 record, Pederson brought the city its first Super Bowl ever, which is why he will remain an icon in Philly folklore forever, and this proud franchise has only produced three seasons of less than seven wins; thus, the race back to glory has started and the Eagles seem far behind.

Credit: Pro Football Reference

Now, owner Jeffery Lurie, GM Howie Roseman, and new head coach Nick Sirianni shift their focus to rebuilding a team that won the Super Bowl just a few years ago. Clearly, the chips are all on Carson Wentz rebounding this upcoming season, despite reports that he still wants out.

Just a year ago, this team was contending for the top of the NFC East despite suffering a plethora of injuries, but now, Philly is currently looking like the biggest loser in a division of losers, which is why this upcoming draft is incredibly monumentous.

The Eagles currently sit with the No. 6 overall pick, but after that, the margin of error is extremely small for Howie Roseman. After the sixth pick, the Eagles possess only one second round pick, one third round pick, two fifth rounders, a sixth rounder and a seventh rounder.

Furthermore, Howie Roseman has proven over his tenure with Philadelphia that he is ATROCIOUS when it comes to filling roster needs.

Yes, he drafted greats such as Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and more, BUT this is the same GM who passed on D.K. Metcalf for JJ Arcega-Whiteside and THEN passed on Justin Jefferson coming out of LSU (the national champions that year) in favor of the unproven Jalen Raegor from TCU.

Need more evidence? WholeNineSports.com compiled Roseman’s draft history going into the 2019 draft. In 2010, the Eagles had 13 draft picks. How many remain in the NFL? ONE (Brandon Graham). Want to skip to 2013? Well, Lane Johnson looks like he’s at the end of his illustrious career because he’s been fighting through injuries to play on a mediocre line at BEST.

On the other hand, Zach Ertz appears to be on his way out in Philadelphia after multipl injuries and poor performance this season (I still love him for everything he’s done in the city). Other names from this draft class include Matt Barkley (remember when he was supposed to be the next Carson Palmer?), Jordan Poyer (playing for the Bills in the AFC Championship this weekend), Bennie Logan (subpar at best) and more busts.

With that being said, this roster has multiple holes and the Eagles have plenty of weapons to choose at No. 6 (i.e. Micah Parsons, Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, etc.) BUT my biggest fear as an Eagles fan is that the front office will overthink the decision and take a flyer on an unproven player AGAIN.

Howie Roseman, Jeffery Lurie, Nick Siranni, you’re all on the clock and there is more pressure than ever to deliver just a COMPETITIVE team to this city, let alone a contender.

Just make the easy decision...pretty please.