Deep-Rooted, Fearless Approach Has Turned Eagles Into Unfailing Winner
Analysis 5/1/23
All is not lost for the Philadelphia Eagles.
That wasn’t easy to say after they fizzled in Super Bowl LVII, because they followed that by losing their offensive and defensive coordinators. Then it was the departure of key starters, including RB Miles Sanders, DT Javon Hargrave, their two best linebackers and two safeties.
They looked vulnerable then. They don’t look vulnerable now.
That’s because in the past two weeks, the Eagles extended QB Jalen Hurts for another five years, just completed a successful draft and outmaneuvered the rest of the league in acquiring RB D’Andre Swift from the Detroit Lions.
In short, they changed the narrative. Where critics a month ago dissected everything that was wrong with this year’s club, now they point out what’s right — asking what the Eagles are doing differently that seems to be working.
My answer: Not that much.
Before I explain, let me say this: I have all the admiration for Howie Roseman, whom I hired out of law school in 2000 as a front-office intern. Howie had no experience in football whatsoever. He hadn’t played it, coached it or even been a ball boy.Â
I’m a strong supporter of him and the Eagles’ front office and am proud of where Howie is today. Nothing I say here should be construed as criticism. I’d be the first to credit him and his team for their approach. What they’re doing works.Â
But contrary to what some think, it’s not all about talent evaluation. Maybe they’re doing better with it than others, but the difference between the best and worst talent evaluators in the NFL is relatively small. Plus, if you look at the Eagles’ drafts over the last decade — especially in the first round — let’s be honest: They haven’t been good.
Eagles' First-Round Picks Since 2014
Year | Player | Pos | Starts | All-Pro | Pro Bowl |
2022 | Jordan Davis | DT | 5 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | DeVonta Smith | WR | 33 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | Jalen Reagor | WR | 24 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | Andre Dillard | OT | 9 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | Derek Barnett | DE | 45 | 0 | 0 |
2016 | Carson Wentz | QB | 92 | 0 | 1 |
2015 | Nelson Agholor | WR | 95 | 0 | 0 |
2014 | Marcus Smith | LB | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yet, they just went to the Super Bowl. They’re well-positioned for future drafts, and they won it all five years ago. So something must be working, and something is.Â
It’s a system that’s been in place for at least 25 years and one they’ve continued — albeit with subtle changes. They’re not doing anything all that different from the past other than they’re doing it all, and they’re doing it well.
Team-Building Priorities
First and foremost, they have a non-negotiable philosophy about building a team, and it looks like this: Get the starting quarterback right and dominate on both lines of scrimmage. Don’t worry about anything else until you achieve your goals there. Â
We used to say internally that you must have a defensive line good enough to get pressure against the best offensive lines in the league. Conversely, you must have an offensive line good enough to prevent pressure when you’re up against the best defensive lines. Once you have them, your next priorities are wide receivers and cornerbacks.
The key, however, is the Eagles think of all the different resources they can use to serve those goals, which means they’re looking for undervalued markets. For example, they’re incredibly aggressive with undrafted free agents.Â
We used to have a goal of having three starters who were undrafted free agents because you didn’t have to use resources to acquire them — no draft choices, no money. With the extra capital saved, you can spend it on quality free-agent veterans. Â
Then there are the high-compensatory draft picks. Historically, the Eagles have been in the top five teams with them. That’s one of the reasons they’re comfortable trading future draft choices. They know next year they’ll have the maximum number of compensatory picks possible — four — and they’ll be fairly high. That allows them to be aggressive in the trade market. With a bunch of compensatory picks the following year, you can make a bunch of trades this year.Â
It’s all interconnected. They’re always looking for the smallest or biggest opportunity, no matter how incremental the improvement or how little the amount of money saved against the cap. It’s all about seizing the moment.
Importance of Coaching
They believe coaching matters. Too many teams think execution is the most crucial factor for players, and don’t get me wrong: It is essential. But the Eagles put a much bigger emphasis on scheme. Look no further than Hurts’ development.
Obviously, he improved. But in the middle of his second season, they completely changed the scheme. Now, all of a sudden, Hurts is a star quarterback. Yes, he improved, but that occurred in conjunction with an emphasis on a scheme that was good for him and the offense. That’s nothing new. They always believed that.
Stay Aggressive
The Eagles believe we live in an era where aggressiveness wins. The question is how do you become aggressive as an organization or a general manager? Well, you saw it over the weekend.Â
The Eagles offered a fourth-round pick in 2025 for Swift, which is more like a fifth or sixth in this year’s draft, and Detroit took it. That begs the simple question: Where were the other 30 general managers?
Not to pick on the New York Giants, but they moved up one spot in the first round for a player (cornerback Deonte Banks) who, in all likelihood, would’ve been there if they hadn’t budged. I mention that because it cost them a fifth-rounder they could‘ve used to acquire Swift.Â
As it turned out, they used their fifth-rounder on Oklahoma RB Eric Gray, which is fine. But they missed a chance to have short-term (Swift) and long-term (Gray) solutions to rest Saquon Barkley, reduce his chances of getting hurt and still have a standout running back on the field.Â
What about the Dallas Cowboys? Tony Pollard is coming off an injury, is making tag money and may or may not be able to stay healthy. Wouldn’t Swift have been a good addition for a fourth-round pick in two years? Multiple teams would’ve enhanced their chances of reaching this year’s Super Bowl if they added Swift.
Yet, the Eagles got him for next to nothing, just as they got Darius Slay for next to nothing in 2020. Everyone knew teams were trying to move these players, so it wasn’t talent evaluation that separated the Eagles from everyone else. They were just sitting there with an aggressive mindset, flushing out every opportunity to move forward, which is how they also acquired C.J. Gardner-Johnson last year.
Now, they come back and do the same thing with Swift.Â
These are not hard evaluations. Everyone knew Swift was available for trade. So, is there no general manager who thought he was worth more than a fourth-round choice in two years? What are they thinking? I think it’s clear: They don’t have the same mindset as the Eagles. They’re not approaching this with an aggressive mentality and looking for every opportunity to improve themselves.
It reminds me of 2009 when we knew the Buffalo Bills and Jason Peters were having contentious contract negotiations. So we called the Bills and acquired the best left tackle in football for the next decade for the 27th draft pick and a fourth-rounder.Â
How? We knew the Bills weren’t willing to pay him. When you’re calling people constantly and are aware of every opportunity, people know you’re aggressive. What happens is sometimes they start calling you.
Most teams are driven by fear of failure or making a mistake, which causes employees to fear for their jobs. In Howie’s era, the Eagles are the outliers. They approach everything with fearlessness. Did they pause for a second when they realized they were wrong about Carson Wentz? Nope. They negotiated a trade and moved on to the next guy. Their thinking is nothing’s too small if it makes us better. It could be something that improves us by a speck or something that improves us by 100 miles. It doesn’t matter.Â
No Fear of Failure
That’s where fearlessness comes in. The Eagles aren’t afraid of getting something wrong. If Howie makes a trade and misses on a pick, it doesn’t affect the Eagles' willingness to be aggressive. They jump right back into the boiling water without fear of getting burned.Â
They trust themselves. They believe they’ll get things right a lot more than they’ll get them wrong. Aggressiveness in football is a winning philosophy, so they just keep going.
This isn’t something new. The Eagles were doing this before the Howie Roseman era. And they’re doing it now in Kansas City, Buffalo and Baltimore. In Kansas City, the head coach, GM and team president came from Philadelphia.Â
In Buffalo, the driving force there is Sean McDermott. In Baltimore, it’s a little more shared, but John Harbaugh plays a big role. They all have backgrounds with the Eagles and believe in this aggressive, fearless, scheme-matters approach.Â
Guess what? They’re all doing well. It’s a philosophy that’s been proven right.
Joe Banner is a former front office executive for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. He was a part of an Eagles franchise that made a Super Bowl and played in four NFC Championship Games. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeBanner13