Expert Analysis
3/7/25
5 min read
What Can Other NFL General Managers Learn From Howie Roseman, Eagles?
How can we be like Howie?
That’s what many general managers and personnel executives around the NFL are thinking about right now after Howie Roseman’s Philadelphia Eagles overwhelmed the Washington Commanders and the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl, respectively.
It was clear to anyone who watched either of those games that the Eagles had the best team and roster in the entire league. But how? What are the key moves that the Eagles general manager has made in recent years that enabled him to put together the best overall squad in at least two of the last three seasons?
There is no one answer, but if you study Philly’s team closely, you can see some of the clues that helped put together a group poised to be a legitimate contender for years to come.
Basic premise number one for Roseman is to invest in the big guys. Early and often, year after year, Roseman consistently doubles and sometimes triples down on the offensive and defensive lines. The result is a team that is deep and talented upfront, which was as big a reason as any reason why Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs found themselves down 34-0 late in the third quarter of the Super Bowl.
Left guard Landon Dickerson was a high second-round pick in 2021 and was considered a potential replacement for Jason Kelce. The following year, the Eagles actually had Kelce help them identify center Cam Jurgens as another possible replacement, again near the top of the second round.
On the defensive line, the Eagles have used draft picks in the top three rounds on Milton Williams (third), Jordan Davis (first), Jalen Carter (first), Nolan Smith (first), and Jalyx Hunt (third) in the last four years.
Making those selections even more noteworthy, and perhaps qualifying as lesson number two when studying Philadelphia’s roster, is that only Carter was pegged as a starter as a rookie. That’s because he was not only a top-10 pick but one of the best defensive tackles in the league, pretty much right away. In other words, he was just that good.
The other six had to wait their turn for a chance to play or earn their playing time during their initial campaign. The lesson for other personnel executives around the league is that the rewards can be significant if you are willing to be patient and don’t draft for immediate need.
Of course, not every general manager can always afford to be that patient, which becomes part of the problem and a recipe for shortsighted decisions.
Speaking of the draft, one last potential lesson came in how the Eagles weren’t afraid to double down at the same position with their first two picks in 2024.
They traded up to select CB Cooper DeJean in the second round even though they had already taken another corner, Quinyon Mitchell, in the first round. They didn’t exactly know how it would play out. They just knew they had high grades on both players, and the results could not have been better, as both rookie defensive backs capped off stellar seasons with incredible performances in the Super Bowl, highlighted by DeJean’s pick-six off of Mahomes.
That leads us to Saquon Barkley. There are probably two takeaways for Roseman’s peers around the league regarding their free agent addition from the Giants. Number one is that while positional value should be considered, there shouldn’t be some hard and fast rule regarding how much to invest in a position. Any position.
The Eagles had not invested heavily in the running back position for quite some time, but they pounced when they saw a potential market inefficiency. The other part is maybe the best move is to zig while everyone else zags.
While many teams, notably Joe Schoen’s Giants, didn’t think the position was worthy of significant investment, others, like the Ravens and Packers, saw an opportunity and jumped at the chance to add high-quality players at a position that still touches the ball hundreds of times per season.
What are other teaching points from the School of Roseman this past season?
Several smaller ones added up to the most dominant performance by the best team in Eagles franchise history. Safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson proved you can’t, or shouldn’t, be afraid to bring a player back for a second stint, no matter what happened in between.
Offensive lineman Mekhi Becton is a lesson in betting on talent and giving them a second chance, especially if you feel that your position coach gives you an advantage.
As for All-Pro linebacker Zach Baun? Sometimes, it takes a little good fortune, as even the most optimistic member of the Eagles organization couldn’t have seen his spectacular breakthrough season coming.
