Eagles Week 3 Roundtable: Howie Roseman’s Failures

This weeks roundtable is a tad different from other weeks. In the first two editions of the Eagles Roundtable, we had five burning questions each. Well, today it’s just one. Today, it’s the hottest question on the press. How are his failures not being talked about more? Howie Roseman has failed the Philadelphia Eagles.

How much blame falls on Howie Roseman for the Eagles current failures?

Chris Boughman: This is a loaded question. Howie Roseman may be a Cap Genius, but he’s far from a football talent evaluator. Let’s dive into his draft results from 2016-2019. In that time, the Eagles have drafted 26 players. Of those 26 players, five are no longer in the league, two players went to the XFL, and one player is currently in the CFL. The number of players currently starting on a team in the NFL (or were slated to start) is 11 players (42%). The Eagles drafted 26 players in 4 years, and have 1, yes 1, Pro Bowler (Carson Wentz).

That’s pathetic if you ask me, and grounds for termination. Howie really needed to hit on his draft picks the last two years with all the money he’s dished out to veterans like Carson Wentz and Fletcher Cox. Instead, Howie Roseman has completely struck out when it comes to drafting. In the NFL, you need to hit on your homegrown talent. Let’s take a peek at a few notable misses by Howie: 

2016 5th Round: Wendall Smallwood and Halapoulivaati Vaitai over WR Tyreek Hill. 

2017 First Round: Derek Barnett over Pro Bowlers Marlon Humphery, Jabrill Peppers, and T.J. Watt. 

2017 Second Round: Sidney Jones over Joe Mixon, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Cooper Kupp. 

2019 First Round: Andre Dillard over Marquise Brown, Montez Sweat, and Jonathan Abram.

2019 Second Round: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside over D.K. Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, and Dionte Johnson.

2019 4th Round: Shareef Miller over Mack Wilson.

2019 5th Round: Clayton Thorson over Darius Slayton.

Looking at this list makes me cringe. I can understand a miss here and there in the draft, but consecutive misses in one draft is unacceptable. Moving onto free agency, Howie has completely ignored areas of need. The 2020 team had an obvious need at LB, and he decided not to sign anyone despite many LB being available on the open market. Instead, he rolled out “Burnt toast” Nate Gerry, T.J. Edwards, and Duke Riley. The other position of need was at WR. While he addressed the need early in the draft with Jalen Reagor, the decision to not sign a veteran puzzles me. Now, we sit here in week 4 of the season, and the WR group consists of an injured D-Jax and Alshon Jeffery, Greg Ward, John Hightower, and JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Woof. 

So, to answer your initial question, Hold on, what was it again? Oh yeah, How much blame falls on Howie Roseman? The majority of the blame goes on Mr. Roseman for constructing this roster. Howie Magic has disappeared into oblivion.

Evan Tonrey: How much blame does Howie Roseman deserve? A ton. Howie Roseman, once the coveted GM of Philadelphia, has become a shell of his aggressive self. In the last few years, the Eagles have passed on too much talent in favor of players that have not panned out. In 2019, Roseman passed on DK Metcalf for JJ Arcega Whiteside, and everyone knows how that worked out. JJAW hasn’t caught a pass this season, while Metcalf continues to rack up touchdowns in Seattle.

Other notable busts from the Roseman camp are Sidney Jones, Mack Hollins, and Donnel Pumphrey. Roseman continues to draft players that do not play in games. He needs to utilize the talent that he drafts because, at this rate, it’s like the picks never happened. Roseman needs to get it together, or his time in Philadelphia will be filled with misery.

Kyle Starrett: Before I begin, if you’ve read my articles in the past, you know I’m one of Howie’s biggest supporters. I think he’s made some great moves over his time in Philly—the roster he recreated went from worst to first to Super Bowl champions in 2017. The move to trade Sam Bradford to Minnesota for a first and a fourth was great, and the Darius Slay signing this offseason was a massive move. However, my patience is growing thin with Roseman when it comes to his drafting.

Whether it’s blowing the first-round selection (every year) or taking less talented guys over others, Howie just can’t stop missing. The first pick that comes to mind was the Eagles’ selection of JJ Arcega-Whiteside over DK Metcalf in 2019. A top 10 talent falls into your lap, and you take… a fourth-round talent at best? Mindboggling. Now let’s go to the year 2012, where the Eagles’ selected LB Mychal Kendricks in the second round… one pick before Bobby Wagner. Oh yeah, and Russell Wilson also went a little bit later in that draft. Not a miss, but a clear misevaluation of talent. Finally, let’s go to more recent times when Roseman took Jalen Hurts in the second round despite the pressing needs at linebacker. The verdicts still far from out on Hurts, but with players like Willie Gay and Logan Wilson available, the pick was a headscratcher.

To end my spiel, I want to list off some first-round picks of Howie’s. Danny Watkins, Marcus Smith, and Nelson Agholor were all clear misses. The verdicts still out on Andre Dillard and Jalen Reagor, although seeing them healthy and on the field would be a start. Derek Barnett hasn’t lived up to the hype, and even Carson Wentz, who many like me still believe is an elite talent, has been inconsistent. The last time Howie had a surefire hit in the first round was in 2013 with Lane Johnson. Since then, it’s been hard to watch.

My final words are this: I believe Howie Roseman is the main reason the Eagles are where they are today. Horrible drafting year after year has left this team in a rut. Great free agent signings and trading can only get a team so far. The lack of elite young talent on this team has created many holes throughout the roster. It’s time for Howie to step up or get out, because this is his roster, and right now, it is practically unpresentable.

Trevor Woodworth: Let’s clear the air before we continue. Howie Roseman is not going anywhere. Howie might as well have the title “GM for life” because the praise he has consistently received from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is telling. Does that acquit him from all his current failures? Definitely not. Howie has failed in one of the most critical areas on an NFL roster. Young, inexpensive, and controllable talent. The year Philly won the Super Bowl, they had more injuries than any other team in football. It’s a circumstance that cannot possibly be recreated. So why does Howie think it is something that can magically be done again?

I firmly believe that we would see a new starting quarterback and head coach before we see the end of Howie Roseman. Reuben Frank made a good point in an article I read on PhillyVoice the other day. Maybe it’s time for Howie Roseman to be in charge of salary cap and contracts. Then we can hire an actual GM to oversee the personnel on this team. Maybe we are all overreacting due to being 0-2-1 right now, or perhaps it is justified. No GM is going to have a perfect drafting record. It is impossible. There have been notable misses in recent years, as brought up by Chris and Kyle. There have been far too many misses of late, and that’s why the Eagles are struggling this season.

With virtually no young talent on the Eagles roster, they’ve had to rely on veteran free agents and practice squad players to fill out their roster lately. Going into this season, the whole world knew the Eagles needed an entire new linebacker group and more offensive weapons for Carson Wentz. The world as a whole apparently did not include Howie Roseman. The Eagles linebacker group has been abysmal. While the Eagles upgraded their wide receiver core, injuries overshadowed any progress. Jalen Reagor was drafted early, and the Eagles also made a draft-day trade for former 49ers speedster Marquise Goodwin. Unfortunately, Goodwin opted out with the COVID designation.

Howie deserves the majority of the blame for the teams current failures. As General Manager, his job is to make sure the teams needs are met each offseason. Someone may want to remind him of his responsibilities.