The Philadelphia Eagles will hope to strike gold in the NFL Draft again.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman maintained his strong track record when selecting Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean with last year's top picks. The rookie defensive backs played a pivotal role in Philadelphia's Super Bowl run.
As defending champions, the Eagles must wait all Thursday night before making the No. 32 overall selection. It's no guarantee a top target falls into their lap again.
"We always take worst-case scenario and work back from that,” Roseman said at Tuesday's pre-draft press conference with head coach Nick Sirianni. "We've got to be really comfortable with whatever is our worst-case scenario, which will always entail getting a good player. There's never 32 first-round grades on our board. We don't have 32 first-round grades in this draft."
Roseman said the team tries to prepare for all possible scenarios before the draft. Getting Mitchell with the No. 22 pick wasn't among the most probable hypotheticals they anticipated, nor did they expect DeJean to stay on the board at pick No. 40.
"Luck plays a part in it," Roseman said. "Obviously, everyone's looking at things differently. Everyone has a different vision for what they're looking for for their team. Everyone has a different vision for the particular players that they're looking at, and you just hope that that makes sense for your football team."
Roseman hasn't missed on many early picks in recent years. Since 2020, the Eagles have landed Mitchell, DeJean, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Cam Jurgens, DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson, and Jalen Hurts in the first or second round.
Seven years ago, the Eagles traded down from pick No. 32 to the Baltimore Ravens, who selected Lamar Jackson. Roseman has since traded up in the first round to snag Davis, Carter, and Devonta Smith.
Although often willing to be aggressive, Roseman won't force the issue this year.
"It's not my best quality, patience," Roseman said, "but I think in this situation, understanding the reality of where we are in the draft, what's going to be available to us potentially, and making sure we know those guys backwards and forwards."
