For the second straight April, Eagles fans are wondering just how well Andy Reid and the organization did this year, primarily because for the second straight year, the team traded out of the first round. Many of us saw tremendous potential in some of the players still available at 19, with several teams reaching for picks ahead of that time and talent sliding down the board toward the Eagles. After an 8-8 season, we were clamoring for a player who could make a palpable impact in 2008 to be taken either at 19 or before. When they traded out of the spot, we swore they'd trade back into the first with some combination of players and picks. But that didn't happen, and we were left waiting while other NFC East teams took first-round talent and filled positions of need on their rosters.
However, after moving down again in the next round, the Birds did spend two second-round picks on guys who will play in '08, a far cry from taking the QB of the future last April. Aside from wide receiver, many people would agree one position that needed immediate upgrade was kick returner, and DeSean Jackson should provide that. However, Jackson would have been there even if the Eagles had used their top pick. Trevor Laws may take some time to crack the rotation, but solidifying the DT corps goes a long way toward fielding a stifling defense on every down.
That said, as a fan, it was still tough to play the voyeur role on Saturday. Finishing last in the division came with one silver lining: the Eagles would be picking ahead of the Cowboys, Redskins, and Giants. Or so we thought. After they traded out of the first, we watched as the Cowboys took RB Felix Jones, who was still on the board at 22 with Carolina taking Jonathan Stewart at 13. The Cowboys, who finished first in the division at 13-3, also added DE Lawrence Jackson, while the Super Bowl Champion Giants closed the round by selecting FS Kenny Phillips out of Miami.
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We agreed the Eagles got a great haul in their trade with the Panthers, but we still had the feeling that the brass were spending another year as conservative, long-term investment bankers instead of doing some quick-impact day trading. As any good investor will tell you, however, there's much to be gained in being the former.
Were the Eagles correct in their evaluation that the talent was perhaps too thick, yet not outstanding, from 19 on down to justify not taking the Panthers' offer? It's impossible to say at that this point, but there's at least a decent chance they were dead-on. Sure, we'll be dragging this draft out and beating the hell out of it every time Felix Jones scores a touchdown, but most fans would agree that RB wasn't an absolute position of need in this year's draft. That being the case, why spend the top pick (and top pick money) on him? For the foreseeable future, Jones or any other top-tier running back would have been Brian Westbrook's backup if BWest stays healthy, and the Birds already have that position filled by Correll Buckhalter, who knows their system. They also brought in Lorenzo Booker, whose potential has yet to be seen. There was some allure to using both BWest and a Jones-type player in a split backfield or lining up Westbrook outside, but it never really seemed likely the Eagles would do that, so it's hard to be disappointed that they passed on RBs.
Another player we'll be watching is Devin Thomas, considered by many to be the best receiver in the draft, and we'll be seeing plenty of him, because Thomas was selected by the Redskins. However, although the Skins moved up to get him, he still went with the third pick in the second round. Again, spending the 19th pick on a guy who slipped that far (and behind another receiver) would not be getting value; I'd also say Thomas wasn't likely to make a huge impact in 2008 on an Eagles team that develops receivers slowly, and it's far from a sure thing he'll ever be a No. 1 guy. The Birds are already loaded with second and third receivers, so how much would a guy like Thomas have helped at 19? We'd have liked to have seen the Eagles move up in the second round for a James Hardy, or even further up for Thomas, but it's hard to accurately criticize a team not moving up, because for all we know, they tried and were unsuccessful.
As I sit here on Monday morning, a part of me still wishes they'd have taken someone at 19. There would be less second-guessing (depending on which player they picked), and we could just count the chips on the table and oversimplify whether they'd won or lost. Trading out of the first round for the second straight year after finishing 8-8—last in the division—still doesn't sit perfectly well with us, but we can see that there was some logic to the decision, even if it's not the one every fan would have made. The Birds weren't able to move up, and they got a very nice return to move down. So let's all join in cheering for a terrible 2008 campaign for the Carolina Panthers, and hope the Eagles don't trade away both of next year's first rounders. After the first round, regardless of how you feel about trading down, the Birds did pretty well the rest of the way.
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Oh, and now that the Eagles haven't spent first-round money for two straight years, maybe they can give Westbrook the money he deserves.