No one likes to sit back and watch the rich get richer. Following what has been universally regarded as a highly successful draft for the Philadelphia Eagles, some rival franchises are “annoyed” at all the praise being lavished onto general manager Howie Roseman, according to Bleeding Green Nation’s Brandon Lee Gowton.
“Speaking on NFL Network, [Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager] mentioned some executives around the league are getting annoyed with how much praise Howie Roseman is receiving,” Gowton tweeted on April 29 without reference to a particular show, segment or air date.
The Athletic ranked the Eagles’ draft as the best in the league. At least four major outlets — Fox, Pro Football Focus, Bleacher Report and Sporting News — gave the Eagles’ draft an A+, while ESPN and CBS Sports handed out an A. NFL.com gave Philadelphia an A-.
A day later, Schrager re-tweeted Gowton’s post, writing: “Some ‘context’ on this… for lack of a better word…the execs were commenting on the media love the Eagles’ draft was receiving over the course of the three days; not Howie Roseman, personally. That wasn’t the intention of the throwaway anecdote. Alas…”
Schrager did not mention any executive specifically.
The fact that the Eagles finished 14-3 last season and almost won the Super Bowl probably isn’t helping anyone’s cause. Not that it should be matter to the Eagles.
“I don’t even know totally what we did,” Roseman told reporters immediately after the draft ended. “We were just talking about, ‘What do I do tonight?’ We hang out with our guys, our organization did a tremendous job. I really want to thank everyone in this organization. There’s not an area, scouts obviously, coaches obviously, but everyone in this organization, from the kitchen staff to PR to equipment to video to medical, they all participated in this draft.”
Head coach Nick Sirianni added: “It’s really an unbelievable process that so many people go into. Obviously, Howie leads this process, but so many people contribute to the process. It so much reminds me of putting a game plan together in a week to get ready for a game. It’s pretty cool.”
Eagles Earn Top Grades: ‘Impressive Haul’
The so-called experts are usually all over the map when they start handing out post-draft grades. Not this year. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the Eagles crushed the draft, including ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.. He doled out an A to Philadelphia in a drool-worthy evaluation: “With Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith filling clear needs — and the trade for running back D’Andre Swift filling another — I really like this class. Roseman has done it again.”
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco also gave the Eagles an A grade for their “impressive haul.” He liked every pick, but none more than Jalen Carter at No. 9. He wrote that Carter — assuming character concerns are kept in check — can be a Hall of Famer.
“It’s their first pick, defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Yes, he has some off-field issues, but he is the best player in this draft. As one scout told me, he’s generational. If he can stay away from issues, and work harder at the game, he will be a Hall of Fame player.”
Eagles WR Devon Allen Wins Penn Relays Event
The Eagles are counting on Devon Allen to make a run at roster spot this summer and possibly climb up the receiver depth chart. He was relegated to the practice squad in 2022, although Sirianni called the Olympic hurdler out by name ahead of the Super Bowl. Well, Allen showed off his world-class speed over the weekend at the Penn Relays where he won the 110-meter hurdles race for the second year in a row. He beat Rafael Pereira of Brazil in a photo finish: 13.457 seconds to 13.459 seconds.
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NFL Execs ‘Annoyed’ at Media Praise of Eagles’ Draft: Report