The name plates in the locker room are being polished and five new ones are being crafted. The Philadelphia Eagles walked away from the 2022 NFL draft with quite a haul, one drawing rave reviews from fans, media, and the decision-makers within the organization.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was downright giddy when addressing reporters on Saturday evening. The board fell exactly the way he wanted it to, highlighted by the theft of linebacker Nakobe Dean in Round 3. The team was able to get foundational pieces on the defensive line (Jordan Davis) and offensive line (Cam Jurgens), while adding linebacker depth (Kyron Johnson) and another “F tight end” (Grant Calcaterra).
Roseman can’t predict how the class will look when the pads come on this summer, but he likes the way those names look on paper. The 2022 Eagles should be better than the 2021 Eagles.
“We’re a better football team than we were when we last took the field,” Roseman said, “and I say that with all due respect to where we were at that time, but I think we’ve gotten better. We can still continue to get better and add pieces, and we’ll do that.”
Howie Roseman on the 2022 #EaglesDraft class
The other piece on Roseman’s chess board is A.J. Brown. He masterfully pulled off a Queen’s Gambit on Friday with that blockbuster trade, a move for a 24-year-old Pro Bowler who counts quarterback Jalen Hurts as one of his best friends. But Roseman wasn’t ready to pat himself on the back. No young player or pick is a sure thing.
“I think the answers to those things have to come over time. That’s just the reality of it,” Roseman said. “We can all sit here and say this player is going to be great and everyone will do that tonight. But we’ll see in a couple years. I think we’re excited about the guys that we have. We’re excited about the character of the guys we have. But now they have to go do it and they have to go perform.”
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Eagles Fill Out UDFA Class: Sign 2 Quarterbacks
The Eagles signed 11 players to their undrafted free agent class, according to multiple reports. The two biggest names were the quarterbacks: Nevada’s Carson Strong and Brown’s EJ Perry. They’ll compete for the third-string spot behind backup Gardner Minshew and starter Jalen Hurts.
The #Eagles UDFA class:
QB Carson Strong
QB EJ Perry
RB Kennedy Brooks
WR Britain Covey
OG William Dunkle
OG Josh Sills
DT Noah Elliss
CB Josh Jobe
CB Mario Goodrich
CB Josh Blackwell
S Reed Blankenship
“We just try to be as aggressive as we can,” Roseman said of the UDFA class, “and knowing just like in the draft we’ll get some guys and we’ll miss out on some guys. I think we got a good class, and there will still be open roster spots when this is all over because we are going to continue to look for opportunities.”
Strong was discussed in detail immediately after the draft. He has Day 2 talent with arguably the second-strongest arm in the class behind Mailk Willis. Perry? The 6-foot-2, 211-pounder set an Ivy League record in 2019 when he racked up 3,678 total yards of offense in 10 starts. He also took home Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2021 thanks to his 303.3 passing yards per game.
NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein wrote: “His toughness and talent as a runner create attention, as teams might ask Perry to add a few more pounds in order to see if he can become a valuable Swiss Army Knife who’s able to help at a variety of positions, including special teams.”
What a DIME by @BrownUFootball QB EJ Perry! 🎯
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
‘Nothing Imminent’ on Tyrann Mathieu
The Eagles didn’t take a safety in the draft which prompted speculation that Tyrann Mathieu could be coming to town. The All-Pro remains unsigned more than 60 days into free agency, although the New Orleans Saints are expected to ramp up their courtship.
Is Roseman targeting Mathieu? No, not right now.
“You know, nothing imminent,” Roseman said, “but again, we probably have a higher vision of that room than maybe is perceived.”
After failing to land a safety during the draft, the Saints now are expected to re-visit their talks with free-agent Pro-Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu and make an aggressive push to try to add him to their roster, per sources. Mathieu was born and raised in New Orleans.
Roseman hyped up projected starters Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps while singling out K’Von Wallace, Andre Chachere, and Jared Mayden as guys he has a ton of “confidence” in as well. The organization views that group with a bit more optimism than everyone outside the building.
But no jobs are guaranteed. And nothing is set in stone. “We’ll continue to look at that position,” Roseman said.
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Eagles Evaluate 2022 NFL Draft Haul: ‘That’s Just the Reality’