Getty Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni challenged potential draft picks to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Rock, Paper, Scissors was trending on Wednesday thanks to Nick Sirianni. The Philadelphia Eagles new head coach explained how he ran prospective draft picks through the popular kid’s game to gauge their competitiveness.
The strange tactic drew hilarious reactions on social media, but it’s a pretty creative way to test rookies confined to Zoom calls. And no one could deny Sirianni’s energy when he was talking about it. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman cued Sirianni up to explain the “games” the franchise challenged college players at during the pre-draft interview process.
“We didn’t go earth-shattering on these games. I played a couple of them at Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Sirianni told reporters on Wednesday. “That was as easy as that. Rock, Paper, Scissors, let’s see how competitive you are. I’m competitive. I’m going to be talking trash to ’em. Did you talk trash back to me? Right? Umm, Jeopardy … there are different ways to do it. It looks a lot of different ways.”
Rock. Paper. Scissors…Shoot?
While some poked fun at the unusual method, Sirianni’s point was that a person’s competitiveness is going to show up in any challenge. No matter how trivial or childish.
“It was awesome,” Sirianni said. “Anything you compete at, anytime you compete with someone who is competitive, they’re going to go at you no matter what, no matter what game you’re playing.”
What are #Eagles looking for in draft picks? Nick Sirianni said this: “Does this guy love football? Right? Is this guy competitive? Is this guy tough? Does this guy have a high football IQ? We were trying to answer those questions on everyone.” #FlyEaglesFly
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Sirianni Explains Best Traits in Draft Picks
Talent is the most important thing in a potential draft pick, according to Sirianni. You can’t teach talent. You either have it or you don’t have it. However, there are different ways to maximize talent and communicating how to do that is what the Eagles scouts and coaching staff talk about in the war room.
“Talent is the most important thing. We got to have talented players,” Sirianni said. “But every player comes in different shapes and sizes and speeds … they are all different. It’s about finding … OK this guy has speed, we’ll use him this way. This guy has power, we’ll use him this way … and it’s explaining this to the scouts.”
Howie Roseman and Andy Weidl cracking up with Nick Sirianni about the energy he is bringing
You are seeing genuine and comfortable Nick Sirianni now
There are four questions that Sirianni asks every potential player: Does this guy love football? Is this guy competitive? Is this guy tough? Does this guy have a high football IQ?
“We were trying to answer those questions on everyone,” Sirianni said. “Because when you’re competitive, when you’re tough, when you have high football IQ, and when you love football, you’re going to take your skill talent and everything that God blessed you with talent-wise and you’re going to maximize that.”
ESPN Picks Play-Making WR for Eagles
ESPN draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay completed a three-round mock draft and handed the Eagles a fairly nice haul. They picked Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in the first round (pick No. 12), then scored Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton in the second round (37th overall). Philadelphia also selected Syracuse cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu (70th overall) and Syracuse safety Andre Cisco (84th overall) in the third round.