The Eagle Effect

By: Josh Frey-Sam

There’s been a clear direction from teams in the NFC on where they feel they need to upgrade to contend next season.

Beef up the middle — particularly on defence.

Everyone is chasing the Philadelphia Eagles, who remain loaded at key positions despite some big losses to free agency. The other NFC hopefuls understand they need to find a way to stop the run (Saquon Barkley and that massive offensive line) if they want to keep up with the Birds.

Let’s give Eagles GM Howie Roseman his flowers first. He’s done it the right way for a long time.

Roseman’s aggressiveness in the off-season, highlighted by his willingness to trade, commands most of the headlines. But make no mistake, he sticks to his core value, which is building through the trenches.

Roseman was promoted to GM in 2010, and some of his most impactful draft picks have been the following while building two Super Bowl-winning rosters:

2010 - DE Brandon Graham, first round - fun side note: Roseman drafted quarterback Mike Kafka, now the Giants offensive co-ordinator, in the fourth round.

2011 - C Jason Kelce, first round

2012 - DT Fletcher Cox, first round; DE Vinny Curry, third round

2013 - OT Lane Johnson, first round

2015 - EDGE Jordan Hicks, third round

2016 - G Isaac Seumalo, third round; OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, sixth round

2017 - DE Derek Barnett, first round

2018 - DE Josh Sweat, fourth round; OT Jordan Mailata, seventh round

2021 - IOL Landon Dickerson, second round; DT Milton Williams, third round

2022 - DT Jordan Davis, first round; IOL Cam Jurgens, second round

2023 DT Jalen Carter, first round; EDGE Nolan Smith, first round

Notice a trend? Loads of draft capital poured into the trenches.

This, in my opinion, is the right way to build a roster.

The Eagles saw the fruits of that last season. The recipe for a victory felt simple at times - build a lead and smother the clock.

I remember Week 15 against the Steelers: Philly goes up 17-13 at halftime, then controls the ball for more than TWENTY-THREE MINUTES in the second half en route to a 27-13 victory. Pittsburgh ran 13 plays after the second quarter.

In the playoffs, Barkley rushed for at least 135 yards in every game, while the defensive line single-handedly took over the Super Bowl.

Keep in mind that the NFL is a copycat league. So, what was the countermove from the rest of the conference’s contenders once free agency opened this week?

The Washington Commanders, which fielded one of the worst defences last season, signed DTs Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman - 640 pounds combined.

Minnesota snatched up DTs Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave - 605 pounds combined.

The LA Rams, which will continue to bank on its promising young defensive line, added 310-pound Poona Ford.

Detroit, which was actually solid against the run but struggled against the pass, retained Levi Onwurzike and added former Arizona Cardinal, 318-pound Roy Lopez.

And the Chicago Bears, who are trying to get their hat in the ring, signed DT Grady Jarett and DE Dayo Odeyingbo.

A side note on a team that is neither contending nor in the NFC: The New England Patriots, who are trying to build their own program the right way, took a big swing on former Eagles DT Milton Williams and followed that by signing fellow IDL Khyris Tonga.

It’s always been important to build through the trenches, but you can bet that the Eagles’ sheer dominance at the point of attack had a strong influence on the way other teams attacked free agency this year.

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Thanks, and as always, have a great day.

Josh