2023 Tremendous Bowl: How the Eagles obtained to the championship AND have a high 10 draft choose

When wanting on the NFL hierarchy, few groups, if any, are arrange in addition to the Philadelphia Eagles are going ahead. They got here into the season with the NFL’s ninth-youngest roster and have a terrific corps of younger stars like Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Josh Sweat, amongst others.

And the wealthy ought to get even richer because of the frequent wheeling and dealing by common supervisor Howie Roseman, one of many NFL’s most aggressive front-office minds.

The Eagles have the unheard-of distinction of enjoying within the NFL’s championship recreation and having a premium choose within the upcoming NFL Draft, because of a blockbuster commerce with the New Orleans Saints earlier than the 2022 draft.

In truth, it was that very commerce that helped the Eagles make the leap from being a fringe playoff group to a official Tremendous Bowl contender. Much more spectacular was how the groundwork for this deal was laid in 2021, because of Carson Wentz of all folks.

Let’s revisit, lets?

Earlier than the 2022 draft, the Eagles held the No. 19 total choose following a 9-8 2021 season that noticed them make the NFC playoffs because the No. 7 seed and get shellacked by the defending Tremendous Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers within the Wild Card spherical.

Nevertheless, the Eagles additionally held the No. 16 choose after buying and selling Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts in Feb. 2021. Indianapolis traded a conditional 2022 second-round choose and a 2021 third-round choice to Philadelphia in trade for Wentz, the No. 2 total choose in 2016 who’d fallen out of favor resulting from efficiency and the rise of 2020 second-round choose Jalen Hurts. That conditional choose grew to become a first-round choice as a result of Wentz performed 75% of Indianapolis’ offensive snaps in 2021.

Now, again to the Eagles-Saints deal.

On Apr. 4, 2022, Philadelphia agreed to commerce the sixteenth and nineteenth picks, together with a sixth-round choose (No. 194 total) within the 2022 draft to New Orleans in trade for 5 draft picks, which have been:

• The 18th total choose within the 2022 draft.
• A 3rd-round draft choose (one hundred and first total) in 2022.
• A seventh-round choose (237th total) in 2022.
• A primary-round choose from New Orleans within the 2023 draft.
• A second-round choose from New Orleans within the 2024 NFL draft.

The Saints made the deal to accumulate extra 2022 picks in hopes of buying and selling up for a franchise extensive receiver, which they achieved after sending a package deal to Washington for the No. 11 choose, which become Ohio State wideout Chris Olave.

The true key right here was the 2023 first-round choose, which has since turn out to be the No. 10 total choose after the Saints floundered to a 7-10 end. To their credit score, Olave had a terrific rookie season, regardless of Andy Dalton being his quarterback, and he even completed as Professional Soccer Focus’ 18th-best extensive receiver. Whereas New Orleans gave up a ton to get Olave, maybe this can find yourself being a great deal for each groups.

Whereas the Eagles are enjoying within the Tremendous Bowl with a lot of their corps intact for the foreseeable future, this choose might decide how constant of a title contender they’ll stay within the coming years.

A giant motive for that’s the potential for the Eagles to lose a number of key gamers within the coming years resulting from retirement, particularly alongside the defensive position the place Fletcher Cox (32), Brandon Graham (34), Linval Joseph (33), Ndamukong Suh (36), and Robert Quinn (32) are all getting up there in age, whereas Javon Hargrave is about to turn out to be a free agent.

Different key gamers who’re doubtless nearing the tip of their time within the NFL embody middle Jason Kelce (35), left deal with Lane Johnson (32 and has had loads of harm woes), and cornerback Darius Slay (32).

Even for a group nearly as good because the Eagles, that’s a variety of potential holes that would emerge over the following few years, so having a high 10 choose, together with their very own first-round choice that can be No. 31 or 32, will assist them reload somewhat rapidly.

Heck, figuring out Roseman, he’ll commerce down with that high 10 choose to accumulate extra early-round picks to proceed filling holes that emerge and guarantee there’s little or no, if any, drop off within the coming seasons.

That is how dynasties are made.