Eagles Outlook: Howie Roseman is not going to select an RB in the first-round, no matter how badly you want him to
With NFL free agency just one week away, it’s become pretty clear that the Philadelphia Eagles are going to need to add to their running back room.
Miles Sanders and Boston Scott are both set to become unrestricted free agents and it’s unlikely the team will be able to retain both of them. Sanders will probably get a deal out of the Eagles’ price range. Scott could certainly come back on a bargain deal, but it’s no guarantee.
There are plenty of ways Howie Roseman can address his losses at the RB position. The most illogical way to go about it, would be drafting an RB with one of his first-round picks in April’s NFL Draft. For some reason or another, it seems like Eagles fans are clamoring for this to happen.
It’s not going to happen, and that’s a good thing.
Eagles fans, pls stop posting stuff like this
I understand how tantalizing it is to daydream about Jalen Hurts running RPO action with Texas’ Bijan Robinson or Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs. It sounds fun, I’m not afraid to admit that.
The reality is, Roseman has never valued the running back position that highly, and there’s good reason for that. Philadelphia’s rushing attack has been potent for the past several years now. They’ve done it without a premiere back toting the rock 20 times per game as well.
The Eagles rushing attack starts and ends with their elite offensive line. Hurts is valuable in his own right, but without the big guys up front, the offense the Eagles utilize would be unsustainable.
In short, any average to above average back will find success running behind an offensive line that sent each of their starters to the Pro Bowl this past year.
Hate it or love it, running back is the most replaceable position in the sport. Even if you have an elite back, it doesn’t equate to championships. Of the 12 running backs taken in the first-round since 2014, only one has hoisted a Lombardi Trophy, New England’s Sony Michel. And it’s worth noting that he was in a committee backfield, sharing touches with James White and Rex Burkhead.
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There’s also this narrative floating around that the Eagles are just so good that they can afford wasting a first on an RB. That’s simply not true. They’re going to lose several starters on the defensive side of the ball and should look to replace them with their two first rounders.
Even if the Eagles were in this luxury position where they didn’t have any glaring needs entering draft night, they still wouldn’t take a running back in the first.
Look at their Super Bowl LVII opponent as an example. Kansas City decided to select Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the final pick in the first-round after they won the Super Bowl in 2019. He was solid as a rookie, but his production has steadily dipped ever since, to the point where he was a healthy scratch when the Eagles faced his team in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City’s lead back on Super Bowl Sunday? Isaiah Pacheco – a seventh-round rookie.
Just to rub some salt on the wound of KC fans, D’Andre Swift and Jonathan Taylor were both selected in the second-round of that draft.
The point is, you can find good running backs everywhere. Whether it’s someone like Alexander Mattison or Rashaad Penny in free agency this offseason, or a draft prospect on day two or three of this year’s draft, the Eagles don’t need to waste their 10th or 30th overall picks to get a productive guy.
So please, Eagles fans, I beg of you – stop with this mumbo jumbo about taking a running back in the first-round this year. It’s not going to happen because Howie Roseman isn’t stupid. That’s all there really is to it.
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