Philadelphia Eagles: Passing on Darron Lee feels like a mistake
With no long-term answer at middle linebacker on the roster, the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision not to trade a sixth-round pick for Darron Lee feels like a mistake.
The New York Jets‘ front office is an absolute mess.
With recently hired head coach Adam Gase now holding down the fort as the team’s general manager after the completely out of nowhere firing of Mike Maccagnan, it’s highly debatable which New York-based football club is actually worse off moving forward.
And when an organization falls into such swift disarray, there are going to be moves to be made for an advantageous wheeler and dealer.
More from Philadelphia Eagles
- 4 Eagles on the Bubble Who Have Clinched Their 53-Man Roster Spots
- Best Pennsylvania Sportsbook Promos: Win $650 GUARANTEED Bonus PLUS $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket
- 3 Punters the Eagles Must Target to Replace Arryn Siposs
- Cowboys Trey Lance Trade Proves How Screwed They Are With Dak Prescott
- Devon Allen Took Britain Covey’s Job on Eagles
The first domino to fall? None other than 2018 starting middle linebacker Darron Lee.
Initially selected 52nd overall out of Ohio State, Lee spent the better part of three seasons as the starting middle linebacker in Todd Bowles‘ 3-4 defensive front, where his A-plus athleticism (4.47 40 at 232 pounds) made him the textbook definition of a ‘prototypical’ sideline-to-sideline linebacker.
And for the better part of the offseason, the Philadelphia Eagles were almost exclusively linked to the linebacker.
After failing to sign a linebacker to replace incumbent starter Jordan Hicks in free agency, it seemed like fate that the Eagles would be first in line to snag Lee away from the Jets, who no longer needed his services after signing C.J. Mosley to a monster deal in free agency.
But unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be, as within (literal) hours of Gase coming to power, Lee’s bags were packed and he was shipped off to Kanas City.
The price? A lousy sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Now granted, this move was almost immediately panned pretty much universally, as Lee finished out the 2017 season as the Jets’ third-leading tackler despite only appearing in 12 games, as a sixth-round pick is a fairly meager returner for a former blue-chip prospect, but still, if anyone was going to fleece the Jets for a starting caliber linebacker, it should have been the Eagles.
I mean, that’s kind of Howie Roseman‘s MO, right?
Sure, maybe the price tag was a bit too high when pundits initially projected that the Birds would trade a Day 2 selection for what is essentially one guaranteed year of Lee on their roster, but a sixth-round pick? That’s basically nothing.
I mean, the Eagles paid much, much more for less than half a season of Golden Tate and he’s now a member of the New York Giants.
But no, after signing Zach Brown to a one-year deal in May, in addition to (predominately) special teams ace L.J. Fort at the start of free agency, it looks like the Eagles feel confident enough in their current linebacking corp to go into the 2019 season as is.
Next. Eagles possibly paying Carson Wentz $30 million per season sounds insane. dark
Is that the right call? I guess that depends on who you ask (and your opinion on Kamu Grugier-Hill), but with only three linebackers under contract in 2020, adding a player like Darron Lee even for one season couldn’t have hurt both in 2019 and for the foreseeable future, where MLB remains a big old question mark.