Philadelphia Eagles: Passing on Marcus Peters was a grave mistake

With a little hindsight, it’s clear the Philadelphia Eagles should have done everything in their power to trade for Marcus Peters.

On Thursday afternoon, Ian Rapoport tweeted out some notes on the first week of Pro Bowl voting. While no members of the Philadelphia Eagles made the initial list – which is frankly to be expected – there is a player amassing a ton of votes who could have been.

As things presently stand, Marcus Peters, the Baltimore Ravens cornerback by way of the Los Angeles Rams, and Kansas City Chiefs, has earned the most Pro Bowl votes of any cornerback in the league. While this shouldn’t be too surprising, as Peters leads all defenders with three touchdowns, and ranks fifth in PFF’s cornerback ratings through 11 weeks, it is a bit unusual to see a player earn so many votes after only one month in a new city.

And he could have been an Eagle.

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That’s right, while the NFL trade deadline has now long since passed, it’s hard not to look back and feel a bit jaded by just how little the Eagles’ front office, you know, did.

Sure, the team pulled off a pair of trades through the first eight weeks of the season – flipping Johnathan Cyprien, a fourth-round pick, and a seventh-round pick for Duke Riley, Genard Avery, and a sixth-round pick – but with a dire need to add talent across the entire depth chart, such meager returns are far from game-changing.

Maybe after the botched Golden Tate for a third-rounder debacle last season, Howie Roseman got a bit shell-shocked ‘big game hunting’?

Regardless, while the Eagles were linked to oh so many players like Robby Anderson, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Williams, and (way back in September) Jadeveon Clowney, it’s Peters who should have been an Eagle. Why? Easy, he could have been had for nothing.

With their eyes set on Ramsey, Les Snead and company went on a bit of a trading spree to rebuild the roster for a seemingly now-fruitless attempt to win the NFC West – surrendering multiple first-round picks, two fifth-round picks, Aqib Talib, and Peters for Ramsey, Kenny Young, and Austin Corbett.

What?

Now trading a fifth-round pick for two and a half seasons of Corbett is maybe not the smartest decision, as he’s more of a developmental prospect than an immediate starter, but giving up an All-Pro cornerback for a borderline roleplayer like Young in a glorified salary dump is just wacky – and that’s coming from one UCLA Bruin to another.

If the Rams wanted a marginal linebacker who can actually play, they could have certainly had Nathan Gerry in exchange for a soon-to-be three-time Pro Bowler. The Eagles would have certainly considered parting ways with a reserve lineman like Matt Pryor, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, or even Jordan Mailata to get a deal done if the Rams were so eager to add a young offensive lineman.

Did Roseman not even call the Rams about Peters? Can someone check?

I mean the Eagles explicitly drafted Sidney Jones 43rd overall because he played like (and with) Peters in college – why not flip a marginal player, pick, or combination of the two for the best possible version of that man-press ballhawk? Mind you, the team was in the middle of a severe cornerbacks drought at the time, with Craig James and Orlando Scandrick playing a ton of snaps, so it’s not like the secondary was stacked.

Heck, the Ravens already had three legit starters on their roster and Temple product Tavon Young waiting in the wings on IR, and they still valued adding a top-tier player like Peters for a song.

Ultimately, the Philadelphia Eagles may have decided they’re good with Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills manning the outside cornerback spots for the foreseeable future and felt that adding Marcus Peters for half a season before he hits the open market just wasn’t worth the trouble. If so, that logic is beyond flawed. Teams get better by adding better players, and it’s hard to imagine a more dynamic playmaker at the cornerback position than Peters – just ask the Los Angeles Rams.