Philadelphia Eagles: 3 thoughts on the decision to trade back from 6 to 12

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Philadelphia Eagles made some serious waves across the NFL landscape Friday afternoon. Following the Miami Dolphins’ decision to trade down from pick 3 to pick 12 in this year’s NFL Draft, Howie Roseman and the Eagles immediately countered with their own respective trade down, moving back from pick 6 in exchange for the Dolphins newly acquired 12th pick and some future draft capital.

With so much happening all at once, there’s quite a bit to digest.

After taking some time to sit down and think over the ins and outs to such a maneuver, I’ve landed on three overarching thoughts when it comes to what this trade means for the Philadelphia Eagles currently, and moving forward.

3 thoughts on the Philadelphia Eagles recent trade:

It was good value for the Eagles.

With how often young players “bust” these days, draft picks are nothing more than a glorified lottery ticket. Whether you have five first-round picks or just one, general managers are guaranteed absolutely nothing.

With that said, it’s common sense to view more draft picks as being superior to less draft picks. The Eagles decision to trade down garnered them an additional first-rounder in 2020, which brings their potential first-round pick total for next season up to three (one is a conditional pick from the Colts that remains hinged on Carson Wentz’ ability to stay on the field).

While all of these first-round picks could ultimately be mishandled by Howie Roseman and his poor drafting record, the Eagles genuinely do have some significant longterm flexibility moving forward. This organization desperately needs some young talent, and stocking up on draft picks is the easiest way to acquire them.