Philadelphia Eagles: 1 trade Howie Roseman should have pursued

The Philadelphia Eagles were surprisingly active around the 2021 NFL trade deadline.

They traded away a franchise all-timer, didn’t trade another, shipped Joe Flacco up I-95 to play for the other Gang Green, and stacked defensive backs on top of defensive backs despite Jonathan Gannon’s aversion to dime defense.

Could Howie Roseman have taken a massive swing in a potentially fleeting swing for a star? Yes, he very much could have. Odell Beckham Jr. was likely available considering his current status, and Roseman could have easily outbid the LA Rams for Von Miller if he so chose.

Ultimately, the Philadelphia Eagles netted a fifth-round pick, added and then moved a sixth-rounder to procure 2021 seventh-round pick Kary Vincent Jr, and moved on from Eric Wilson, which won’t even count towards the compensatory pick formula but will open up playing time for Davion Taylor. But there is one move that reportedly could have been had that Howie Roseman should have considered a little harder, as the team has another Wilson-esque hole on their roster that could use a long-term solution.

The Philadelphia Eagles should have inquired about Lonnie Johnson Jr.

Marcus Epps is not the Philadelphia Eagles’ long-term answer at starting safety. At best, Epps is a capable reserve who makes about as many plays as he gives up, but ultimately grades out in the average range over a full season.

How about K’Von Wallace? While he hasn’t done anything particularly impressive through the first season and a third of his NFL career, he also hasn’t looked downright bad either, so really, the jury is out on his long-term prospects.

Kary Vincent Jr? Andre Chachere? Elijah Riley? Even if the Eagles bring back Rodney McLeod for a seventh-straight campaign, that still leaves a question mark at safety number two that really shouldn’t be filled with another stopgap like Anthony Harris, who has largely underwhelmed versus expectations.

That, my friends, is why Howie Roseman should have logged onto the NFL trade block – or however it works – and made a deal for a player like second-year Texans safety Lonnie Johnson Jr.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Eric Rowe stuck around in Philly? Had he still transitioned to safety – initially part-time as a member of the New England Patriots and then full time with the Miami Dolphins – but retained the number 32 midnight green uniform he wore as a rookie? If you answered yes, yes, yes to that question like Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson, then Johnson might just be your guy.

A big, long, press-man cornerback who played his college ball for NBA pipeline the University of Kentucky, Johnson joined the Texans as a second-round pick in 2019, where he was expected to compete for playing time on the outside alongside players like Bradley Robey and Jonathan Joseph.

*Spoiler alert* it didn’t go particularly well.

After turning in an admittedly inconsistent tenure with the Wildcats, Johnson struggled at perimeter cornerback, kicked it inside to the slot, and was then relegated to special teams as he was consistently beat out for playing time by better on-field contributors. Though it’s hard to define a career based solely on a rookie season – just ask Rowe – some openly wondered whether or not Johnson would ever be more than an athletic marvel with an exemplary press man spider chart.

Then-head coach Bill O’Brien’s solution? Switch him to safety.

That’s right, over the last season and a half, Johnson has tried his luck as a 6-foot-2, 213-pound safety, where his lack of mirror man coverage becomes less of a factor, and he’s afforded more leeway to read and reach to the play in front of him from a few years further off the line.

Have the results been perfect? No. Johnson has been benched on a few occasions and was considered a borderline trade block player over the summer, but in 2021, the former Wildcat has taken a few steps forward despite playing for one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

For one, Johnson has picked off three of the 22 balls thrown his way. Now granted, interceptions aren’t a direct correlation of good coverage. Plenty of exemplary defenders will finish out a season sans any picks, and some other players will luck their way into interceptions for one reason or another (like playing a bad QB). With that being said, snagging three picks in seven games does deserve to be commended.

Johnson has also played decently well when deployed closer to the line of scrimmage as a box player, again, sort of like how the Dolphins have used Rowe when he’s been at his best. With great height and the wingspan of a man three inches taller, Johnson is built like an ideal dime linebacker, who could matchup on tight ends and play the sort of middle-of-the-field zone coverage that Eric Wilson struggled with before being waived after the Lions win; sort of like Rowe’s role in New England from 2016-18.

*sigh* at 29, Rowe is no longer a fit with the Eagles’ developmental timeline but my goodness, would he be a perfect fit for what the Eagles need in the back end of their secondary.

Usually, teams don’t trade for the worst graded player at a position in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. Normally that guy is fighting to just see the field and will surely be out of the league before too long. Lonnie Johnson Jr. is one of the rare exceptions to that rule. Despite his textbook measurables and conceivable schematic versatility,  the Texans have largely deployed Johnson as a single high free safety, where almost none of his athletic gifts are properly utilized. On a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, with no real long-term answer at safety, Jonathan Gannon could have used the rest of the regular season to try out Johnson in the box and maybe, just maybe, secure a better-fitting piece for his defensive scheme. *sigh* oh well, maybe a deal will go down next spring when he’ll surely be available once more.