The Philadelphia Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl for the first time in five years and these three moves set the stage for their run at glory.
The city of Philadelphia is rejoicing this morning as the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Nick Foles out-dueled Tom Brady to hoist the team’s first Lombardi Trophy in 2017. A lot has changed since then as the foundation of that title-winner unraveled quickly, but Eagles’ GM Howie Roseman has done a masterful job rebuilding his roster as Philadelphia is now set to square off with the Kansas City Chiefs in an epic Super Bowl showdown on Feb. 12.
Roseman has made a lot of bold choices, such as hiring Nick Sirianni to be the successor to Doug Pederson as head coach and moving on from one-time franchise quarterback Carson Wentz, and those moves have helped send Philadelphia back to the promised land. Let’s take a look at the three biggest moves that Roseman made to put the Eagles in position to win another Super Bowl.
3. The A.J. Brown trade finally gave the Eagles a No. 1 receiver
One of the key areas where the Eagles have been trying to upgrade for a long time is at wide receiver, investing numerous first-round picks and free agent dollars at the position. There were some big whiffs in there, notably when Philadelphia picked Jalen Reagor one pick ahead of Justin Jefferson in the 2020 draft, but Roseman righted that wrong this past offseason when he swung a big trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire A.J. Brown.
The move was a master stroke as Brown was a proven commodity with Tennessee looking for a new contract the Titans didn’t want to pay him. Flipping first and third-round picks for Brown, who then inked a four-year deal worth $100 million, gave the Eagles the No. 1 receiver they had desperately been searching for over the past five years.
Brown was a perfect fit in the Eagles’ offense, setting career highs with 88 receptions for 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns as Hurts’ top target. The move also helped deepen Philadelphia’s receiving corps as Devonta Smith and Dallas Goedert slid down the target list by a slot, giving the unit a more well-rounded feel that made it nearly impossible for opponents to defend.
2. The Eagles made the right veteran additions on defense
There has always been a lot of talent on Philadelphia’s defense, which has been headlined by defensive tackle Fletcher Cox up front alongside pass-rushing menace Brandon Graham. While Roseman has done a good job supplementing the unit with draft picks, he also deserves credit for striking gold with his veteran pickups.
The first big move came in 2020 when the Eagles dealt two draft picks to the Detroit Lions for Darius Slay, giving them a solid cornerback to contend with opponents’ No. 1 receivers. Philadelphia bolstered its secondary even more last spring when they took advantage of the Giants’ decision to cut James Bradberry to solve some salary cap concerns, adding him on a one-year deal to team with Slay to make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.
Having a dynamic cornerback tandem is already a position of strength but Roseman seized an opportunity to improve his pass rush by signing Haason Reddick to a three-year deal worth $45 million last winter. The move paid off in spades as Reddick set a career-high with 16 sacks, giving Philadelphia a dominant pass rush to go along with an elite secondary.
Most teams are usually good at one of those areas on defense but Philadelphia’s shrewd moves have put them in position to be elite at both. That combination has made the Eagles a very tough defense to move the ball against, setting the tone for a lot of their success this season.
1. The Eagles hit a home run when they drafted Jalen Hurts
The idea of drafting Jalen Hurts with a second-round pick in 2020 made little sense at the time. Philadelphia had already invested a ton into Wentz, who was on pace to win an MVP award before injuring his knee late in the 2017 season, so the best-case scenario of the pick at the time felt like a cheap backup who could start if Wentz missed more time with injuries.
The Eagles did see the talent that Hurts had, however, and ultimately opted to go with him when Wentz’s career progression stalled. The end result saw Wentz traded to the Indianapolis Colts, who thought they could resurrect his career in a reunion with then-head coach Frank Reich, while Philadelphia bridged the gap with Hurts until they could find a suitable long-term plan.
Hurts seized his opportunity and became the team’s long-term answer with strong play in 2021 to guide the Eagles to the playoffs. A strong offseason by Roseman helped Philadelphia mold its offense to Hurts’ strengths, taking advantage of his ability to run by making him a key cog in the league’s top rushing attack and giving him elite weapons to throw the ball on the outside.
The team’s faith in Hurts was rewarded as he delivered an MVP-caliber campaign, throwing for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns against just six interceptions while rushing for another 760 yards and 13 more scores. Philadelphia is 16-1 this season in games that Hurts starts, proving that the decision to draft him when Wentz was already on board was a prescient one that played a monstrous role in the Eagles landing where they are today.