Following a notable trade this offseason, Philadelphia’s top executive explained how he made a mistake in the draft just a few years ago.
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The Eagles have been among the most aggressive teams during the NFL’s preseason transaction period as they try to position themselves atop the NFC East and as a legitimate contender in the conference. One of the moves that the organization made was to cut ties with former first-round draft pick Jalen Reagor, trading him to the Vikings after just two seasons together.
Reagor, a speedy wide receiver out of TCU, was selected by Philadelphia with the No. 21 pick in the 2020 NFL draft. However, he never quite lived up to the expectations that came with being a first-round pick as he never eclipsed more than 400 yards in either year with the Eagles and caught just three total touchdown passes.
The selection of Reagor was doubly disappointing considering he was a part of a draft that featured receivers like Jerry Jeudy, Ceedee Lamb, Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman. Justin Jefferson, who was chosen by the Viking just one pick after the Eagles took Reagor, has been the leader among that group of 2020 wide receivers after making 108 receptions for 1,616 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
After executing the trade last week, Philadelphia general manger Howie Roseman made an appearance on Tuesday’s 94WIP Morning Show and admitted to making a mistake with the team’s first-round pick in 2020.
“I think one of my many weaknesses, is that I spend more time thinking about my mistakes than I do any of the successes we may have had. I think it continuously motivates me to get better. Whenever we do something like that, I go back and I look at the process and how we came to that decision. It’s obvious, I’m not going to sit here and lie, we’d love to have that moment back,” Roseman told Angelo Cataldi of the Reagor pick. “I believe that all of these moments, they lead to where you’re getting. Like I feel like when we won a World Championship there were some mistakes made in that process, but they lead us to get to where we want to be. I can’t go back in time and change it, all I can do is to try and learn from it and get better.”
Roseman continued, explaining that he learned from the mistake two years ago to focus on taking the best player available, rather than fixating too much on the fit of the player on the Eagles.
“I think a lot of the message there is, we just have to take the best players at all times,” he said. “We don’t have to worry so much about fit or what we have on the team. You go back to that moment, we had two tight ends who were really good in the middle of the field, Greg Ward was coming off of a really good year in the slot. We were looking for a specific role as opposed to just grading the players. That’s on me, one hundred percent. At the end of the day, I’m responsible for all of that. But I also promise you one thing, if I make a mistake I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up.”
Now set to join forces with Jefferson, Reagor will get a fresh start in Minnesota, while Philadelphia will free up additional targets for A.J. Brown and rising second-year receiver Devonta Smith.
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