Howie gonna Howie
Part of the excitement of Eagles drafts is that they will make trades, and draft trades are fun. With Howie Roseman at the helm, the Eagles have made pick for pick trades in the 1st round in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2014, and 2012, though some of them were completed before the draft began. They’ve also made pick for pick trades in the 2nd or 3rd round in 2024, 2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2014, and 2012.
So while the Eagles currently have picks 32, 64, and 96, they won’t by the end of the 3rd round on Friday. Let’s look at what we can expect them to give up to move up, or receive to move back. Forget draft value charts, we look at what teams have actually traded… which tend to follow draft value charts.
Up from 32
The Vikings, picking at 24, have four total draft picks this year, so they are an obvious potential trade up target. That’s also probably as far as the Eagles can trade up without it getting wild or involving a player. The Commanders, at 29, only have five picks, with two of them being in the 200s. The Eagles aren’t afraid to make trades with divisional rivals, trading with the Cowboys to select DeVonta Smith, and the Commanders to select Cooper DeJean. Whoops for those teams.
- 2024 – 24 and 2025 7th for 29, 73
- 2020 – 25 for 31, 117, 176
- 2017 – 26 for 31, 95, 249
- 2013 – 22, 2015 7th for 30, 92, 198
- 2012 – 25 for 31, 126
Pick 96 should be enough to move up, anything more and they’re paying a premium.
Down from 32
With so few first round grade players in this draft, it’s quite possible the Eagles are not able to move up and are sitting at 32 with a slate of second tier prospects to choose from, making a move back appealing. If you can’t get quality, get quantity.
Perhaps, like the last time the Eagles won the Super Bowl, a team will want to move up to 32 to take a QB. That deal was 32 and 132 for 52, 125, and a 2019 2nd.
- 2014 – 32 for 40, 108
- 2017 – 31 for 34, 111
- 2019 – 30 for 37, 132, 149
- 2019 – 31 and 203 for 45, 79
- 2024 – 32 and 200 for 33, 141
A move down within 10 spots should net an early 4th rounder, which would give the Eagles a lot of flexibility on day two. But will anyone want to move up in this draft?
Up from 64
Last year the Birds moved up in the 2nd round, will they try to tap that well again?
- 2011 – 54 for 62, 127
- 2013 – 55 for 61, 173
- 2013 – 56 for 62, 165, 199
- 2014 – 56, 242 for 63, 171, 2015 4th
- 2014 – 57 for 63, 171
- 2019 – 56 for 61, 167
- 2022 – 57 for 60, 180
- 2023 – 56 for 61, 136
Giving up one of the four 5th round picks to move up to the mid 50s would be a fair price.
Back from 64
- 2018 – 64 for 67, 178
- 2019 – 64 for 77, 118
- 2020 – 64 for 69, 148
- 2023 – 62 for 65, 188, 230
With the Eagles already having four 5th round picks, a move back from 64 to gain a mid 5th rounder seems redundant. But we can expect them to not sit on all four 5th round picks, so a move back to rebuild some volume could make sense.
Up from 134
Most trade ups from here involve giving up a late 6th or early 7th. Which the Eagles do not have. And the only 2026 pick in that range that they have is their own 7th. They could give up one of their 5th round picks, in 2018 the 143 and 161 were traded for 121, but they should ask for a late pick back to make it a 2 for 2 swap, otherwise they’d be overpaying.
Back from 134
- 2023 – 135 for 144, 214
- 2023 – 137 for 150, 215
- 2018 – 136 for 147, 197
Moving back at this point in the draft is unappealing because, as we are about to see, most trade backs from this range pick up a 5th rounder. The Eagles already have enough of them, if anything this is an area they may move up to.
Up from 160s
The Eagles have four 5th round picks, all within eight selections: 161, 164, 165, and 168. It feels certain that they will not make all four of those selections. One or two may be used to move up early in the draft, or they could package two of them to move up to the 130s.
- 2013 – 137 for 165, 199
- 2017 – 139 for 170, 180
- 2018 – 140 for 159, 185
- 2019 – 134, 243 for 162, 167
- 2022 – 126 for 165, 169
- 2024 – 129 for 173, 176
Two 5ths for a mid round 4th is fair, but who would do this trade?
As it stands now, the Cardinals have 6 picks, but just two after 115; the Falcons have five picks and none in the 5th or 6th rounds; the Chiefs also have no picks in the 5th or 6th rounds; and the Commanders have five picks, but just two after 128.
Down from the 160s
This is an extremely weak draft, the talent gap between the 6th round and undrafted free agency will be small. There’s little reason for the Eagles to move back from the 5th to pick up multiple 6th/7th rounders unless they give up multiple picks in moves up earlier in the draft and want to restock on volume.
So we’ll keep this short: if the Eagles trade a pick in the 160s for later picks, they should either pick up a 7th to move back within the 5th, or if they move back to the 6th they should pick up an additional 6th.
