How the Eagles should approach the NFL trade deadline | Best of unCovering the Birds

How were we so wrong? Heading into the season, the Eagles’ defense was supposed to be their strength. After Monday’s throttling by the Cowboys, the group reached a new low, especially on the defensive line, where major offseason investments and commitments were made. Why has a unit that showed promise in training camp failed to live up to expectations? And how will the Eagles’ five-game losing streak influence the organization’s approach to the NFL’s impending trade deadline? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy tackle these topics and more the day after the Eagles’ 38-21 loss to Dallas.

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Jeff McLane: Everybody just wants to have a fire sale, but you know, look around the league, it doesn’t happen. You you can only lose so many guys. Teams are only willing to give up so much in future capital for some of these guys. Like I think there are probably a few guys Howie could deal, and he’s already made the [Cam] Jurgens trade.

And you have to field a team, and they’re still technically in this thing. We’ll see how the next two weeks play out. The trade deadline is November 10th.

But if we’re gonna start with the defensive side, Moro Ojomo’s in his fourth year. They’ve already made it very clear that they can’t bring him back because they’ve already invested in [Jordan] Davis and [Jalen] Carter, unless they trade one of those guys, which is maybe possible. I think it’d be hard to trade those contracts.

I think Riq Woolen [had a] really bad game [and] they’re not gonna be able to trade him this week. But maybe you can get him to a team that plays a lot of man press, which is really what he’s better suited to do. And unfortunately just hasn’t fit into the scheme — Vic Fangio wants these guys playing off. They play a lot of match zone. He’s had trouble with some of these communications pre-snap, which has led to busted coverages. But maybe you get him in a scene similar to what he played in in Seattle and someone’s willing to give up like a fifth-rounder for him.

Ojomo, he’s a defensive tackle, premium position. Maybe you get a third-rounder for him. You mentioned [Zack] Baun. He’s getting older. He’s good. He’s making a fair amount next season, although I don’t know how much of that is guaranteed. Those would probably be the guys on defense.

Who do you think will be the guys on offense — you mentioned [Landon] Dickerson, but I think there’s a few others. And you mentioned [Saquon] Barkley. Tyler Steen’s entering into his contract year...

I mean Hollywood Brown, can you get a bag of balls for Hollywood? I mean you gave him five million dollars guaranteed and he’s been almost nothing. I mean he did have a couple catches yesterday, but...

David Murphy: Yeah, like to me Marquise Brown is pipe dream stuff [to attract a trade offer], like the guy could easily have been released every week up to this point.

McLane: Some of the building was very early on there, like, I don’t know why [Andy] Dalton and Brown are on this [team]. Like they should be just gone. And those were minor Howie Roseman mistakes, but they speak to just how poor of an offseason that he had. I mean, like, let’s just be honest.

And Howie, obviously he’s gonna earn the right to try and rebuild this thing again. We’ve seen him do it over and over. Sometimes he has to hit rock bottom to really come out swinging and show people that he is one of the better GMs in the league. And we all know Jeffrey Lurie makes that possible to some degree with how much cash he’s willing to spend over the cap.

I’m not trying to pivot too much here, but if you look at their future cap situation and they find their way out of it, it’s, I wouldn’t say dire, but he’s gonna have to build through the draft and start hitting on these picks because the last two drafts haven’t been up to snuff. I want to give Makai Lemon the benefit of the doubt here and also Eli Stowers. They deserve time to show what they’re worth.

Murphy: To answer your initial question, it doesn’t happen in the NFL where teams just like amass draft capital. Jaelan Phillips was the most coveted player on last year’s free agent market and the Eagles got him for a third-round pick. They don’t have anybody close to that in terms of what the market will be valuing.

And then as soon as you get into a fifth-round pick, then you’re talking about, well, you cut a fifth-round pick every year. Like at this point, is it really worth the dysfunction that we’re bringing in? And I think that’s usually why you don’t see teams do this, because the price other teams are willing to pay is usually not worth the sacrifices you’ll make, even on guys who will walk.

I mean, last night was important for Makai Lemon. If you want him to become the guy that you traded up in the draft [to acquire]. And you gotta have a certain amount of functionality around a guy in order to get to a point where he can make catches. Like Stowers is a great example. Stowers is a developmental guy, needs to play.

I’d say to a guy like [rookie QB] Cole Payton, I think Cole Payton could be one of the more interesting people to keep an eye on down the stretch. There’s a reason why they’ve kept him around. But, you know, you’re going to trade Landon Dickerson and throw him in there? What’s the point of having him in there if he’s just going to get swallowed? And so, I think that on the offensive side ... I don’t think it makes sense to trade Dickerson. I think he’s got to be part of the solution.

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How were we so wrong? Heading into the season, the Eagles’ defense was supposed to be their strength. After Monday’s throttling by the Cowboys, the group reached a new low, especially on the defensive line, where major offseason investments and commitments were made. Why has a unit that showed promise in training camp failed to live up to expectations? And how will the Eagles’ five-game losing streak influence the organization’s approach to the NFL’s impending trade deadline? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy tackle these topics and more the day after the Eagles’ 38-21 defeat to Dallas. Listen here.

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