The Philadelphia Eagles’ 2023 season did not end in the fashion they had planned. After being dismantled by the eventual Super Bowl-losing San Francisco 49ers and their quarterback Brock Purdy by a score of 42-19, they dropped four of their last five games of the regular season.
The streak continued into the playoffs with a Wild Card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In each of those six losses, the Eagles’ offense only crossed the 20-point threshold once, while their defense only held their opponents to less than 27 points once, and that was during their 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15. In fact, in their one win after the loss to the 49ers, the New York Giants were still able to score 25 points on their defense.
The late-season defensive coordinator switch didn’t fix their problems, so a retooling of the talent on the defensive side of the ball was needed. While they doubled down on their offensive talent during the offseason, extending contracts to wide receivers DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown, they brought in all-world talent running back Saquon Barkley, stealing him from the division rival Giants.
This made it no surprise that the general manager Howie Roseman spent his first three picks on the defensive side of the ball, all attempting to shore up what turned out to be a shaky pass defense. As Eagles fans are aware, Roseman likes to move up and down the draft board to acquire the players he covets, making 40 draft-day trades over the past ten years. This year he told Eagles fans to hold his beer and made a draft record nine trades.
Time will tell whether all those trades made the Eagles better or not, but at first glance, it appears he definitely helped fill out a roster with young talent who should see playing time right away. Let’s take a look at the bounty Roseman collected.
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