Cowboys’ trade with Eagles shows they don’t fear Birds
Much as you want to believe the Eagles got their guy in Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, that’s giving them way too much credit.
The Dallas Cowboys delivered Smith to the Eagles, and it says a lot about how they perceive the Birds and Howie Roseman, who has been anointed a genius and praised for winning the draft basically because he begged a hated rival to do business with him in a crisis.
Think about it. The Eagles needed the Cowboys, who supposedly are their biggest rival in the NFC East, to save their draft. Why would the Cowboys do that unless they didn’t consider the Eagles a threat?
Smith unquestionably improves the Birds’ offense. He would probably make the New York Giants division champs. They have a starting quarterback, a sensational running back, a rebuilt line and a defense … everything the Eagles are searching for. That’s why the Cowboys did what they did. And you thought Dallas couldn’t play defense.
By his own admission, Roseman failed to correctly assess the top of the draft. He wanted wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase but correctly realized Chase wouldn’t make it to No. 6 overall, so he traded to No. 12 to get Miami’s first-round pick next year, figuring he would get a top cornerback or receiver.
When just three quarterbacks instead of the expected four came off the board through the first nine draft selections, Roseman was in a panic. The cornerbacks were gone along with all the top receivers except Smith, and he wouldn’t fall past the Giants, who were to draft 11th, one pick ahead of the Eagles.
So, Roseman phoned the Cowboys, who weren’t in the market for another Alabama receiver. They knew the Eagles and the Giants wanted Smith. That they took a third-round pick from the Eagles when they could have said, sorry, and let the Giants grab him proves that the Cowboys considered the Giants a much more dangerous opponent than the Birds. This was a first-round trade, not a third-day deal.
Roseman was saluted for getting the pick right. Head coach Nick Sirianni and his staff like Smith. Hands, height, catch radius, ability to high-point the ball.
Everything about Smith said yes, except that skinny build. Smith’s ability to get open one-on-one against what Sirianni described as the best cornerbacks in the SEC was the difference. Everybody knows the top SEC corners played at Alabama.
Off camera the Cowboys are laughing at the Eagles for patting themselves on the back with the Smith pick. That was the highlight of the Philly draft. The Eagles took broken-down center Landon Dickerson in the second round and blew a chance to get value in the third round by trading down two spots for workout warrior D-line project Milton Williams, who was their third option, just to get an extra sixth-rounder, which is worthless in this draft.
After the Williams pick TV cameras showed Roseman bouncing around and fist-bumping everyone in the draft room. Front office executive Tom Donahoe did so grudgingly, because the Eagles once again hadn’t followed a plan.
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman bounced back fairly well after trading out of the 11th pick.
The Chicago Bears gave him first- and fourth-round picks next year, among other enticements, including No. 20 to draft quarterback Justin Fields.
Why the Giants simply didn’t select Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons to screw the Cowboys is food for thought. Guess they felt they needed a receiver more than a linebacker with short, stubby arms.
The Giants selected fieldstretching receiver Kadarius Toney (Florida) at 20, and he’s had off-the-field issues. But that first round pick they get next year from the Bears almost certainly is going to be worth more than the first the Birds get from Miami.
Smith was the third receiver to come off the board, behind LSU’s Chase, who opted out of the 2020 season, and Crimson Tide teammate Jaylen Waddle, who was coming off an injury that sidelined him a chunk of last season. Smith put up his nasty 2020 numbers as the No. 1 receiver with Mac Jones, the 15th pick in the draft, who helped throw him open. Smith saw a lot of single coverage because the opposition stacked the box to defend running back Najee Harris, another first-round pick.
Anybody who comes out of the Alabama wide receivers room lately is gold. The Crimson Tide have had two first-round receivers in each of the last two drafts, Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy getting the call in 2020. But the impact? Negligible. Of seven Alabama wide receivers selected in the first round since 2011, Julio Jones of Atlanta is the only one to play in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles kept Smith from the Giants. For now, don’t expect much more than that. The Eagles still haven’t firmly identified a starting quarterback or found a shutdown corner, not an aging high-paid veteran. They need a certified pass rusher, a reliable left offensive tackle and maybe a right tackle, and a healthy center to succeed Jason Kelce. They need a lot of stuff.
All of that assumes the Eagles identified the right head coach in Sirianni, who to his credit flexed his muscles choosing his staff.
Make no mistake, the NFL is a worst-to-first league. Ditto the NFC East where the 7-9 Washington Football Team most recently won the pennant.
Just don’t overlook the obvious: The Eagles, once Super Bowl winners, are so far from contending again the Cowboys don’t care.
The proof is in the trade they made, the one that made the Eagles’ draft.