Philly Front Office

Do we all remember our reaction during the 2022 NFL Draft when we first received the news that the Philadelphia Eagles had traded the #18 pick to the Tennessee Titans for WR AJ Brown? I’d say mine was euphoria, but that quickly morphed into “Why in the world would the Titans trade AJ Brown?” Frankly, they just didn’t want to pay him. Brown rightfully wanted to be one of the highest paid receivers and Tennessee didn’t want to give it to him for one reason or another. The Eagles jumped at the opportunity to pay Brown 4/$100m and haven’t looked back on their way to two Super Bowl appearances.

There are three types of players who might get traded during the draft:

• 4th year, non-first rounders: This is the AJ Brown type. Players on rookie scale contracts are first eligible for extensions after their 3rd year in the league. First round picks have 5th year options, but 2nd rounders like Brown do not. Basically, unless a team wants to use a franchise tag, the player is a year away from free agency.
• 5th year, first rounders: These guys had their options picked up but still have not worked out an extension. This 5th year is guaranteed, but it stands to reason that if they have not been extended yet, they probably won’t get extended (unless your owner believes he is some master negotiator like Jerry Jones, destined to sign your stud pass rusher to the highest contract possible).
• Vets with one year left on their contract: This is why you are hearing so much about Dallas Goedert in trade talks. I don’t think they move him specifically until after the draft for contract reasons, but others in his shoes could find themselves on the move if their current teams can’t work out an extension. Usually these are players too good to just release but too expensive to keep.

I’m not including certain players on this list because either their teams are too good to trade such needed players or the player simply means too much to the organization. For all those thinking Micah Parsons is on the trade block, he isn’t. I don’t think TJ Watt is either. The same goes for Brock Purdy, Rashawn Slater, Mike Evans, Terry McLaurin, and Cam Jurgens. They will get their extensions eventuallly.

• Trey Hendrickson – DE – Cincinnatti Bengals: This one is obvious considering much has been made of the two sides not being able to come to an agreement on an extension. Anyone trading for the pass rusher will need to pay him handsomely for his services due to his age and production. Coming off back-to-back 17.5 sack seasons, he is going to want to be paid at the top of the market, something close to the $40m AAV Myles Garrett just received. Because of that price tag, the market might actually be pretty slim. Washington would have been smarter to try to get him than wasting money and picks on the rest of the flotsam they picked up this winter.
• Riq Woolen – CB – Seattle Seahawks: The 4th year 5th rounder had a slightly down but still solid season, and he is still one of the fastest players and biggest CBs in the league with Pro Bowl upside. Since they will likely pay Devon Witherspoon next season, the Seahawks might not want to also pay Woolen.
• Kerby Joseph – S – Detroit Lions: The Lions are trying to be good this year and Joseph is awesome. Still, they have a lot of guys to pay including Aiden Hutchinson. Do they want a safety who will want top dollar on that list when they just drafted Brian Branch?
• Boye Mafe – EDGE – Seattle Seahawks: He is better than you think and entering his 4th year in the league. This is not someone they want to let go, but if Seattle wants to move up in the draft, Mafe would be a sneaky way of doing it.
• George Pickens – WR – Pittsburgh Steelers: When the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf they either thought they were getting a dynamic (albeit possibly insane) receiver duo, or they were already planning on moving Pickens before they had to extend him. It’s unclear if the Steelers want to be in the George Pickens business. The Steelers also have to pay TJ Watt. Despite Watt being the subject of trade rumors recently and the Steelers notoriously trading players a year early rather than a year late, I just can’t imagine they trade him.
• Nik Bonitto – EDGE – Denver Broncos: Bonitto was one of the best defensive players in football last season. The Broncos do not want to lose him, but if he wants to be paid Nick Bosa money, the Broncos might say no way.
• George Kittle – TE – San Francisco 49ers: This sounds crazy, but Kittle is on a different timeline than the rest of the team. He will turn 32 during week 6 of the season in a year the 49ers are not trying to be competitive. If they don’t want to sign him to an extension now, then moving him makes way more sense than keeping him.
• Mark Andrews – TE – Baltimore Ravens: Andrews will be 30 to start the season and has one year left on his contract. Maybe the fans in Baltimore would revolt considering his story, but much like Kittle, Andrews might be on a separate timeline from the rest of the team. A short term extension is probably more likely though.
• Dallas Goedert – TE – Philadelphia Eagles: There is a trend amongst tight ends apparently. Teams are not in a hurry to give out 3rd contracts. The Eagles are probably looking to draft his replacement this year and are not looking to add money to a budget that is earmarked for extensions in the next few years.
• Kyle Pitts – TE – Atlanta Falcons: No one has any idea what the Falcons are doing, but Pitts had no business being drafted where he was and has very clearly not lived up to his billing in Atlanta. It’s even surprising they exercised his 5th year option.
• Odafe Oweh – EDGE – Baltimore Ravens: After an injury cut short his 2023 season, Oweh bounced back with ten sacks last season. They are probably in that Josh Sweat in between stage where they don’t know if that’s his ceiling or his new floor.
• Greg Newsome – CB – Cleveland Browns: After a down season and a money crunch in Cleveland, they might be looking to move on from Newsome. His 5th year option is over $13m, way too much for his value.
• Travis Etienne – RB – Jacksonville Jaguars: Etienne was down across the board this season. His $6m salary is probably too much for an acquiring team especially one they aren’t looking to extend. Still, he could be on the move in exchange for a draft swap to move the salary.
• Kwity Paye – EDGE – Indianapolis Colts: He’s another member of the Josh Sweat All Stars, teetering between solid and good, with no one sure of their ultimate talent level. If someone wants him for a mid round draft pick, the Colts would have to listen.
• Jaelan Phillips – EDGE – Miami Dolphins: Phillips was almost good but dropped the last two seasons due to knee injuries. No one is giving him an extension right now, but the Dolphins could look to move him.

In a different situation, I would want the Eagles to be in on Woolen or these EDGE rushers (they should either be called just EDGE or edge rushers, the fact that I do both bothers me, but I still do it) but they are not looking to take on salary right now. Still, they are armed with some $23m in cap space, so a deal could be there if they want it. If the Eagles were going to go after anyone, I would think it would be some of the first rounders from the 2023 class. Since they only just became eligible to sign extensions, it would be silly to list everyone in that first round who hasn’t been extended yet, but they are on the table in theory.