Howie Roseman spent the 2026 trade deadline doing what he does best: turning veterans into future draft ammo.
By the time the dust settled, the Eagles had added another first-round pick to a stash that already looks absurd on paper. Philadelphia now owns 10 first- or second-round picks over the next three years, including its own first and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first in 2027, its own second in 2027, two firsts and two seconds in 2028 from the New England Patriots, the Eagles, and the Baltimore Ravens, plus its own first and both its own and the Jaguars’ second-round picks in 2029. Roseman also has 17 additional picks over the next three drafts, giving the Eagles plenty of flexibility to move up, move back, or keep loading the roster with top-end talent.
What makes the haul even more striking is who Philadelphia did not have to move to get there. An aging wide receiver with just 101 yards on the season, a struggling interior offensive lineman, and a two-down run-stuffing defensive tackle were enough to bring back two first-round picks and two second-rounders.
That’s why the Eagles’ deadline deserves a strong grade. With the team on its bye, it’s fair to step back and look at the full picture of Roseman’s 2026 seller’s market.
The AJ Brown deal is the one that will get the most attention, and for good reason. Once it became clear Brown would not be back in Philadelphia in 2026, the obvious questions were whether the Eagles got enough in return and how they would survive without him on offense.
The second question is still hard to answer, especially with DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, and Makai Lemon not taking the field together with Jalen Hurts since Week 4 against the Chicago Bears.
The first one looks much easier now. Since arriving in New England in June, Brown has played in only three games for the Patriots. He has caught nine of 20 targets for 101 yards and no touchdowns under Mike Vrabel, and an ankle injury in September sent him to IR before a knee issue kept him out over the past two weeks.
If there’s a gripe, it’s that the Eagles didn’t land a 2027 first-rounder for Brown. But with the way the 2027 quarterback class has developed as of mid-November, a run on passers may not push premium non-quarterbacks into the teens and 20s anyway. Getting another swing in 2028 still looks like a strong outcome.
The Cam Jurgens move to Baltimore was easier for fans to swallow at the time, and it looks even better now. Jurgens had been a key part of the Eagles’ two most recent Super Bowl runs, but his play had dropped off badly by the time Roseman flipped him for a 2028 second-round pick.
Drew Kendall, a 2025 fifth-round pick, had actually been outplaying the two-time Pro Bowler at center under new offensive line coach Chris Kuper. Jurgens was sitting near the bottom of the league in Pro Football Focus grades among interior linemen when the trade happened, and he has stayed a problem in Declan Doyle’s offense. That situation got messy enough that Eric DeCosta had to send Andrew Vorhees and a conditional 2028 sixth-round pick to the Ravens for Ryan Neuzil right before the deadline.
With Jacoby Brissett locked in at QB1 until Lamar Jackson returns, if that even happens, Baltimore now has to figure out whether Jurgens stays at center or shifts to guard, where he played early in his career when Jason Kelce was still on the team. For Philadelphia, though, the move was simple: cash out on a player who had battled injuries and seemed to have lost a step, and collect a premium pick in the process.
Then came the biggest swing of all. The Bengals backed out of a deal for Arnold Ebiketie, and the Eagles ended up moving Jordan Davis.
Losing Davis hurts. He was Philadelphia’s best run stuffer, a locker room leader, and one of the few bright spots in a disappointing season. But the return was massive: a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick from Jacksonville.
Davis has never been a full-time player in the way teams usually expect from a top defensive lineman, and he has played more than 60 percent of his team’s defensive snaps only once in his career. He doesn’t bring much as a pass rusher, but his size and athleticism have always made him the kind of player teams dream on.
The problem was that, nine games into his fifth season, that next leap still hadn’t come. Philadelphia also seemed more interested in pairing Moro Ojomo with Jalen Carter going forward.
The Jaguars clearly saw the upside and paid accordingly.
Will Davis be missed? Absolutely.
His teammates were disappointed to see him go, even if they were glad he landed with a contender, and Davis himself was emotional in his final comments at the Philadelphia International Airport. But from the Eagles’ side, the math is hard to argue with.
They turned a run-stopping tackle into premium future capital and gave themselves a chance to keep stacking starters at more valuable spots.
For Roseman, that’s the kind of deadline that earns a big grade.
In Other News...
Eagles Deadline Choice Put Three Free Agents Under The Spotlight
The Eagles deadline maneuvering made one thing clear: not every pending free agent is being treated the same. Philadelphia moved on from Jordan Davis before the 2026 NFL trade deadline, but kept Dallas Goedert, Moro Ojomo and Woolen on the roster, a sign that the front office is still weighing who fits into the next phase of the teams plans.
Ojomo looks like the safest bet to stay, and Goedert also appears to have a real chance to remain in Philadelphia. Woolen is the more uncertain case, with his future tied to how he performs over the rest of the season. For the Eagles, the deadline was less about a single splash move than about drawing a line between players they seem ready to keep and the ones still trying to prove they belong. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Running Game Has Become A Problem They Still Can't Solve
The Eagles ground game has become one of the leagues biggest headaches, and it is showing up in the kind of places that usually tell the story of a season. Philadelphia has spent the year near the bottom of the NFL in rushing yards per game and yards per carry, a jarring slide for a team that has long built its identity around controlling the line of scrimmage and finishing drives on the ground.
Injuries have played a part, with Saquon Barkley and the backups all dealing with issues at different points, but the problems have not stopped there. The offensive line has had trouble creating consistent movement, and the play-calling has not found a clean answer either, leaving the Eagles stuck searching for a fix as games wear on and the run game keeps fading when they need it most. [Read more 🡒]
Makai Lemon Is Giving Eagles Fans A Reason To Rethink One Problem
Makai Lemon has started to look like more than a rookie filling in for injured teammates. With DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks sidelined, the Eagles have leaned on Lemon more heavily over the last three games, and the early returns have been encouraging. His quick route adjustments and comfort working from the slot have given the offense a different kind of option, one that has fit naturally into the passing game as Philadelphia has searched for answers.
The bigger takeaway for the Eagles is how the coaching staff has begun to adjust around him. Lemon is showing he can create separation and threaten defenses in ways that can matter beyond emergency duty, which makes his recent rise more than a temporary fix. If this usage keeps expanding, it could change how the Eagles think about his role even after the receiving room gets healthier. [Read more 🡒]