Mailbag: Does Howie Roseman suck because he signed Bryce Huff and traded for Jahan Dotson?

Now that the 2025 NFL Draft is in the rearview mirror, let's take some questions. This is Part II of a two-part mailbag (Part I here). As always, thank you for doing half the work for me.

Question from @will.technology (via Bluesky): How do you think the Eagles feel about their depth at WR? None of the backups were very productive last year, but the team didn't do much of anything to improve that spot.

On the "lack of productivity" point, here were the Eagles' wide receivers' stats in 2024:

Brown's and Smith's numbers were down because they combined to miss 8 games — plus Saquon Barkley had one of the best running back seasons ever — and they still combined for 75 percent of the receptions, 84 percent of the receiving yards, and 83 percent of the receiving TDs.

So, yes, the receivers not named A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith didn't do much last season, at least during the regular season.

Dotson was sort of a surprise contributor in the playoffs. He had the team's first TD of the playoffs against the Packers, and in the Super Bowl he made 3 receptions, the first of which set up the Eagles' first TD.

I think it's reasonable to assume that he could be more involved in the offense this year.

It's also worth noting that with the team retaining Dallas Goedert, he's their third receiving option, and the Eagles have a couple of running backs in Barkley and Will Shipley who have some receiving chops.

I can see why they didn't spend significant resources at wide receiver.

Question from Steve (via email): The Eagles traded a 3 for Dotson and the Cowboys traded a 3 for George Pickens. Could the Eagles have gotten a better receiver with that 3?

Yeah, maybe. That trade won't be featured in Howie's Hall of Fame speech.

Oddly, I've seen writers for the SB Nation sites for the Cowboys and Commanders "dunking" on Howie for the Dotson trade recently. This guy writes for Blogging the Boys, the Cowboys' SB Nation site:

The Eagles traded a third-round pick for Jahan Dotson.
The Cowboys traded a third-round pick for George Pickens.
But hey, nobody can make deals like Howie!

— Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) May 7, 2025

For the sake of accuracy, the Eagles didn't trade a 3 straight up for Dotson. They also got a 5 back. They've made a number of those kinds of deals recently, notably also when they traded for Kenny Pickett last year. They probably don't see a huge dropoff in value from a third-round pick to a fifth-round pick, so they're comfortable making that kind of swap if they can get a competent player to fill a reasonably important role.

With the fifth-round pick they got in return from the Commanders, the Eagles traded back, acquiring the 181st pick (Kyle McCord) and the 209th pick (Antwaun Powell-Ryland). So, you know, they traded a 3 for Dotson, McCord, and Powell-Ryland. Maybe McCord and/or Powell-Ryland will pan out. Maybe they won't. TBD. But they're a part of that deal, too, just for accuracy's sake.

The Cowboys traded a 3 straight up for Pickens, and also moved back a round — from the fifth to the sixth — in the 2027 draft.

Pickens is obviously a better player than Dotson and it's not particularly close, but the Steelers seemingly just didn't want him on their team anymore (an obvious red flag), and he's only cost-controlled on his rookie deal for one season, while Dotson was cost-controlled for two when the Eagles traded for him.

Maybe Pickens will be awesome in Dallas. Maybe he won't. We'll see. 🤷‍♂️

Dotson did eventually contribute to the Eagles' Super Bowl last season, even if he was mostly invisible during the regular season.

Meanwhile, from Hogs Haven, the Commanders' SB Nation site:

How come when people talk about the GENIUS that is Howie Roseman, no one mentions the Bryce Huff 3yrs/51M contract or the 3rd rounder given up for Jahan Dotson🤷🏻‍♂️

— Mark Tyler (Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) May 9, 2025

Again, if you want to exaggerate what the Eagles gave up for Dotson you can say that they traded a 3 for him and leave it at that, but that's not what they did.

As for the bad deal for Bryce Huff, that was discussed at length, at least locally. But why is that not the focus of the evaluation of Roseman as a GM?

I dunno, maybe because HE JUST WON THE SUPER BOWL WITH ONE OF THE BEST ROSTERS EVER? Lol. Or maybe because during that same offseason he also happened to acquire Saquon Barkley, Zack Baun, Mekhi Becton, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in free agency, while also landing Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Jalyx Hunt in the draft?

So that's probably why, just to answer that question. Next topic: If Stephen Curry is such a good shooter, why does he miss more than half of his three-point attempts? Discuss.

Question from @philasports822 (via Bluesky): Do you think they should have been more aggressive in getting an experienced backup to Saquon than A.J. Dillon? The history for running backs who have had the workload Saquon did last year is scary bad the following season, often due to injuries. If he gets hurt, a combo of Shipley and Dillon is not encouraging.

I'll have a player review of Shipley coming out soon, but I thought he showed enough as a rookie that he can be an upgrade over Kenny Gainwell as the RB2. At some point I should also probably write something on the history of running backs who got workloads similar to Saquon's last year, and what they did in their subsequent seasons.

Question from @ndutton13 (via Bluesky): Are there any spots that you think the Eagles might look at adding a veteran through trade in the coming weeks?

If the Eagles aren't completely convinced that Andrew Mukuba can start as a rookie and they continue to distrust Sydney Brown, then I could see them adding a veteran to the mix at safety. But I don't think that would necessitate a trade, with Justin Simmons and Julian Blackmon still on the market.

If they get into training camp and decide that Kelee Ringo and Adoree' Jackson ain't it (I'm not projecting that, to be clear), then I could see a trade happening at corner, but I'd put that possibility in the "unexpected need to pivot" bucket.

Question from @jdalenut: Of the 3 swings Howie took at possible Lane Johnson replacements (Myles Hinton, Cameron Williams, Hollin Pierce), who do you think will be THE guy? It’s great to see Howie give Stoutland 3 rolls of the dice on massive and athletic tackles.

I think Myles Hinton has a a better chance of getting on the field earlier because he has LT-RT versatility and more starting experience in college. But I think Williams has more raw upside, and has a better chance of being a long-term eventual replacement for Lane. Pierce is third in both categories for me, but I do think he has some obvious size traits and could be legitimate pro if Stoutland can develop his skills.

But, yes, I agree that it's good process to give your best positional coach four new players with traits (including Drew Kendall here) to see what he can unlock.

Question from @johnmlatimer (via Bluesky): The draft footage the Eagles released shows Howie initiating the call to the Chiefs to swap picks for Jihaad Campbell. Then he says we may have just given away a pick. Almost a trade for trade's sake. I assumed KC used leverage to get that pick by implying another team wanted to move up. Were you surprised?

The Eagles had been trying to trade up for almost an hour, trying to land Campbell, and it seemed as though they were even open to including their second-round pick to get up to 22 with the Chargers. When Campbell fell to 31, I think they just wanted to make certain they got their guy, especially at a far better value.

I don't think KC even had to pretend like they had other offers to move out of that spot. Howie called up offering the fifth-round pick, they said "OK," and the Eagles landed their guy.

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They'd have been sick if they just sat tight, hoping the Chiefs took a different player without trading out, and Campbell got picked.

They did the same thing in 2023, by the way. They moved up one spot from 10 to 9 with the Bears to select Jalen Carter, when the Bears were not going to take Carter. I don't think they have any regrets giving away a fourth-round pick to get that done.

Question from @bearc: Of the players selected in the 5th round and later, is there a player that has an intriguing skillset that you're excited to see come training camp?

Smael Mondon is a guy who has been on my radar for a few years. He's long, athletic, and physical. I'm surprised he was available in the fifth round.

Question from @minkusblitz: When the Eagles put out their behind the scenes videos from the draft I'm always shocked at how many Day 3 guys they explicitly talk about in their pre draft day meeting that they actually draft. Is it more that they talk about a lot of players and this is just edited or are they really that good at going and getting these guys Day 3?

Yes, it's edited. They're not going to show the footage of scouts standing on the table for prospects that get picked by other teams.

Question from @StokesTheWriter: It seems like most of Eagles’ edge defenders are of a similar speed rusher build. Is that intentional and is there a downside to not having a balance of power rusher vs speed rusher?

I do think they could use a Brandon Graham type on the edge. I also think they're probably done adding to the edge. If they determine that that's legitimately something that is missing from their front, there's always the trade deadline.

Question from @Boston_Sucks: Rank these in order of most likely to least likely option to start at right guard for the Eagles in 2025: 1) Tyler Steen 2) Kenyon Green 3) Someone else on the roster 4) A player currently not on the Eagles roster.

The way that your ordered them would be my order.

Question from @makarov__: Who is your most underrated (by ratings, etc) player on this roster? Mine is Cam Jurgens. Definitely has snaps he'd like back, but was a solid first season at center, I thought.

I agree that Jurgens had a great first season as the starting center, but he was also rewarded for that with a Pro Bowl nod and a lucrative new contract.

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but I think that Lane Johnson has been the best offensive lineman in the NFL over like the last 8 years, but he is not regarded as that on a national level. I mean sure, everyone acknowledges that he's great, and yet he is still criminally underrated, in my opinion.

Question from @TheSmartyJones: Has Stoutland possibly gotten a bit overrated? He’s obviously great, but now there seems to be this belief that he’ll turn these Day 3 picks into studs. Feels like it’s worth remembering that 4 of the OL starters in 2025 were drafted in the first two rounds.

I guess this is the underrated/overrated section of this mailbag.

I do not think Stoutland is overrated. I think that what he does is get players to reach their ceilings, and he is also a great evaluator of O-line talent who the Eagles' personnel department leans on.

Question from @WalkWithLyle: Give me your top 3 undrafted FAs who have the best chance to make the team.

1) Maxen Hook, S, Toledo: The fourth safety spot is wide open, and Hook was regarded by some draft analysts as a fourth- or fifth-round prospect.

2) Montrell Johnson, RB, Florida: Physical runner with 4.41 speed. A.J. Dillon missed all of 2024 with a stinger.

3) Hollin Pierce, OT, Rutgers: He's 6'8, 341, with LT-RT versatility. If he didn't have so much competition for one of the backup spots, I'd have him first.

Question from @philthycanuck: Do you think Moro Ojomo can have similar success to what Williams had? Is it a product of playing next to Jalen Carter?

Fangio said that he liked what he saw from Ojomo in 2024 both as a pass rusher and run defender, and Fangio doesn't give BS praise to the media like most coaches do. He's already a three-down lineman, and yeah, certainly playing next to Carter won't hurt.

I think he's got a chance to prove that he can do a lot of the things that Milton could do.

Question from @liamfish28: Is the possibility of Sydney Brown and Makuba being the safety tandem of the future being given enough consideration? Reed Blankenship hasn’t yet been extended and theoretically the other two have the most athletic upside.

I'm mildly surprised that Blankenship hasn't gotten a deal done yet, but I still expect that to happen at some point this offseason. Above I was asked who the most underrated Eagle is. I think Blankenship is a little underrated, too. He's a sure tackler and he gets his hands on a lot of footballs (7 INTs, 17 PBUs the last two seasons).

Question from flyrfan16: How many snaps per game do you think the fullback will get?

That depends. Do they have a big lead in the fourth quarter? If so, you'll probably see a lot of Ben VanSumeren. Are they going to go fullback-heavy in close games? Eh, probably not.

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