The Eagles were among the big winners from Thursday’s first round after landing Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith with their two picks.
There was talk of Philadelphia trading down to No. 5 overall, but in the end, the Georgia All-American defensive tackle fell to the Birds after swapping picks with the Bears at No. 9.
After Day 1, Roseman defended the Carter selection and talked about potentially moving out of Round 1 before landing Nolan Smith.
Howie Roseman on taking calls at No. 30
Roseman said he fielded calls from teams looking to trade into No. 30. While he might have once thought that was the likely result, the Eagles GM said he decided not to overthink it and picked Nolan Smith.
Regarding Smith’s pec injury, Roseman said he’s healthy.
Howie Roseman on the homework the Eagles did on Jalen Carter:
The Eagles GM was asked about the due diligence that went into drafting Carter.
Yeah, I think that for us, our investment is a huge part. I’ve talked about [Senior Advisor to the General Manager/Chief Security Officer] Dom [DiSandro] many, many times about the work that he does, which is the best in the National Football League, and we understand that all these players, they need to be developed. They’re coming into the league at a very young age. They’re not finished products. I think all of us when we were 21 and 22 hopefully have grown a lot from that time, and you just really want to get to know the person and what’s in their heart. I think when we got to know Jalen, we just felt like here’s a kid that he does love football. Obviously, he’s a winner. He won in high school, he won in college.
We feel like we have really good people in this building. We have really good support staff. We have really good players who are good people. We have really good coaches. We felt like it was a good fit for us.
Roseman on Carter being available at No. 9 overall
Roseman was asked if he thought the Georgia All-American would have been available at No. 9 or No. 10 overall three months ago.
“No, not at 10. Didn’t think that. But obviously been around this a long time, and things happen. I think you’ve got to be prepared.”
Roseman defends drafting Carter
After an early morning crash killed Georgia player Devin Alex Willock and staff member Chandler Louise LeCroy, Carter was charged with reckless driving and racing.
“We spent a lot of time investigating the incident around it,” Roseman said. “We talked to Jalen about a variety of things. We’re not going to get into what we talk to our players about. That’s not fair. … But at the end of the day, nobody’s hiding from the fact that a tragic event happened.”
Roseman and NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank went on to have a back-and-forth on the pick.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” Roseman said. “You want him to talk about an active investigation at that time? At the end of the day, he just got drafted and you’re putting him on the spot.”
