Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson recap 2020 NFL Draft class and their commitment to 3 core traits

They had a new offseason motto to work off of when considering roster additions.

The Philadelphia Eagles loaded up on wide receivers, some defensive players, and a second-round QB during the 2020 NFL Draft — and made a host of trades along the way, including one with the Cowboys.

Howie Roseman, Doug Pederson and Andy Weidl spoke to reporters following several hours of adding undrafted free agents on Saturday night to explain some of their moves.

One thing’s for sure, the Eagles were committed to adding speed to the roster.

Here’s what they had to say:

Roseman opened by saying that he’s really proud of the Eagles’ staff, and the success this weekend was a credit to the collaboration of the entire staff, and he feels that you can see the vision they have for the 2020 season.

The GM said that a lot of attention is put on Thursday and Friday night, but they feel Saturday is the most important day to add a lot of talent to the team.

On prioritizing speed and their vision

“It began the day after we lost to the Seahawks,” Roseman said, noting it was very disappointing.

The GM said that he wrote down three things that he wanted to prioritize with adding talent, and the new traits were what both Pederson and Weidl were thinking as well.

1. Can he run?
2. Is he healthy?
3. Does he love to play?

That’s the offseason motto.

The scouting staff compiles so much information and background stuff on these players that they really put the trust in those people to be able to evaluate players’ love for the game. Pederson said that they can see the skillset on tape, but talking to them gives them a better insight into the character or the person and their passion for the game.

Roseman said that with the coaching staff the Eagles have, they wanted to add athletes that were explosive and who would be able to be developed. Later on, he and Pederson talked about how this includes a player like Jalen Hurts. The head coach echoed what Roseman noted on Friday about their priority of the quarterback position in general, always.

On the WR additions

Pederson was asked if the speed added this offseason changes the look of the offense, and the head coach didn’t hesitate to say “yes”. But, he went on to say that with the unknowns with the offseason, they are going to have to lean on guys like DeSean Jackson and Greg Ward with their experience in the system, and Marquise Goodwin as a veteran, to help bring up the young guys.

Roseman said that he thinks the offense is already different than it was last year with their new additions. On Marquise Goodwin, the GM was emphatic that he is one of the fastest people in the world. And when it comes to the rookies, they were discussing John Hightower vs. Quez Watkins, and when they moved back, they figured they should just get both.

Knowing how deep the wide receiver class was this year, Roseman admitted that it definitely affected them not making moves in free agency. He noted that some of it was the price teams were asking for some options, and Carson Wentz is still a young quarterback and they wanted to get guys that could grow with him.

On K’Von Wallace

Weidl said that Wallace’s physicality, tackling and ability to make contact at the line of scrimmage were what stood out. These things were consistent, along with his mentality, throughout all the tape they watched, and they felt he fit in well with what they were doing in Philly.

On the unique draft process

Weidl was asked how this challenging pre-draft process worked for him, and he said only time will tell. But he lauded the effort they got from the scouts and pretty much everyone from the organization was outstanding. They acquired as much information as they could given the circumstances, and he’s proud of what they were able to do.

On the trade with Dallas

Roseman said there’s been a lot of conversation about adding a free agent rather than Darius Slay, but there are a lot of factors when they had the ability to add a Pro Bowl corner.

He did say that some of their trading efforts on Saturday was to recoup some of the picks they gave up for Slay. But it was tough.

“When the Cowboys call and they offer a trade, I’m going to be honest, that’s hard for me.”

He said they had to feel like it was a good value for them and the person they were looking at with the 146th pick, was someone they felt they could get in the fifth round and they had the ability to add another pick.

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