Much has been made about the Philadelphia Eagles’ offseason signing of Saquon Barkley, and rightfully so after the generational running back delivered a season for the ages.
But just as significant in the Eagles’ long road to Sunday night’s Super Bowl LIX victory was general manager Howie Roseman’s methodical approach to building through the draft — an art he has just about perfected at every level.
That much was clear throughout Philly’s 40-22 drubbing of the Kansas City Chiefs at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.
Consider the following.
Cooper DeJean, the rookie cornerback whose first career interception was Sunday’s pick-six of Patrick Mahomes, was a second-round selection less than 10 months ago.
He starred in the same secondary as another rookie cornerback, Quinyon Mitchell, whom the Eagles selected No. 22 overall.
Josh Sweat, who led the Eagles with 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hits Sunday, was a fourth-round pick in 2018.
Milton Williams, who added two sacks of Mahomes, went in the third round in 2021.
They each contributed to an all-time dominant defensive effort in which Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, threw two interceptions, suffered six sacks and 11 hits, and did not score until there was less than a minute remaining in the third quarter.
And those are only a few examples.
Roseman has identified talent in a variety of ways.
He found his franchise quarterback in the second round, using the No. 53 pick in 2020 to take Jalen Hurts. The dual-threat Hurts won Super Bowl MVP honors after throwing two touchdown passes and scoring another TD on the ground.
Protecting Hurts’ blindside was Jordan Mailata, whom the Eagles drafted in the seventh round in 2018. The 6-8 Mailata was a developmental project who came from Australia with a rugby background. He has since emerged as one of the NFL’s best left tackles.
More recently, Roseman has relied on drafting players from the Georgia defenses that led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships after the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The Eagles used a 2022 first-round pick on defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a hulking run-stuffer who serves as the anchor of the Eagles front.
In that same draft, they took linebacker Nakobe Dean in the third round. Dean emerged as a defensive leader this season, racking up 128 tackles, but did play in the Super Bowl after tearing a patellar tendon during the wild-card round.
In 2023, Philadelphia used the No. 9 pick on defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who quickly lived up to the hype in becoming one of the NFL’s most disruptive and unblockable players.
And with the No. 30 pick in that draft, the Eagles drafted linebacker Nolan Smith — Dean’s college roommate — to further bolster their defensive front. Smith contributed two QB hits Sunday.
During a pre-Super Bowl press conference, Hurts specifically cited the significance of having so many former Georgia players on the Eagles.
“I think that has a big impact on the culture of our defense, how they play, how together they are, and I think that seeps through the team in many ways,” Hurts said.
Roseman has shown a willingness to be aggressive.
In 2021, the Eagles parted with a third-round selection in order to move up from the No. 12 pick to No. 10. They used that pick on wide receiver DeVonta Smith, whose 46-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter Sunday served as the dagger.
Last year, they traded up to take DeJean at No. 40 overall.
Some teams viewed the play-making DeJean as a safety coming out of Iowa, likely contributing to his fall. But DeJean primarily defended the slot for the Eagles, and Pro Football Focus gave him an 82.0 grade this season — the third-best mark among cornerbacks.
Mitchell, meanwhile, emerged as one of the NFL’s top outside cornerbacks, a rare feat for a rookie, with a 78.4 PFF grade that ranked seventh at the position.
Hitting on so many draft picks helped the Eagles build a deep and dynamic defense, and it also enabled them to spend elsewhere to round out their roster.
In 2022, the Eagles traded a first-round pick to acquire wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans and have since given him two big-money extensions. Brown eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his three seasons with Philadelphia and caught a touchdown in Sunday’s win.
Last offseason, the Eagles signed Barkley to a three-year, $37.75 million deal, swiping him from the Giants, who failed to extend him and let him hit free agency.
Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season, making him the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards.
Including the playoffs, Barkley totaled 2,504 rushing yards, breaking a single-season record that had belonged to Denver Broncos great Terrell Davis since 1998.
And the Eagles aren’t going anywhere.
DeJean turned 22 on Sunday.
Carter and Mitchell are 23.
Dean is 24.
Davis is 25.
Hurts and DeVonta Smith are 26.
That’s a scary reality for the rest of the NFL.