Seeds from the Roseman GM tree following in his foot steps

Howie Roseman and the Eagles have been at the forefront of innovation in player transactions for years, so it's of no surprise to me to see guys like Joe Douglas, and Andrew Berry get offers as general managers elsewhere. Let's take a look at the clues from the first offseason as to how these two might operate going forward. 

One of the mantras in Philly has been to build from the inside out. During the Andy Reid days the Eagles would spend their first round pick on the offensive or defensive lines nearly every year. Stacking the deck with players who protect, or wreck the pocket. This hasn't changed much recently with Derek Barnett, Andre Dillard, drafted to be the successor to aging vets. So naturally Douglas took this thought process with him to New York where he quickly drafted Mekhi Becton with the 11th overall pick. He also followed this in his approach to free agency, his first deal as GM this offseason was to resign Alex Lewis a starting guard in 2019 to a 3 year deal locking him up until he is 31 years old. He is a 5 year veteran and a solid player to keep. Their first incoming free agents were tackle George Fant, C/G Connor McGovern, and guard Greg Von Roten. All of these players are lower level starting caliber players at this point but they were upgrades over the players they had available. They also added depth by agreeing to deals with C Leo Koloamatangi, C/G Josh Andrews, and drafting T Cameron Clark in the 4th round as a candidate to be the swing tackle. Quite the overhaul in one offseason. 

In Cleveland, Berry was blessed with a decent core of linemen. Returning starters Joel Biotonio, and Wyatt Teller at guard, and JC Tretter at center. Starting tackle from 2019 Chris Hubbard will now be the swing tackle after the Browns drafted Jedrick Wills at LT, and signed RT Jack Conklin from the Titans. The Browns also added C/G Evan Brown from Miami, and drafted C Nick Harris in the 5th round. 

The next mantra in the Howie Roseman school of team building is having your succession plan in place for aging veterans. Typically by drafting and developing a player over a year or two. We saw this recently with Derek Barnett, who was drafted to ultimately start opposite of Graham but started off as the 4th DE in the rotation. 

In Cleveland they drafted DT Jordan Elliot who didn't receive much playing time early on in college but is the perfect developmental candidate behind Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi. He will slowly work his way into the lineup this season and potentially take over as a starter next season. Tight end Harrison Bryant was drafted to eventually supplant Austin Hooper or David Njoku, while center Nick Harris is a developmental candidate with the future of JC Tretter in mind. 

In New York; they drafted DB Ashytyn Davis from Cal. At 6'0 202 lbs he isn't the in the box safety that Jamal Adams so fans pointing to Adams' trade speculation as the reason he was drafted are off base. This move is actually more indicative of the Jets thoughts on Marcus Maye a former 2nd round pick. Davis is the perfect prospect to groom for a short time before Maye, who is on the last year of his deal, is traded prior to the deadline, or leaves via free agency. Davis adds immediate value as a return man, on coverage teams and in 3 safety packages. He is the perfect compliment to Jamal Adams. 

Running back Lamichal Perine is a pick with an eye toward the future of LeVeon Bell in New York. Bell had a down year with career lows in yards per carry, touchdowns, and logged just two plays all year that went over 20 yards, his previous low was 8, and prior to this year he had never gone without a 20+ yard run. Much of that was the offensive line but questions about his relationship with Adam Gase circled as well. That's why drafting Perine makes so much sense. He is a guy who I believe will benefit dramatically from being in an NFL weight room, and maybe eventually even lean out a bit in an effort to create more burst. He however comes into the league a very polished receiver a trait Bell is often lauded for. I could see Perine taking on a bigger role in two seasons when Bell's contract is easier to escape, and they have drafted his successor as the top back while Perine is likely to be the 3rd down back. 

Tackle Cameron Clark will serve as a swing tackle, and potentially even play some guard eventually. However long term he could prove to be George Fant's replacement on the right side. Fant is only 27, but signed for just 3 seasons. He isn't the most experienced starter either with most of his playing time coming as a 6th offensive lineman/tight end. It's somewhat of a projection to see him as a starter but it will be interesting to see if New York gets creative with his role leading to more playing time for Clark. 

Bryce Hall cornerback, is a guy who could eventually unseat a starter. The doubts on him came from his injury his senior year. At 6'1 202 lbs he has ideal size and length to start in the NFL, and arguably would have been right away had he left college after his junior year. None of the starters in this cornerback group are particularly irreplaceable even heading into this season if Hall impresses. 

The third staple of building rosters as Roseman does? Creative manipulation of compensatory picks. Every year the Eagles specifically avoid contracts that would affect the compensatory picks they would receive from their expected losses. We will have to wait and see on this as both teams had to fill needs this season. 

Duce Staley mentioned as future head coach

If you were an Eagles fan in the late 90's and early 2000's, you were likely happy to hear Duce Staley return to the Eagles as a coaching intern under Andy Reid in the 2010 offseason. Since then Duce has simply climbed the ladder from intern to assistant head coach and running backs coach. Prior to 2019 it was rumored Staley nearly added coordinator to his list of duties but the team instead decided to promote Mike Groh...and we saw how well that went. Duce Staley has basically helped coach up any successful running back who has played for the team since the 2001 season when the Eagles drafted his understudies Correll Buckhalter, and Brian Westbrook in back to back years. At that point Staley had been in Andy Reid and Brad Childress's system for 5 seasons and was the elder statesmen in the running back room, and he didn't shy away from the competition. Staley held onto the #1 duties for 3 out of the next 4 seasons before Philly decided to let him leave in free agency. He didn't venture far and signed a 5 year deal to be the lead back, but agreeing to splitting carries once again this time with a future hall of Famer in Jerome Bettis. Duce and the Bus joined together to form one of the more devastating running attacks for a season before injuries hit both men and Willie Parker emerged, yet another young runner who likely benefitted from the guidance of Jerome and Duce. Later this trio would lead Pittsburgh to a super bowl victory in 2005 which effectively wound up being the last game in both Duce and Jerome's careers. Jerome decided to retire on the biggest stage possible at the Super Bowl, while Duce wanted to play another year, however his return lasted just 1 snap into 2006 before he was inactive the rest of the year in favor of Najeh Davenport. He would ultimately retire as an Eagle. 

Quite the career in Pennsylvania in general for this 240 lb back who managed to play 9 seasons in the NFL as one of the shiftiest big backs I have ever seen run the ball. So naturally he was a popular addition to Philly's coaching staff in 2010 when he began to intern under his former head coach Andy Reid. Ge began his coaching career as an intern but quickly moved into a special teams quality control position he held for 2011 and 2012 season. In one of Chip Kelly's more intelligent moves he retained Duce after taking over for Reid, he made this move even more intelligent when he promoted him to running backs coach. Finally in his 4th year as a coach just 7 years removed from the last game he played in, he was back to the position group he belonged in. Duce has held the title of RB coach ever since Kelly was hired, but added assistant head coaching duties in 2018. I believe this was an effort by the Eagles front office to give him more incentive to stay after being passed over for the offensive coordinator position for Mike Groh. It worked, and Groh was quickly fired after 1 season in the role. Staley on the other hand stands to gain a bit more of a voice in game planning now thanks to the removal of a true singular voice as offensive coordinator. Which should bode well for his chances to make the next leap in his coaching career. 

My next question becomes what teams with coaches on the hot seat would look to a RB guru, for their next head coach? 

In Chicago they hired a former Andy Reid and Doug Pederson understudy in Matt Nagy who tied his future to Mitchel Trubisky and has ultimately regretted it. While I would be surprised to fire one former Reid disciple only to hire another even if they are from different paths. So let's rule out Chicago. 

Matt Patricia in Detroit has had some issues with rubbing players the wrong way and been blasted by former Lion and now current Eagle Darius Slay. Staley could prove to be a logical choice for many reasons. First of all the Lions have invested heavily at RB, in an effort to buoy an offense led by an aging Matthew Stafford. Staley has shown an incredible penchant for rotating runners, and there is a ton of potential for Kerryon Johnson, DeAndre Swift, and even 5th rounder Jason Huntley. Staley is also likely viewed as a candidate that would benefit from an established quarterback. Stafford is that guy, and Staley could be the perfect coach to keep him healthy with a run heavy attack with a focus on RPO's, and play action to freeze the defense even more. 

Jacksonville, and Doug Marrone seem destined for divorce unless Gardner Minshew can muster up some magic. Marrone definitely gained some believers after finding a gem of a qb in Minshew and showing an ability to develop him from week to week. Also they have a man in Leonard Fournette who Carrie's a similar stature to Staley, and could use a coach that can lead him to a resurgence after doubts about his ability to be a game changer like he was in college. The Jags have a young core and a guy not far removed from his playing career would likely resonate with this team well. This fit seems almost too perfect. 

How about Houston where fans might storm the stadium if O'Brien misses the playoffs and keeps his job after being named GM and trading away arguably the best player in franchise history for peanuts. This offense also seems like it is a decent running attack away from being a super bowl caliber offense. The Texans would provide a young but established quarterback, and provide a solid receiving group to build around. With guys like Randall Cobb, Will Fuller, Kenny Stills, and Brandin Cooks on the roster he could spread defenses out and utilize the skill set of Lamar Miller, Duke Johnson, and David Johnson out of the backfield to give defenses a legitimate run or pass catching threat in the backfield behind one of the most dynamic running qbs in the league. 

A surprise team could be Tennessee where Mike Vrabel coaches. I feel the teaming of Duce Staley and Derrick Henry would be an unstoppable coach/player combo. 

Does recent injury spell the return of Jason Peters?

Another year, and another huge blow to the Eagles roster due to injury. This time without any on field action at all so far. Brandon Brooks, one of our most consistently high level starters has torn his Achilles and is expected to miss all of 2020. Brooks is not easily replaced especially this late in the process. 

However, maybe just maybe this is the opening the Eagles and Jason Peters needed for a reunion in 2020. I know this is somewhat of a long shot, but the Eagles could view Peter's as their most seamless replacement even if it meant a position switch in his last hoorah with the Eagles. Now I am probably biased toward believing Peters can make this transition look easy, but I am sure there are plenty who will be skeptical. 

Let's take a look at a few comparisons. Geoff Schwartz a former NFL player who retired a couple years back played primarily right guard and right tackle. If you read an interview he did he says "If an offensive tackle has good hands, generally has good movement skills but might lack some foot quickness to play tackle, then moving inside could be productive." Okay now Peters may not be the athlete he once was due to age and injury, but he still makes some others look slow. His hands, and footwork have never been issue. Schwartz goes on to say the harder switch is going from left to right or right to left. Well looking at the career arc Peters has taken since his junior year in college it's quite apparent to me switching sides will be of no issue. Peters played tight end in college, requiring him to be adept at blocking on both sides of the ball. It was noted that during his last year in college he had 3 times as many knock downs as a blocker than he did receptions. 61 versus 21, he began positioning himself as an offensive lineman, which was smart after leaving college at 6'4 322 lbs, going into the draft with the most natural transition being to right tackle. He eventually went undrafted but was signed by the Bills who very intelligently seeing his potential gave him 2 years to develop into a true tackle. He started off playing as a blocking tight end, which helped him learn the offense but not ask him to jump straight into playing tackle. He was also listed as the backup at right tackle, and used on special teams as a blocker, and wedge buster on kickoff team. In short Peters showed he would do anything for the team. 

Peters eventually seized the right tackle job, after the 2005 year in which he started 10 games at right tackle. He started the 2006 season as the right tackle before offensive line coach Jim Mcanally decided to shuffle the o line moving left tackle Mike Gandy inside to guard, and Peters to left tackle. Peters went from solid right tackle to probowl left tackle in a hurry. In short Peters has simply been successful everywhere he plays, so why not bring him in, and give him a shot to play right guard. 

There are several examples of aging tackles moving inside to guard when they begin to lose quickness because typically a veteran offensive lineman will know the nuances of the footwork and hand fighting needed to make a move work. Mike Gandy is actually an apt comparison for this. Gandy came out of high school an under accomplished tight end in terms of receptions but displayed the mobility, and strength to play offensive line in college. He committed to Notre Dame, where he followed a similar path of development as Peters, he played as a blocking tight end, before eventually having a cup of coffee on the defensive line. Ultimately he landed at guard. He would miss his entire sophomore year rehabbing an injury but also studying the playbook. He would play two more years with Notre Dame building enough notoriety to be drafted in round 3 68th overall. Inexplicably yet somewhat productively the Besrs immediately played Gandy at left tackle his first two seasons before shifting him to right guard his final season in Chicago. He played 2 years in Buffalo playing left tackle the first year, then left guard the second year before ending his career at left tackle with Arizona. Starting 48 games for them. 

Cordy Glenn is a more recent example. Coming out of college he had started 28 games at left guard, 18 games at left tackle, and 4 at right guard. He came into the NFL ranked as the #2 tackle, however The Bill's selected him an opted to play him at left tackle to replace Jason Peters who had been traded to the Eagles. Glenn would go on to play 7 years ateft tackle for the Bill's before being included in a trade with several draft picks to the Cincinnati Bengals. Glenn then started at left tackle for one year before the Bengals drafted Jonah Williams in the first round. Then the Bengals asked Glenn to move to left guard. Where he played until Williams suffered an injury and Glenn shifted back over to tackle. Almost the exact role that Peters would play for Philly. 

He will be lining up next to Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce. Could you ask for a more solid right side of an offensive line? Maybe Peters doesn't play well, okay if that's the case you are back to square one, with younger players like Matt Pryor. Peters then simply provides depth at tackle at that point but still gets to retire an Eagle. 

Really at this point its a win win situation that we need to put in motion now. 

Jadeveon Clowney

Jadeveon Clowney's free agency this offseason has been one of the more interesting storylines to follow. This guy hit free agency after being traded from Houston to Seattle last offseason while on the franchise tag. He was expected to command over $19 million a year, but instead has received offers no where near that number. So why is he turning down his largest offer?? 

Cleveland has been a place synonymous with struggling NFL teams for decades now. Seemingly in and endless rebuild it's no surprise anyone still thinks this way about them but the talent level on this roster teamed with promising coaches will allow this talent to shine. Cleveland went 6-10 last season but lost 4 games by 7 points or less last year. 4 games is the difference between 10-6 and 6-10. Jadeveon Clowney is essentially telling the world he doesn't believe he can be valuable enough to prevent 23 points in 16 games, even though heading to Cleveland would pair him with Myles Garrett, Sheldon Richardson, and Olivier Vernon. Quite the group of pass rushers. It would also aid the secondary where they have spent immense draft capitol with Greedy Williams, Denzel Ward, and Grant Delpit. They also signed Karl Joseph this offseason a former first round pick in his own right. 

I understand his hesitation to sign with Cleveland, but he is only looking at the cover of the book without even reading the summary of the story. Joe Woods is the defensive coordinator in Cleveland after a stint as a coordinator in Denver. His reputation took a small hit as the Broncos defense started to regress but there were certainly other factors as well. The main thing that Clowney should take from the hiring of Woods is the fact that he strongly believes in tailoring his system to his players in an effort to use their strengths more often. This has helped him coach 7 different players to 13 probowls, It helped him lead two defenses to the Super Bowl in his first year both locations, and it helped him to develop what Denver dubbed the no fly zone. This man is a great coach who caught some bad breaks in 2018 with Denver and paid the price for it. However he immediately rebounded with a Superbowl trip with the 49ers. Woods came out and said he likely will be returning the 4-3 base defense that Cleveland ran in 2019. Clowney should be taking note of this, while he has primarily played as a 3-4 OLB in Houston last season Seattle used him more as a down lineman. A role I think fits his skillset much better. Clowney is the type of player you don't want wasting time in coverage as a LB, you want him rushing the passer as much as possible. He was not drafted 1st overall in 2015 as a DE for his ability in coverage. It's time he goes back to his roots as a DE permanently. With Vernon, Richardson, and Garrett also on the roster, Vernon and Ogunjobi would be the odd men out here left to fight for scraps of playing time. Richardson would be the starting NT, with Ogunjobi as the #2 tackle in the base defense with Clowney and Garrett on the outside. In passing situations they were already shifting Garrett inside at times taking Ogunjobi off the field makes sense in these situations, as you still want a nose tackle that can two gap next to Garrett. This is where Vernon comes in at end opposite of Clowney, almost like a nascar package. 

There is also the outside chance the Browns see a re for Clowney at times as a stand up LB as well. Maybe in run situations you see Clowney as an OLB, with Garrett and Vernon in at DE, and Richardson/Ogunjobi at DT. In this situation you would likely remove the starting SAM linebacker and slide Clowney in there with your regular MIKE, and WILL linebackers in order to keep some athleticism on the field. Either way having 5 starting caliber D-Lineman can help Clowney produce at a higher level. If you look back at Clowney's time in Houston he quite literally played every position in the front 7 except nose tackle. Adding a guy like that to this already stout front 4 that can add yet another pass rushing threat attacking from different angles would only take this defense and clowney to the next level. 

Ultimately I think Clowney should strongly reconsider their offer.