NFL Draft 2016: Eagles traded up into top 10 to get a Pro Bowl caliber talent

The Philadelphia Eagles made a lot of big moves this week thanks to the start of NFL free agency. One of the biggest moves involved their trade with the Dolphins that sent Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and the No. 13 overall pick to Miami in exchange for the No. 8 overall pick. Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman explained why it was so important for the Birds to make this deal. Quotes via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice:

"They way we looked at it, we felt like there were 10 players that really stood out to us," said Roseman. "Picking 13th, we felt like if we were in a position to get one of those top 10 guys, there was tremendous value in that. To be able to do it before draft day and spend more time vetting all those guys would really help us. So doing it before the draft, before draft day, as we've seen here over the last four years that it's not always easy to move up on draft day. So being able to get that and have it in our pocket as we got started here would help us in our direction of our offseason."

"We're very comfortable picking at eight," said Roseman. "For us, we know we're going to get a really good player. We're just going to go into it (and get) the best available player. We know that whoever falls to that spot has a chance to be Pro Bowl caliber, which is real exciting for us. But again, we're open to anything that we think improves our football team."

So if Roseman's words are any indication and there are 10 players they really like in the first round, the Eagles are guaranteed to get a player they really like at No. 8. This situation contrasts with how the Eagles missed out on the six players they wanted in the 2014 NFL Draft. That was the last draft Roseman ran. After failing to get one of his top six guys, the Birds traded down and took Marcus Smith, who has been a big bust to this point in his career.

The good news for the Eagles is that there will be no Marcus Smith situation this year. They're in position to get one of the guys they like. Roseman's words also seem to indicate the Eagles won't trade down. There had been some speculation the Eagles might want to move back in order to acquire their second round pick back, but moving back for the sake of moving back doesn't make sense if there's an elite talent on the board. A trade even further up the order can't be ruled out, however, especially if the Eagles are targeting a quarterback. Philadelphia owns nine picks in this year's draft so they have some ammo.

In the interest of guessing the top 10 players the Eagles might like, here's a stab at it from BGN draft expert Ben Natan:

RB Ezekiel Elliott - (Scouting report)
OT Laremy Tunsil - (Scouting report)
LB Myles Jack,
DB Jalen Ramsey
CB Vernon Hargreaves - (Scouting report)
CB Mackensie Alexander
DE Joey Bosa
DL Sheldon Rankins
WR Corey Coleman - (Scouting Report)
WR Laquon Treadwell - (Scouting Report)

Who do YOU think makes up Philadelphia's top 10 players? And who do you want the Eagles to take?