Howie Roseman talks Eagles player that is being most slept on, Jalen Reagor regret

We are officially in game week ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles Week 1 season opener against the Detroit Lions, and GM Howie Roseman took some time to talk to 94WIP on Tuesday about some of their offseason acquisitions and roster moves. He also spoke about things he’s learned about their draft process — by way of the Jalen Reagor pick — and how their dynamic offensive playmakers compliment each other.

Roseman wasn’t willing to admit that he’s had one of the best offseasons around the league, noting that they have to go out and play a game this weekend against Detroit and see how the roster has come together. He mentioned that the team has been doing a lot of work in walk-throughs and in practice, which the GM sees as more helpful than preseason games, which tend to be more vanilla.

He talked a bit about the Eagles’ new safety, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who is someone Roseman says loves football and is passionate about the game. CGJ also has a lot of the skillset that they were looking for at the position — coverage ability, the flexibility to cover a slot receiver or a tight end, and is also a solid tackler and able to blitz. Roseman admitted that getting CGJ so late means there’s going to be a bit of a learning curve for him, but he’s excited about the addition.

The GM was asked how much input he has in how players are used, but Roseman scoffed at the idea that he’s trying to coach the team. He said that he loves that head coach Nick Sirianni will come to him and tell him how he plans to use certain players — or how he would use certain guys if they were added to the roster —, but then the coaches put it all together. Roseman said that bringing in someone whose skillset he might like, but that the coaches don’t have a role for, would just be frustrating for everyone, so they do work together to make sure there’s a fit for every player.

This lead to a discussion about Jalen Reagor and picking him over Justin Jefferson, and Roseman admitted that one of his weaknesses is dwelling on his mistakes versus successes.

“I think it continually motivates me to get better, and so whenever we do something like that, I go back and look at the process and how we came to the decision. And, listen, it’s obvious. I’m not going to sit here and lie, we’d love to have that moment back. Now, I believe that all of these moments, all of these lead to where you’re going. Like, I feel like when we won a World Championship, there were some mistakes made in that process, but the lead us to get where we wanted to be.”

Roseman went on to say that he can’t go back and change some of those decisions, but what he took from the Reagor pick was that they just need to take the best player at all times rather than worrying about fit or the current roster makeup.

“You go back to that moment and we had two tight ends that were really good in the middle of the field, Greg Ward was coming off a really good year in the slot, and so we were looking for a specific role as opposed to just kind of grading the players. And that’s on me, 100 percent. At the end of the day, I’m responsible for all that. I take responsibility, but I also promise you one thing, if I make a mistake, I’m going to do everything in my power to make it up.”

Roseman was also asked about A.J. Brown, to which the GM acknowledged that the receiver is a “physical freak” and is someone who does not like to be tackled.

“I think when you look at the guy and the catch radius, and the route-running, and the play strength he comes in with, we couldn’t be more excited.

I mean, it’s a beautiful thing when we look at those guys, because they all kind of compliment each other. Like, DeVonta [Smith], lets not forget how good DeVonta Smith is and what he can do as a route-runner with his hands and his length and his speed. And then Quez [Watkins], obviously, his vertical threat — he’s as fast as anyone in the National Football League.

The guy I think that we’re all sleeping on — it’s funny because I was thinking about this last night, like I gotta go talk to this guy today, because of how excited I am for him this year — is Dallas Goedert. And, I understand it, everyone is excited about A.J. — I’m excited about A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith in his second year, and Jalen [Hurts], and our offensive line —, but this guy, man, this guy is another physical freak. This guy can really do everything you’re looking for from the tight end position, and he’s really come into his own, his work ethic, and I think he’s one of the guys we don’t really talk about enough about good of a player he is and how good he is for our football team.”