The Philadelphia Eagles are in a year of transition, trying to find out if Jalen Hurts is the franchise quarterback with a first year head coach in Nick Sirianni. While the Eagles are still working to figure out their team on the field, general manager Howie Roseman had a banner offseason with trades that involve the immediate future of the franchise.
Thanks to some offseason moves that involve 2022 first-round draft picks, Philadelphia is in position to land three first-round picks in that draft class -- all currently in the top-10. The Miami Dolphins are 1-4 after five games and the Indianapolis Colts are 1-3 after four games (they play on Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens), putting the Eagles in prime position to land their coveted top draft picks.
How did the Eagles acquire those draft picks? The Eagles received the Colts first-round pick as a result of the Carson Wentz trade this offseason, but there are some parameters to it. Philadelphia traded Wentz to Indianapolis in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 first-round pick, which the Eagles will receive from the Colts if Wentz:
- Plays 75% of the snaps in 2021
- Plays 70% of the snaps in 2021 and the Colts make the playoffs
The Eagles just have to hope Wentz plays 75% of the snaps, which will happen if the Colts can stay in the AFC South race. If Indianapolis falls to Baltimore, the Colts will be two games behind the Tennessee Titans for the top spot in the division. Wentz has played 98% of the Colts' snaps this season through five games and 25% of a projected season total.
Would the Colts actually end up giving up that high of a pick? Not likely if they keep losing, as a few more losses will lead toward a potential benching of Wentz in the second half of the season. The Eagles have to hope the Colts find a way to win a few games with Wentz and stay in the playoff hunt in a poor AFC South, giving them an opportunity to still land a high draft pick as a result of the Wentz deal.
Philadelphia gets a 2022 second-round pick from Indianapolis if Wentz doesn't meet any of the above parameters. Per tankathon.com, the Eagles would get the No. 7 pick in the draft from the Colts.
The better pick available for the Eagles is the Dolphins, which is unprotected. Prior to the draft, the Eagles traded down from the No. 6 pick to No. 12, where the Dolphins gave Philadelphia the No. 12 (first round) and the No. 123 overall pick (fourth round) in the 2021 draft -- along with a 2022 first-round pick. The Eagles used that No. 12 pick to trade up to No. 10 and select DeVonta Smith (also giving a third-round pick to the Dallas Cowboys), while the 2022 first-round pick from the Dolphins remains intact.
Since the Dolphins are off to a 1-4 start, they currently hold the No. 3 pick in the draft thanks to Miami having the weakest strength of schedule of all the 1-4 teams after five weeks (which is the tiebreaker). That unprotected pick means the Eagles get the pick no matter where the Dolphins finish in the standings.
To recap, Philadelphia has the No. 3 pick, No. 7 pick, and No. 10 pick (Eagles own pick) in the 2022 NFL Draft. If the Colts lose to the Ravens, that No. 7 pick jumps into the top five after Week 5 games are completed.
Not a bad haul for Roseman and the Eagles front office, no matter how Philadelphia fares in 2021.